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Claim: The theme music for the original Star Trek TV series includes lyrics.
Origins: One of the most important parts of any successful television series is its theme music. Whether the theme is a song with lyrics that provide
necessary exposition to explain the show's premise (as in the case of Gilligan's Island) or an instrumental that offers a catchy thematic hook (like Hill Street Blues), a series' theme music is familiar, easily recognizable beacon that signals to regular viewers week after week.
Star Trek was no exception. Although the series never ranked high in the ratings during its original 1966-69 run, its theme music — a pinging, four-note opening to William Shatner's famous "where no man has gone before" narration, followed by a melody overlaid with a quavering soprano wail — was, like The Twilight Zone's, recognized even by people who never watched the show itself. But even most regular viewers were unfamiliar with the theme's lyrics, or were even aware that the Star Trek theme had lyrics, because they were never used in the show. When Desilu studios produced their Star Trek pilot , they despaired of finding a top-notch composer to score the theme music. Film and TV composers earn most of their money from residuals paid for repeat performances of their compositions, so few of them want to spend their time scoring pilots that have little chance of becoming series, or movies that will disappear without a trace. The combination of Desilu (a small studio with a history of unsuccessful pilots) and an unusual "serious" science fiction series (rare in television at the time) did not offer an promising opportunity for composers. Fortunately for Desilu (and Star Trek), their musical director recommended a talented and experienced arranger from Twentieth Century Fox by the name
Once the Star Trek pilot was sold to NBC , Courage was in an enviable position: he would receive royalties every time an episode of Star Trek was run (or Courage protested in vain that although the arrangement may have been legal, it was unethical: Roddenberry's lyrics added nothing to the value of the music and were created for no reason other than to usurp half the composer's performance royalties. An unsympathetic Roddenberry proclaimed, "Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not going to get it out of the profits of Star Trek." Roddenberry's financial gain was Star Trek's creative loss. After scoring a couple of first-season episodes, Courage declined to perform any further musical work for the series. And what were these lyrics?
Beyond
Some viewers think they recall Uhura's having sung these words during a Star Trek episode, but they're actually remembering her performing a song called "Beyond Antares" to troubled young Charlie Evans in the episode The rim of the star-light My love Is wand'ring in star-flight I know He'll find in star-clustered reaches Love, Strange love a star woman teaches. I know His journey ends never His star trek Will go on forever. But tell him While he wanders his starry sea Remember, remember me. Last updated: 8 August 2007 This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com. Sources:
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necessary exposition to explain the show's premise (as in the case of Gilligan's Island) or an instrumental that offers a catchy thematic hook (like Hill Street Blues), a series' theme music is familiar, easily recognizable beacon that signals to regular viewers week after week.
Sources: