Final Four Theme
By: Bear McCreary
Date: April 5, 2008
Source: Bear McCreary’s BSG Blog (TBG4: “He That Believeth…”)
Note: This is a snippet from BEAR McCREARY’s blog where he mentions AARON DOUGLAS / CHIEF TYROL. To read the full blog entry, click HERE.
Season 3 concluded before a hypnotic, rock-inspired “All Along the Watchtower” backdrop, but Season 4 begins with a cold snap back to reality. So the score enters simply, with the strains of a solo erhu, playing Kara’s Destiny Theme as we return to Kara and Lee, flying side by side. The oddly serene moment is not too last, however, and we’re almost immediately thrown into one of the biggest battle scenes I’ve ever had to score for Battlestar Galactica.
This sequence is immense, spanning the entire first act, and the music had to match. Japanese-inspired rhythms that first snuck into my work with pieces like “Storming New Caprica,” “Fight Night” and “Mandala in the Clouds” come to the foreground here. The entire ensemble of ethnic soloists, including er hu, zhong hu, bansuri, duduk, yialli tanbur, electric fiddle and duduk are tucked away behind the full arsenal of nagado daikos, shime daikos, tablas, frame drums, whale drums, and hand percussion.
However, what makes this battle cue unique is that it includes strands of a very important theme, that I now call the Final Four theme:
This riff was first developed while I was arranging Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” for the third season cliffhanger, although it is in no way derived from Dylan’s music. It will play an increasingly important role in the score for the fourth season.
The Final Four melody is first heard when Tigh pulls a gun on Adama in the first few minutes, hidden beneath a wall of electric sitar, violin and guitars, echoing “Heeding the Call” and “Watchtower” from season 3.
It resurfaces prominently as the enemy raider scans Anders’ eye and then breaks off the attack. And it is repeated again during the scene when the Four meet in secret. Viewers with keen ears will pick up distant refrains of this melody all throughout the fourth season, as Tyrol, Tigh, Tory and Anders each come to live with their newly-discovered Cylon natures in unique ways.