Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: Final Frontiers [Soundtrack]

Various Artists - Soundtracks - Film Scores, Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 1, 1998)
• Original Release Date: December 1, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Tee Vee Tunes
• ASIN: B00000G4T3
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,885 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This first installment of Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits opens, appropriately, with two famous pieces, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (a.k.a. the prelude to Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra) and "Star Wars" (a.k.a. John Williams's variation on Holst's The Planets), and further mines film and TV history for interstellar anthems. Much of this stuff is predictable; different selections from films like The Black Hole and Blade Runner would have been more interesting. Yet there are diamonds in the rough, including the eerily disjointed theme to Planet of the Apes, the psychedelic electronic swirl of Dr. Who, and the squealing strings of Alien (before such a concept became cinema cliché). This is a decent dedication to those brave souls exploring the furthest reaches of space. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting !!....but beware, April 17, 2002

By 

Lim Chong Eu (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: Final Frontiers (Audio CD)

Whoa !! When I first saw this on Amazon, I did not hesitate to grab hold of this as soon as possible. There they are.....all the themes from TV and movies from the 60s to 90s that I've always wanted. But sadly, halfway through the CD, I felt a bit disappointed as not all are originals (and I wonder why they could not get their hands on them, since this CD is priced at premium). So beware of the following :

Track 1 : Space Odyssey to Track 4 : Return of the Jedi
These are NOT originals, but recorded by other orchestras.

Tracks 5 to 25 : are originals, containing many interesting TV themes from the 60s and 70s, except that, the theme of Buck Rogers is so badly mastered that it sounds as if it was recorded with a microphone direct from the TV box. They should have just dumped this track if they could not get a better recording.

Track 26 : Blade Runner is the recording by the New American orchestra, and NOT the original by Vangelis.

Tracks 28 to 33 : they are originals from the TV, but most are too short and some merely contains snippets of sounds and voices, not really worth listening.

But, overall this is a must buy, as you can only get all these themes together in this volume.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Repackaged, October 7, 2009

By 

Nik Ranieri - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Frontiers (MP3 Download)

This set is just another example of TVT repackaging a lot of their previously released material. Instead of getting originals, they get the next best (and cheaper) thing. If you like the movie themes on this CD, buy the originals and make your own compilation. You'll be happier. If you like the TV themes on this CD, you're pretty much out of luck, for rarely do the clean versions of these themes show up in commercial releases.
In TVT's favor, they are listening to their critics. This set was released before the NBC Must See CD and the 100 Greatest TV Themes CD set, which include all originals (and some actually from master recordings).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun collection, but few originals, October 10, 2008

By 

The Mystic Eye Of The Hipster (Murfreesboro, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: Final Frontiers (Audio CD)

This collection includes the obvious theme music: Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (Original Series), but has welcome additions.

Cult favorites include the hard-to-get Space:1999 theme, Dr. Who, Tron, & the suprisingly listenable Inside Space.

The quirky & inexplicable choices of "The Abyss", "Land of the Giants" & "Voyage To The Bottom Of the Sea" are present, albeit inappropriate in a spaceflight themed CD.

For the kid in each of us, the theme from "Fireball XL-5" a Supermarianation kids show, rounds out this CD.

But note--many of these themes, especially the more famous ones, are not originals, but new recordings, with the same or different performers.

Also, the "Buck Rodgers" theme sounds like it was recorded down a well or something. Fortunately, the complete soundtrack from the series is out, & can be purchased on Amazon.Buck Rogers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!