MURDER IN SPACE (TV MOVIE 1985)

MURDER IN SPACE, starring Wilford Brimley and Michael Ironside, is a flat bore with trashy sets and virtually no lighting -- but we were so excited by Arthur B. Rubinstein's main title music that we watched almost an hour before realizing that we had to start fast-forwarding.

This is one of those rare scores that grabs you from the very first note. After a signature Rubinstein flute motif kicks off the opening credits, the cue quickly shifts into something less than familiar in the composer's oeuvre: A giant star cruiser slowly glides by to the tune of authentic Arthur B. space music! Better yet, as the main title cycles through freeze-frame headshots of all the cast members (the crew aboard the space ship), the music launches into a rhythmic frenzy, channeling the very best of Jerry Goldsmith, but sounding like Arthur B. all the way It's like a more martial, driving version of the Tic Tac Toe finale from WARGAMES. 


MURDER IN SPACE features a bevy of themes for the different characters, but is largely driven by the four-note motif introduced in the main titles. The rest of the underscore is a disappointment by default, but it's chock full of top notch writing, including a welcome reprise of the Tic Tac Toe action music at the film's climax. The mix, as usual in '80s Arthur B. telescores, is largely outstanding. The music is fully audible during dialogue scenes and bursts to the fore for many thrilling transitional scenes. (This score has several of the best "guy walks out of the room" cues ever written.)

You must hear the main title piece.

Otherwise...

Definitely worth fast-forwarding

-- Jon Z and Al B  

The opening notes of MURDER IN SPACE are enough proof that Arthur B. is quite comfortable scoring music for science fiction space adventures. To this day it still ranks as one of our most exciting discoveries by the composer. Could this be the only Arthur B. space (in this case soap) opera? The suspense is scored with woodwinds reminiscent of even John Williams' Tatooine music from STAR WARS:





 A great example of the wonderfully explosive transitional music for a guy walking out of a room:





There are softer moments of the score with more of your typical Sci-Fi woodwind and warm string writing:




One of my favorite parts is the eerie sounds for the icy Russian exteriors and the intense brass for two men meeting at a park bench. Rubinstein masterfully makes this sound like a real caper with the main theme sounding like it would fit right in with a Sherlock Holmes mystery:






A guy leaves a park bench:




Here's a playful return to the opening chattering woodwind idea but this time in pizzicato strings:




Arthur B returns to music reminiscent of his Tic-Tac-Toe scoring from WARGAMES for the reprise of the main title material as the crew escapes from the Conestoga to return to Earth. The Russian theme can be heard briefly as Kalsinov unpacks a bag:




Music for Re-Entry:




-- Brandon F.   

Only released on VHS. No album or DVD released as of this post.