BG4: “Someone to Watch Over Me,” Pt 1

*** Introduction***

Tonight’s episode of Battlestar Galactica is the most musically innovative score I’ve yet produced.  My role as composer evolved far beyond merely providing underscore for the scenes.  This time, I was intimately involved in every step of the episode’s development: from the earliest draft of the script by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson, through the production, directed by Michael Nankin and throughout the editing, scoring and final sound mix.

My experiences on Someone to Watch Over Me were so profound that my typical blog format would not suffice.  Rather than focusing solely on the episode’s score, I’ve written a mini-memoir, chronicling my journey on this episode. 

I have divided this up into three chapters.  Chapter One focuses on Pre-Production, in particular my interaction with David Weddle and Bradley Thompson as they wrote the script.  I also discuss my surreal experience auditioning for a speaking role on Battlestar!  In Chapter Two, I discuss the production of the episode, the preparation of the piano, and my behind-the-scenes experiences.  Chapter Three, centering on post-production, is more akin to my typical blog entries: a detailed, scene-by-scene analysis of the completed episode and score.

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BG4: “Blood on the Scales”

BLOODY SPOILERS AHEAD:  Tonight’s episode is a direct continuation from last week, literally picking up seconds after we left off.  The music, similarly, is a close cousin to last week’s score.  However, that score emphasized the hushed, conspiratorial actions of the mutineers setting up their plan, and Blood on the Scales is more consistently bombastic and aggressive: a full-out war in music.

(L-R: Doctor Osamu Kitajima, biwa / Gregg Walsh, shamisen / M.B. Gordy, tsuzumi)

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BG4: “The Oath”

OATHY SPOILERS BEYOND:  The season premiere was a relentlessly dark and funereal television elegy.  Last week’s episode centered on coping with loss, depression and anxiety, and finding a way to pick up the pieces and move on.  If you have been waiting for the series’ pace to pick up and get back to kicking ass… your wait is now over.

The Oath is the second of an obviously multi-episode arc centering on a mutiny within the colonial fleet.  The tensions between human and Cylon are momentarily set aside as the humans divert all their rage and anger against each other.

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