here's little question that Doctor Who is one of the most successful science-fiction franchises in television history. What's perhaps not as readily recognized is the fact that, over the past 40 years, the intrepid Timelord has also inspired dozens of minor musical masterworks. Mark Ayres, who actually wrote a few scores for the series during the late 1980s, recently compiled a colorful collection of tracks dedicated to the legendary interdimensional traveler.
Titled Who Is Dr. Who, the package showcases 18 tunes initially released between 1964 and 1973. Following two versions of the program's main motif—the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's "Doctor Who (Original Theme)" and "Dr. Who" by Eric Winstone and His Orchestra—the disc supplies an array of amusing novelty songs. On "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With a Dalek," a little girl's voice explains that she'll celebrate the season by kissing her favorite robot "on his chromium-plated head," just as young actress Roberta Tovey, who appeared in a pair of movies based on the show, informs listeners in "Who's Who" that the ever-adaptable Doctor is "quite at home in a big spaceship or sitting on top of a horse." Actor Frazer Hines' psychedelic "Who's Dr. Who?" covers similar lyrical terrain, with Jon Pertwee dramatically intoning "through cosmic waste the Tardis flies, to taste the secret source of life" on "Who Is the Doctor."
The CD also spotlights abundant instrumental compositions, including The Earthlings' guitar-infused "Landing of the Daleks," "The Eccentric Dr. Who" by the Malcolm Lockyer Orchestra and Bill McGuffie's "Fugue for Thought," which was used in the series' second spinoff film, Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD. Within the liner notes, Ayres imparts extensive historical information about each piece, complemented by numerous publicity stills, album-cover images and record-company advertisements.
Great hits and a few misses
One measure of a television show's success is how quickly elements from the production are integrated into pop culture. Who Is Dr. Who capably demonstrates that, at least in England, the plucky program promptly had an impact upon the music industry. Although this compendium of cuts is
padded out with some selections possessing only a superficial association with Doctor Who, for the most part the pieces are pleasant, perky and properly pertinent.
The instrumental numbers contain the package's most compelling moments. Winstone's "Dr. Who" imbues the familiar opening theme with a jaunty rhythm, while the same motif, buoyed by eccentric tones and odd sounds, is transformed by Don Harper's Homo Electronicus into a synthesizer-driven overture that's both ultramodern and unusual. The fresh "Dance of the Daleks," by Jack Dorsey and Orchestra, is a brassy composition spiced with light electronic noises, just as "Landing of the Daleks," offered in both regular and "censored" versions (the only difference being a brief Morse code sequence), delivers a lighthearted surf ambience. Among the remaining cuts, "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With a Dalek" from The Go Go's (a different ensemble from the popular 1980s girl group) is definitely the most memorable jingle, with humorous lyrics, an infectious melody and silly sound effects.
Although appealing, some works, such as "Not So Old" and "Pure Mystery"—by Tovey and Pertwee, respectively—have little to do with Doctor Who other than the fact that the performers appeared in the series. Additionally, though perhaps interesting from a historical perspective, a previously unreleased track from Hines titled "Time Traveller" is rather tedious. Nevertheless, Who Is Dr. Who is noteworthy, not only because the compilation presents these rarities on a single platter, but also since the mere existence of so many songs provides ample evidence that, in a surprisingly short period, the temperamental Timelord truly became a cultural—and musical—phenomenon.
