Doctor Who: Why it has the greatest theme tune ever

The Doctor Who theme tune is an incredibly important part of the show, and as iconic as the series itself. But what is it that makes it so great?

Ever since it started over five decades ago, there are a lot of key elements that have endured surprisingly well in Doctor Who. The TARDIS still looks like a police box on the outside. The Daleks still retain their basic pepper pot shape. And even the TARDIS noise has virtually remained exactly the same.

If there’s one thing that I’m especially happy that’s endured, however, it’s the theme tune. Oh, there have been many variations of it over the many, many years. But whether it’s performed with synthesizers or with an orchestra, high pitched or low, the core basic theme itself has always remained the same.

Whenever I heard that theme tune as a kid, it always put a smile on my face. Whenever I hear it now, it still puts a smile on my face. I’m sure this is true for many other fans. And you can definitely be sure that whenever I have a marathon of the series, I never skip the intro.

A simple tune

In quite a few ways, the tune itself is very simple. The opening bassline is essentially repeating the same two notes over and over again, while the main part of the theme that everyone remembers is just three notes.

That simplicity is one of the reasons why it’s so iconic. Especially in Britain. Virtually everyone in Britain recognizes that tune. As soon as someone goes, “Ooooooo-weee-ooooh!”, others will immediately identify it as the theme for Doctor Who. Simplicity always helps.

But I think what really helped it to be so iconic is that, while Ron Grainer should be credited for writing it, it’s Delia Derbyshire who really made it so special. To this day, that distinct electronic sound continues to be incredibly memorable, and it’s all thanks to the hard work she put into arranging it.

Variations

Unsurprisingly, there have been many variations of the theme tune over the years. Each variation has of course earned its fair share of fans. But the more popular versions seem to stick closer to Delia Derbyshire’s theme than others have done.

For example, for almost twenty years, the theme tune actually saw little change. Towards the end of Patrick Troughton’s first season, the theme was given a noticeable echo and a couple of little sound touches, but no more than that.

From Pertwee’s first season until Tom Baker’s penultimate season, the opening theme tune was slightly edited, with a shorter intro and ending with a little piece of the theme looped.

From Tom Baker’s final season, things started to be shaken up. A brand new synthezised version was created by Peter Howell, that aimed for a very different feel. One that aimed to be more thrilling than chilling.

Dominic Glynn created another synthesized but ultimately very different version for Colin Baker’s second (and last) season. Keff McCulloch gave us one final theme for the Eighties with McCoy’s theme.

Bringing the original back

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While these themes suit their Doctors and surely have their fans, none of them seem to have the same iconic power of Derbyshire’s original. Which is why Murray Gold made the genius move of essentially bringing the original version back. He added an orchestra to it to give it a modern edge, but that’s all.

Of course, with subsequent Doctors, he did move away from Derbyshire’s original version more and more over time.

But I’m glad he brought back the core original theme in a big way when the show came back in 2005. It’s simple, spooky and just needed the tiniest of touches to bring it into the modern era.

I hope that when we hear new composer Segun Akinola’s new version, it once again sticks very closely to the brilliance of the original. But even if the new variation disappoints, nothing will take away from the power of the original tune.

Do you agree that Doctor Who‘s theme tune is an important part of the show? Which is your favorite version of the theme tune? Let us know in the comments below.