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After four seasons of godly revelations, lethal infighting and questioning their very humanity, the survivors of the Twelve Colonies have at last reached the “real” Earth- despite the fact that so many BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fans no doubt would’ve preferred the trek to take a decade or two more. For more voyages would’ve provided the show’s composer Bear McCreary with ample opportunity to write even more of the most entrancing, and spectacularly creative music heard on genre television, a grandly thematic mélange of ethnic music, powerful orchestras, unending percussive beats and ethereal songs. Some may have thought it heresy to hear Irish tunes in space. But anachronism has never been cooler than when in McCreary’s hands, as the composer made a near-complete break from the sound that Stu Phillips’ pioneered for the original ABC show. Yet he also ended up paying reverence to it as this revamp made its full circle.

But it’s not like McCreary isn’t going to keep going and going in GALACTICA’s world with his new, more symphonic approach to the show’s promising prequel CAPRICA. Then there’s music that will reveal THE PLAN that the Cylons had all along for the Edward James Olmos directed TV movie out late October. Top that off with Bear’s whimsical country sci-fi stylings for EUREKA (while remembering his superbly robotic work for the late, lamented SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), and you’ve got the one of the hardest working composers on television. And while McCreary has equally grand ambitions for a much-deserved movie break, he’s also taken GALACTICA’s music on the road, his “orchestra” recently performing acclaimed gigs at San Diego’s House of Blues to coincide with the Comicon.

Thankfully, amidst his dazzling reams of music, Bear McCreary is still able to squeeze in the time to answer a few e-questions about the creative path that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has opened up for him, a future that will hopefully never come to rest for the composer.

BEAR McCREARY: Arriving at the music for the BATTLESTAR finale was an organic, evolutionary process, although it was immensely challenging as well. The journey started with Ron Moore's idea to introduce "All Along the Watchtower" into the series at the end of Season 3.  He gave me no creative direction, other than to "make it sound “like BATTLESTAR,” so I crafted a Metal / Indian / Middle Eastern version of the classic Bob Dylan tune, with lead vocals performed by my brother Brendan McCreary. In the Season 3 finale, this piece was not only featured in the soundtrack, but was heard by characters within the show, marking the first time that music I had created became significant to the plot.  This cracked the barrier between score and source music on BATTLESTAR and, during my journey with Season 4, the music only further integrated itself into the characters' lives and fates. By the end of the series, I had written piano music for a character the writers had loosely based on me (the episode "Someone to Watch Over Me"), and found out that my 12-note theme that represented the Final Four and the "Watchtower" theme would be the source of Kara's coordinates to Earth.  Ron told me this several months before I actually began scoring the finale and it was an incredible moment when I looked back at how far my score had evolved. I can't think of another television series where something like this has happened.  The closest example in features I can think of is John Williams’ CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, where his iconic 5-note theme was heard in the score and within the story as well.  But, in that case, the composer knew as he was writing it that it would end up like that.  In the case of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, I started out solely composing underscore and, by the end, was having a direct impact on the scripts.  It was a steady, gradual evolution.  

iF: How many hours do you think you ended up writing for Galactica, and do you have a favorite piece of music among it?

McCREARY: When I throw all my cues into a single playlist in iTunes, it says the total is "1.3 DAYS" so that comes out to over 30 hours of distinct, original music.  Not bad for only four years.  Now, picking a favorite is very difficult, but if I had to (let's pretend you're holding a gun to my head!) then it would probably be "Diaspora Oratorio," a composition for choir, percussion and orchestra that I wrote for the closing moments of "Revelations."  There are some killer pieces in the finale too, but that uplifting vocal piece is probably the strongest writing I've yet done, for any project.

iF: How hard is it adapting your Galactica music to live shows, and how do you hope to continue, and grow with your performances of it?

McCREARY: Most of the BSG score cues adapt quite nicely, because I'm playing them on stage with the exact same musicians we had in the recording studio.  The only difference is, in the studio we can overdub, and get multiple simultaneous instrumental performances out of each player.  Until the next breakthrough in cloning humans, I have to strip down the arrangements a bit and make them fit within the smaller ensemble, because everyone can only play one instrument at a time. Now, I say "smaller ensemble" but that's relative.  We still have up to 17 musicians on stage at a time, and the sound at these shows is absolutely THUNDEROUS.  In fact, the live shows frequently impacted how I write for the series, because I would learn arrangement tricks while rehearsing with the band that would come in handy the next time we went in the studio.

iF: Most fans think you were robbed of real Emmy recognition, as was the show itself. Do you agree with that?

McCREARY: Well, I certainly thank the fans for their vocal enthusiasm.  However, I like to remind them that I'm in very good company.  Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis and all the rest of the cast were also never nominated during the course of the series.  I think when a series is out there in uncharted waters, doing things that people have never seen before, it can be hard for voters to understand or recognize unless they actually follow the show.  I have absolutely no doubt that this series will stand the test of time.  It doesn't require recognition from the Academy when it's already earned it from the United Nations and snagged a Peabody Award. Still, some consolation came the week after the nominations were announced. My "BSG Season 4" soundtrack rocketed up to #4 in total music sales on Amazon, charted on Billboard and we played three nights at the House of Blues in San Diego to screaming fans, many of whom had flown from around the world just to see us. Not. Bad.

iF: After the show ended, you've gone on to score the Cylon-centric "PLAN." Was it hard going back into that musical world after reaching an epiphany of sorts with the characters?

McCREARY: Yes, it certainly was.  I struggled with "The Plan" because I felt like I'd already said most of what I had to say musically with this series. Intensifying my challenge was the fact that the film takes place during the chronological past, so in some cases I'm literally scoring scenes that I've already scored before.  However, the fascinating thing about the movie Olmos crafted (he also directed it) was that he managed to bring a new perspective to events that we had thought we already understood.  So, that really was a watershed moment for me, when I realized that my task was not to attempt to outshine my work in the finale, but to look back from a new perspective at the series' musical roots. When fans hear the resultant score, they will recognize that it is has the tribal, primitive and aggressive trappings of the early seasons of my BSG work, but with the benefit of my years of experience up through Season 4.  I think they will dig it.  La La Land Records and I are hoping to release a soundtrack for the BSG movies RAZOR and THE PLAN in early 2010.

iF: What can we expect from CAPRICA, and how will your music link itself, and be separate from GALACTICA'S?

McCREARY: The pilot and its soundtrack CD are already released, and speak for themselves. CAPRICA is much more restrained, lyrical and classical.  I have stripped away much of the tribal, primitive and divine elements from the GALACTICA score, and used more chamber orchestra and (classical) woodwinds than I ever did on BSG.  However, there are subtle hints of the ethnic percussion and soloists that defined BSG. I hope the result is a score that stands on its own, but resonates even more deeply with BATTLESTAR fans that catch all the references.  One scene, in particular, features the sole melodic connection to BSG, and it’s a real tearjerker.

iF: It's one thing for the people behind the scenes to dig your music. But are you surprised by the true love that the Galactica actors have shown for it, especially in the liner notes for La La Land Records’ new Season 4 CD?

McCREARY: I was very surprised by the thoughtful liner notes I got from the cast.  I think it is very rare for cast and crew to be so aware of the music.  But, I had worked with them all on set as well as in postproduction, and they really became aware of how much the music was interacting with the story. One of the highlights of our concerts in San Diego last month was having about half the cast show up on stage.  We had our official MCs, Edward James Olmos and Grace Park, but were also joined by executive producer David Eick, director Michael Nankin and actors Michael Hogan, James Callis, Tahmoh Penikett, Richard Hatch, Michael Trucco, Michelle Forbes and Nicki Clyne.  They had all turned up to see the concert and support the musicians.  I even played a piano duet onstage with Katee Sackhoff, re-creating the climactic musical scene from "Someone to Watch Over Me."  The entire BSG cast and crew really feels like family to me.

iF: Why do you think SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES was cancelled, and how do you view your music for the show in hindsight? And if it had continued, where do you think the program, and your music would have gone?

McCREARY: T:TSCC, like every show that is ever taken off the air before the story is complete, was cancelled because it didn't have enough viewers.  It's purely a business decision made by business people.  It was an intensely satisfying show to work on, and I'm very disappointed that I can no longer look forward to watching the adventures of John, Sarah, Cameron (or Allison?) and Derek (or other Derek?).  

iF: Talk to us about what you have coming up for EUREKA, and is it a nice break not to write such "dark" music for it?

McCREARY: This season of EUREKA has some great surprises. We worked with a cast member who wrote an original song you'll hear in the score, and with another cast member who recorded a jazzy vocal tune. Very fun stuff, and yes, a nice break from the dark and dramatic music of my other projects. One of the most amusing subplots this season is about Sheriff Andy, who is a cyborg.  That technically makes EUREKA my FOURTH television series involving plots about robots that look like people, after BATTLESTAR, TERMINATOR and CAPRICA. If any network is planning a re-imagining of SMALL WONDER, I guess I have to score it.

iF: How do you hope to finally make the break to big screen movies?

McCREARY: I'm working on a film right now that it is going to be amazing.  But, it's a long way out, and probably won't be released until late next year.  Unfortunately, I can say no more about it at this time.

iF: Do you think you've changed the face of sci-fi TV music? And do you think you've left a legacy of sorts for new composers to the field to set course to?

McCREARY: No, I certainly don't think anything like that.  All I did was do the work necessary for the job at hand, and threw in some musical curve balls where appropriate.  I'm very proud of the work I did, but wouldn't go so far as to say that I've changed anything.  I'm perfectly content knowing that I did the absolute best work I could, writing music that allowed me to grow creatively and artistically during the four seasons of BSG.

Visit the composer’s site at www.BearMcCreary.com to read his musical musings and get the latest concert and scoring updates. Then buy Bear’s work from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA to CAPRICA and EUREKA at www.lalalandrecords.com,

  

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