DS9 Opening Theme

[BobR]

I'm new so maybe this is a tired old topic but...

Does anyone else get an odd feeling from the opening credits and its theme music? Almost a bit of melancholy or even claustrophobia. Sort of "♫ Oh Mr. Man, the Federation is old and tired. We'll limp along, but the glory is all gone. Hold it together, people are counting on us. But we're getting tired, oh so, so tired. ♫"

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I hear a fanfare. Your interpretation is your own.

 

[Orac]

The theme is definitely downbeat when compared to the themes that came before and after. If I were prone to speculation I might say that the composers brief was probably to make it less bombastic than the TOS/TMP hybrid theme used on TNG. If I were prone to speculation.

 

[jonds91]

It will feel very sad when I watch the final episode.
I can still remember how I felt when I watched the series finales of TNG, Voyager and Enterprise.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

If I were prone to speculation I might say that the composers brief was probably to make it less bombastic than the TOS/TMP hybrid theme used on TNG.

I'm sure that they wanted something that was more like the first half of the TOS theme, but didn't borrow it the way TNG did.

 

[BobR]

Sure seems like a much slower tempo in a plaintive minor key to me. That feels completely intentional rather than accidental.

I'm sure my interpretation is colored by things I was going through personally when I first watched the show. It played at midnight when I first caught it on television so that was probably a factor too.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

in a plaintive minor key to me

The first eight bars are literally arpeggios on major chords with the major root note drone in the bass.

 

[1moreRobot]

I would describe it as stark and austere (particularly in the early seasons). The extended motion control ballet of the station set against that horn solo just isn't something you'd see done today. I like it.

I always felt the syncopation almost sounds off in some way (it's not — it's being played exactly as written). The way it is composed has always made it sound like it was being rushed or played a little out of rhythm, which I think gives it some interesting tension.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I always felt the syncopation almost sounds off in some way (it's not — it's being played exactly as written).

They don't entirely match in my opinion. The pulse that is added to the theme sounds like something out of Philip Glass' mid-career soundtrack work (see

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

).

 

[mlbach]

I loved all of the live action show themes
EXCEPT
Enterprise. I tried to like it. I got so I could tolerate it, but compared to the glorious fanfares of the earlier shows, it just seems lame.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

The opening theme for seasons 1-3 is a bit droning and formal for my tastes. But the season 4-7 update to the theme is my favorite of any series. It's EPIC. It has a lot of energy that gets me excited for the episode.

 

[YJAGG]

It has s somber interspective tone, much like the show itself

 

[KJY]

The opening theme for seasons 1-3 is a bit droning and formal for my tastes. But the season 4-7 update to the theme is my favorite of any series. It's EPIC. It has a lot of energy that gets me excited for the episode.

Man, I'm really torn between them. I really like the season 1-3 theme for being (or maybe just seeming?) lower pitched and slower paced. It also doesn't have that extra instrumentation making it feel less cluttered. In season 4 when they upped the tempo and added all of that extra stuff it seemed like something was lost.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The DS9 theme is a fanfare derived from the opening of Alexander Courage's TOS theme, so it always sounded very Star Trek-ian to me.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I love how the theme is almost a commentary on where the station is at the time. In seasons 1-3, DS9 is pretty much alone out there. But in Seasons 4-7, the theme describes a place that is no longer alone at the edge of the frontier. It is bustling and very much alive.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Nothing could replace the theme from the original series in either my heart or my mind. That said, I think DS9's fanfare does the best at setting the mood and place of the series. Intellectually, I know that Voyager's main melody is far superior than the rest, but it lends itself better to film than to television (ever notice that it never gets recycle into the background music for episodes, only that short trumpet intro?).

 

[TheSeeker]

I love how the theme is almost a commentary on where the station is at the time. In seasons 1-3, DS9 is pretty much alone out there. But in Seasons 4-7, the theme describes a place that is no longer alone at the edge of the frontier. It is bustling and very much alive.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing!

 

[Qonundrum]

I love how the theme is almost a commentary on where the station is at the time. In seasons 1-3, DS9 is pretty much alone out there. But in Seasons 4-7, the theme describes a place that is no longer alone at the edge of the frontier. It is bustling and very much alive.

Ditto.

You pinned it beautifully re: s1-3 ("being alone", which now has the tone making sense for me.) To me, s1-3 gives an aural description of the show as being regal yet lost and unsure, The sets are obviously the most regal and lush any TV show has ever had (and very worthy for blu-ray with all that detail), and being a hub in the middle of nowhere and to an uncharted part of the galaxy the "unsure" aspect makes sense. Still, it feels slow but not in a way that really works. We should be excited for the unknown, not given the feeling it's another day of making waffles for breakfast again. Think of the s1-3 theme while putting Eggo into the toaster on Thursday.

4-7's tone made sense for me off the bat given the nature of DS9 being a hub for excitement, intrigue, espionage, and strangeness, and the wars. "Bustling and very much live", indeed. And that's what the show really needed from the start since many episodes did present the unknown and were meant to be more exciting and compelling...

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I feel like the S1-3 music fit how it was for the people on the station as well. The Bajorans, reaching out for help though frightened and the Starfleet people, figuring out how to help. It's not just the station itself, but the people in it.

 

[DamarsKanar]

Yeah I love both both 1-3 slower version definitely wins for me. There is something sombre but hopeful about it, I think it 100% fits the atmosphere of the show, I love that they went for something way less bombastic than TNG. I actually do feel the melancholy in the DS9 theme but that is what makes it perfect to me.