Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 3, 1993 TAG: 9308030011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ian Spelling
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
On "Deep Space Nine," Odo and Quark bicker, but viewers sense that Quark may be hiding something.
The tip-off? Sinister music.
"Music can augment a scene, especially an emotional scene," says Dennis McCarthy, composer for both "Next Generation" and "DS9."
"There's also nothing quite as fun as having an orchestra roar through a battle scene."
McCarthy joined "Next Gen" in 1987 after a varied career in music that included nine years as an arranger/composer for country-music star Glen Campbell and several more as an orchestrator for Alex North, who composed scores for film and television projects.
"Star Trek" is not McCarthy's first science-fiction work. He scored the second "V" miniseries ("V: The Final Battle") in 1984 and worked on the weekly "V" series for a year. He also composed music for the '80s series "The New Twilight Zone" and "MacGyver."
"When `Next Generation' came up I was already friends with people at Paramount, which produced `MacGyver,' " he says.
"[Producers] Rick Berman and Bob Justman were familiar with my `V' and `Twilight Zone' work. They called me for the pilot ("Encounter at Farpoint") and asked me to make Alexander Courage's original theme and Jerry Goldsmith's `Voyage Home' theme work together.
"I did and I've done every other show since."
When Berman and Michael Piller developed "DS9," McCarthy was the logical choice to score the main theme and most episodes.
The few on which he doesn't work are handled by Jay Chattaway, who also scores some "Next Gen" episodes.
McCarthy believes the music helps set the tone for each series.
"`DS9' is dark. There's continuous tension and that's reflected in the rumbling music," he says.
"By comparison, `Next Generation' is idyllic, which is why we use so much classical-sounding music."
It takes four to seven days of writing and five hours in a recording studio with up to 52 musicians to create the 10 to 27 minutes of music needed for each episode, McCarthy says.
The results can be impressive - as evidenced by McCarthy's four Emmy nominations and the Best Music Score Emmy he won in 1992 for the "Next Gen" episode "Unification, Part I."
Much of McCarthy's music is available for purchase through GNP Crescendo Records. The company offers compact discs of "Encounter at Farpoint" as well as suites from "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Unification I & II," "Hollow Pursuits" and "Emissary." (For information call 800-654-7029.)
Looking ahead, the 49-year-old Burbank, Calif.-based composer hopes to lock onto the upcoming "Next Gen" big-screen voyage like a tractor beam on a Bird of Prey.
"Hopefully, I'll do it and that will lead to even more film work," McCarthy says.
Malibu Comics' "DS9 No. 1," due in August in magazine stores and comic-book shops, is written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Gordon Purcell and Terry Pallot. The original story, called "Stowaway," finds Jake and Nog accidentally unleashing a deadly Cardassian powder. ... Is Data a sentient life form with rights? This question and others led Nova University law professors Paul R. Joseph and Sharon Carton to publish an examination of "Next Gen" legal issues. Their article appeared in the February issue of the University of Toledo Law Review. ... Planning a trek to New York? Be sure to visit the Hayden Planetarium, home of the Star Trek Exhibition: A Retrospective of the '60s. Curated by the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibition features everything from costumes to Vulcan ears to phasers. Two highlights are "Orion Rendezvous," a laser presentation narrated by LeVar Burton, and "Skies of the Season," a star show hosted by Gates McFadden. The exhibition will run through March 6. Call (212) 769-5100 for more information.
CON CALENDAR Aug. 14-15
Helpcon '93 at the Avalon Hotel in Erie, Pa., featuring Majel Barrett. Write to P.O. Box 61, West Springfield, Pa. 16443-0061.
Creation at the Bonaventure Hotel in Montreal, featuring Jonathan Frakes. (Call 818-409-0960.)
Creation at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, Calif., featuring Patrick Stewart. (818-409-0960)
Creation at Veteran Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, featuring Michael Dorn and Armin Shimerman. (Aug. 14 only; 818-409-0960)
Creation at the Hilton in Syracuse, N.Y., featuring Marina Sirtis. (Aug. 14 only; 818-409-0960)
Creation at the Omni in Albany, N.Y., featuring Marina Sirtis. (Aug. 15 only; 818-409-0960) nn
If you have Trek news or trivia to share - or if you have questions relating to "Star Trek" - write to Ian Spelling, care of the Features Department, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like a reply.
by CNB