Logan’s Run –
Original Television Soundtrack
(Limited Edition CD)
Sound:
B Music: B
I have to
admit, it was very unexpected. When Film
Score Monthly’s FSM label issued an expanded soundtrack to the 1976 original
feature film version of Logan’s Run a
few years ago (reviewed elsewhere on this site), I knew it was going to be
great. I figured that that was it, until
the remake went into full swing. Then,
suddenly, FSM released the soundtrack to the short-lived TV show. I was stunned. Was there enough music for a CD? You mean the TV version with that Discotheque
Sci-Fi theme song that always made it feel like the show was rushed and not
well thought out? You mean the music
master’s survived?
Yes, and
it turns out the show had four composers, none of which were Jerry
Goldsmith. Despite Goldsmith going from
TV to film all the time, he was not available for the series, so Lawrence
Rosenthal took over and did the majority of the new music for what turned out
to only be a 14-episode run, three shows of which recycled past music. Even Goldsmith’s Carrousel was used in the show.
There is a chart in the great booklet included that shows all the
episodes by title, CBS-TV airdate, production number to show the order the
shows were made, teleplay writers, directors, composer, and when the music was
recorded. Add the descriptions of each
show where new music exists and this practically functions like an episode
guide, more or less.
The show
was not great, and had to retreat from the many mature and bolder themes of the
film to appeal to a wider audience on 1970s prime time TV, but as compared to
the recent cycle of very, very bad Science Fiction TV shows inspired by the
do-it-until-we-get-it-right-and-make-it-a-hit Star Trek series, the ideas of the shows that did get produced were
far more ambitious.
The PCM
2.0 sound is from the original three-track magnetic masters the music was
recorded on and in a great additional development, all 14 tracks are actually
in stereo! I was impressed and having
heard the music in mono from these shows in the occasional broadcasts of the
episodes, this is a revelation.
Rosenthal’s music includes the wacky theme song and the majority of the
compositions, including Bumpers. This is a simple and brief two-part piece
that is meant to cushion the commercial breaks.
Other music for select episodes is by Jeff Alexander (Capture), Jerold Immel (The Innocent, Half Life) and Bruce
Broughton (Fear Factor, Night Visitors). Needless to say, this is the debut of the
music outside of the episodes on CD or any other format and the music outside
of the “disco” theme is much better than expected. Electronics are rarely used on these tracks.
M-G-M TV
had high hopes for the show, higher than CBS did, who did not even broadcast
the final three episodes. This included
trying to launch an action figure collection with then-hot Mego toys. Very recently, prototypes for three of the
four 9” action figures surfaced and dupes in their popular 8” configuration
have surfaced as custom items. Look on
the web for more details.
Having
been a moderate hit, it is a surprise M-G-M did not continue making more
feature films from William F. Nolan’s Logan books, as there were three of
them. The studio had censored the film
(as the extras on the long out of print LaserDisc Special Edition of the film
explains) and may have preferred a conservative approach, but a sequel film
would have been in the works instead of this TV series and it could have
capitalized on Star Wars quicker
than any other studio in town. The
original M-G-M might even still be with us today if this had happened, but they
were cutting back feature film production, which turned out to be a fatal
mistake to the company.
The
series has never been issued on home video of any kind, but if Warner Bros.
(now the owners of all M-G-M films and TV series to 1986) puts the entire
series on DVD, they should go back to these music tracks and do stereo remixes
for all of them. That may be more in the
cards than ever, since Bryan Singer (Apt
Pupil, The Usual Suspects, the X-Men films) is in serious negotiation
to remake the 1976 film for Warner. If
this happens, anything of the old film or TV show that is not out there will
likely be issued or reissued. Like the
incredible FSM soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith of the feature film, this TV
soundtrack is limited to only 3,000 copies, so we suggest you order both at www.filmscoremonthly.com while they
are available. This is one of an
increasing number of great TV soundtracks and with the even greater film score,
demand could likely outstrip supply even before the remake goes into
production. With the sound quality on
both CDs so exceptional, those interested would be making a mistake to pass on
them now.
The link
for the 1976 feature film FSM CD is as follows:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/191/Logan's+Run+(Limited+CD)
- Nicholas Sheffo
