Output details

'Boldly Going: Music and Cult TV'

This chapter was written in response to a request from the editor, following on from Halfyard’s previous publications and conference papers on music in cult TV, initially in the context of Joss Whedon, and normally presented at non-musicological conferences. Television music is a neglected subject, academically, and this is most apparent in two areas: the general reluctance (with a few exceptions) to theorize a model of television music as distinct from film music, with a focus on individual programmes instead; and the way music generally struggles to make itself noticed in television studies as a discipline. This chapter represents part of an ongoing project both to examine the distinctive qualities of television music and to bring discussion of it into the wider arena of television studies. The focus on cult television in the present chapter and in the wider collection does not present cult TV as a genre but as an audience-led phenomenon: particular programmes become ‘cult’, and it is worthwhile examining the characteristics of programmes that achieve this status on the back of fan activity. This chapter therefore addresses some of the significant differences between film and television scoring, but also discusses the specific role that music can play in a show achieving cult status. The essay’s inclusion in the collection has led to the commission of a monograph by IB Tauris on Music in Cult Television (forthcoming 2015), where this project will be further developed.