Friday, December 27, 2013

A Love Note To A Theme Song

There are few things more maligned in Star Trek than the Enterprise theme song. Written by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson, Faith of the Heart is a complete break from the traditional, sweeping, orchestral themes used in modern Trek. People (and by people I mean Star Trek fans) hated the theme. They hated it. They wrote letters to UPN trying to get it removed. They wailed and flailed all over the internet about how it's "not Star Trek" saying, "We wish to express our unmitigated disgust with the theme song that has been selected for the new 'Enterprise' series, it is not fit to be scraped off the bottom of a Klingon's boot." Simon Pegg even went into full-on Angry Fanboy Mode and condemned the song saying that it's the reason he never even tried Enterprise--which is a shame. And, even my dear old dad calls it "that graduation song."

But, here's the thing. I loved it.

Do I like the song itself? Have I ever listened to it in my car or on my ipod? Nope. It's really not my kind of thing. I don't get into soft rock ballads with overly sweet lyrics. But I don't think this revelation really means much. I don't blast the TOS, TNG, DS9, or Voyager themes while I'm running or driving or writing either. And, I like/love all the other Star Trek openings.

I love the Enterprise opening. I loved it from the start. I think I liked the departure from previous Trek. I think that, once we got to the end of Voyager, Star Trek had already kind of run its course in terms of plot and gimmicks and ideas and I think one more orchestral score while we looked at planets and exteriors of the ship would've just been more of the same. We needed something new for a new kind of show.

It helps that I'm a space history fan. I can look at still pictures of Amelia Earhart, astronauts in Snoopy hats and Chuck Yeager in front of Glamorous Glennis and get all misty-eyed. But it's not the imagery alone that gets me. I like the sentiment of the song. I know it's kind of cheesy and obvious but it's also sincere and I've talked a lot here about how much sincerity means to me.

My dad is right. It is a graduation song. It's about a time in Star Trek history when everyone was wide-eyed and excited about a universe they couldn't begin to understand while everyone older and wiser regarded them with disdain and doubt. It's about a bunch of relative kids heading out with zero cynicism and being greeted with nothing but. It's about believing that you're standing on the threshold of a brighter future. That's Enterprise. That's why I love the opening and that's why I love the show.

6 comments:

  1. Must admit, the theme song was part of what kept me from getting into "Enterprise" when it first aired. Somewhere I read that “Wherever you will go” by The Calling was another possibility they considered. Visually, I always thought the opening sequence was beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I love the visual part of the opening sequence! It's interesting that "Wherever You Will Go" is (at least to my completely untrained ears) virtually the same kind of song as "Faith of the Heart" and yet I can't imagine that as the opening at all. Strange.

      Delete
  2. My interest in maps, globes, flight & space history is why I do watch the opening song... every fourth or fifth episode, anyway. Your post has made me think about it in a different way- and I'm glad to consider this perspective. It's refreshing to hear a positive, thoughtful defense of the theme song. I don't dislike it as much as I once did, and I will try to remember some of your points the next time I give it a listen.

    On a related note, the Rod Stewart version of this song (which up to that point, I was unaware existed) came on while I was in a store not too long ago, and my daughter couldn't understand why I was freaking out about it. I'm really glad they didn't use his version used for Enterprise...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I know what you mean. Especially this year, it's hard to watch the opening of every single episode, for every single series, every single day, multiple times... And yes! I didn't realize the Rod Stewart version existed either!

      Delete
  3. I hated the song when the show premiered. I loved the visuals, though. Combining historical events with Sci-Fi from the Trek Universe was great.

    As the series has moved away, I've grown to accept the song. Don't love it, but it's listenable now to me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My first reaction to the Enterprise theme was "Ewww... that old Rod Stewart song!" lol It has long-since grown on me... but I agree it was the visuals of the opening sequence that squeezes some true inspiration from the lyrics of what is otherwise a pretty overwrought tune. (Voyager's theme is still my favourite.)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...