Additional Music by Bear McCreary

Orchestratral Engineering by Robert Fernandez

Produced by Richard Gibbs and Ford A. Thaxton

Release Date: March 16, 2004

            La-La Land Records

     When I first heard all the hubbub surrounding the remake of the old seventies television series, Battlestar Galactica, I was quite disappointed. I had grown up with the show (by that time running heavily in syndication) and the posted version of the script and comment among the fan base pointed to a project that was ultimately pointless and lacked any clear vision of what made the original series so fascinating in the first place. It doesn’t help that one of the minds behind this new version, Ron Moore, is one of the individuals currently in the blame for helping to run the Star Trek franchise into the ground. This new Battlestar Galactica pilot was seen as nothing more than an attempt to take a treasured series that many grew up with and simply cash in on the name.

     With that in mind, upon receiving this release of Richard Gibbs’ score to the pilot/mini-series, I decided that I should at least see the actual filmed version of the remake before experiencing the music in order to collect my final thoughts on this venture. I watched it with the clear expectation that I wouldn’t like it. Surprisingly, I was proven wrong. While the foundation of this retooling is more along the lines of Wing Commander than then premise of the human colonists being sprung off of ancient Egyptian culture (part of what made the original so interesting), the remake showed a lot of potential and had several interesting premises and storylines. I’m sure it won’t please everyone, and it didn’t quite capture the whole Battlestar Galactica feel, but I was quite entertained throughout.

     Another surprise was the score. Reading the liner notes, one is not given to much hope, as Gibbs quite frankly states that the powers-that-be wanted music that did not overpower the visuals. There would be no huge orchestra arousing mighty feelings of heroism whilst the battles raged on. In fact, most of the battle music is scored solely through percussion. These are actually the weakest moments in the score, as some of these cues are rather long and don’t really bring much to the table (they do work very well in the context of the show however). Instead, what Gibbs manages to accomplish with the restrictions placed on him as to the nature of the music is an atmospheric, yet surprisingly thematic and lyrical, approach to scoring the documentary-styled camera work of the mini-series. It allows this score to rise above what it should be.

     The opening Main Title sets the stage well for the rest of the score. Don’t expect to find the original Battlestar Galactica theme (it only appears once in the mini-series and is not found on this album at all), but while Gibb’s main title lacks the orchestral punch of the original, it manages to expertly reflect the attitude found in this new incarnation and provides a strong opening to the score.  There are real instruments here, but there is also a strong synth background as well that sometimes makes it a bit too easy to get lost on all the intricacies of the orchestra. Without that strong orchestral presence, it is the combination of wailing choral voices, percussion writing, and the strong thematic usage that Gibbs’ uses to carry the score, and carry it well they do. The atmospheric music emotes the overwhelming feeling of being alone in the universe, while the driving percussion lays down the feeling of urgency in the music. Both combine to perfectly fit the style of the tone of the remake.          

     Ultimately however, this is not a title you’ll want to pick up on a whim. For those who noticed the music in the show (and I certainly did), then this album will definitely satisfy that desire. For the others weaned on Stu Philips’ orchestral scores this new version will come as quite a departure. A good score to be sure, but a departure nevertheless.