Still A Dreamer

Music has the phenomenal power to totally alter our moods, to make us laugh or cry, and to make us experience what a director in movies and TV want us to feel. Only because there is just one current show where I feel the music is truly memorable do I write this today. (But there were others in the past.)

That show is Boston Legal. Each time I watch it, I am always struck by the blues-y singing bringing us back from commercial or leading us in, the soulful guitar solos underpinning the points a cast member is making in court, or the yowzy upbeat notes when Gerry does a happy dance. For me, the music just underscores the juxtaposition of wackiness and dead serious attention to compelling issues that makes Boston Legal the show it is. I think it’s actually part of why I watch — the music is an extraordinary element of the show itself.

Perhaps no coincidence that the producer of Boston Legal – David E. Kelley – was also the producer of Ally McBeal, another show that was a favorite of mine, and again totally immersed in music. The unforgettable dancing baby that appeared in hallucinations to Ally to “I’ve Just Got A Feeling”, (or whatever the real name might have been), has made history, but her dancing to the song was every bit as memorable. Music was totally integrated into Ally McBeal and in part, why it was such a draw. Vonda Shepherd made a name for herself from Ally McBeal, but again, well-chosen music underscored the wackiness of the show and gave it tremendous appeal.

But perhaps the most memorable use of music in a TV show for me was in Twin Peaks; I can hear the opening music to this day, 18 years later. The music was all written by Angelo Badalamenti, and while dark and brooding, it set the tone for a mystery set in an eerie town with unusual, (to say the least), characters in bizarre situations. Twin Peaks was far ahead of its time as a television show, but again, the music created a mood that deeply enriched our experience of this series.

I keep listening, but I’m not hearing much nowadays on TV where the music is drawing me to a show the way these did, and how Boston Legal does currently. Then again, I don’t watch a lot of TV, so don’t bother with scores of cable stations. I’d like to think there’s more innovation and creativity out there in engaging our ears as well as our eyes.