Doctor Who/Awesome Music

The Doctor Who score is chock full of Awesome Music.

Doctor Who Theme

 * The main theme of the series has always been awesome in all of its various incarnations (including the one for the movie, even if it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of them).
 * Special kudos to the version for Tom Baker's final season, as well as Peter Davison's run & Colin Baker's second season, with the synthesizer that sounds suspiciously like an electric guitar solo. That's right -- the awesomeness of the Doctor has been enhanced by The Power of Rock.
 * How awesome is the Doctor Who theme? When Ron Grainer (the composer) heard the final mix by Delia Derbyshire, he exclaimed, "Did I really write that?!"
 * What about the 2010 theme? Shivers of awesome at the Theramin...
 * Rather fittingly, Ben Foster and the BBC Orchestra managed to turn it Up to Eleven (as in, the Eleventh Doctor) at the 2010 BBC Proms.
 * The BBC Comedy Proms. Tim Mitchin in a Prince Charles mask on keytar.
 * Orbital at Glastonbury. Accompanied by MATT SMITH. There are no words. NONE.
 * World music trio Manta's version, from Spicks and Specks.
 * Seriously, it's impossible, IMPOSSIBLE to have a bad cover of this theme. How about when Craig Ferguson added lyrics? Or played on a Tesla Coil?
 * Speaking of Tesla Coils.
 * The Power of Rock materialised and gave us this version...
 * John Barrowman gave us a vocal version (along with David Tennant), in The Weakest Link Doctor Who Special. It's pretty hilarious.
 * People should also check out the song 'An Awful Lot of Running' by the band Chameleon Circuit. It's an original song about the Doctor, but it incorporates the tune to the theme song in it.
 * Actually, most stuff by Chameleon Circuit deserves an honourable mention on this page. It might not be actually heard on the show, but it's all one great big celebration of everything which makes the show awesome.

Classic Doctor Who (1963-1989; 1996)

 * The epic guitar riff from Survival that plays on the cheetah planet.
 * Paddy Kingsland's music for Logopolis and Castrovalva was beyond cool.
 * Although it was really just a simple bit of 80s incidental music, the haunting "flashback" music that plays as the Fourth Doctor is seeing the images of his old enemies taunt him before he falls is unforgettable.
 * ...And the slow descent of single synthesiser tones down a minor scale as we see him lying on the floor just prior to regeneration. Very simple and yet very effective.
 * The background music during the Daleks' fight with the Mechanoids at the end of The Chase is also pretty awesome.
 * The music in Androids of Tara, especially that absolutely gloomy wedding march in Part 4.
 * The fabulous, Gershwin-inspired "running through Paris" music from City of Death.
 * "Space Adventure", the Cybermen's theme The Moonbase and The Tomb of the Cybermen. This is why kids hid behind the sofa to watch Doctor Who.
 * It also plays during the fight between UNIT and the Yeti in part 4 of The Web of Fear.
 * That creepy motif playing over Oak and Quill's attack on Maggie in Fury from the Deep.
 * And the other variations from lost scenes.
 * March of the Cybermen from Earthshock.
 * The music that plays when Professor Travers is trying to reason with Mr. Genre Blind, and when the Yeti comes to life in The Web of Fear.
 * "Chromophone Band" from The Macra Terror.
 * Who is the Doctor?
 * The marketplace music from The Underwater Menace.
 * The entire soundtrack to The Brain of Morbius, but especially the bit that plays over the iconic Mind-bending Contest scene.
 * Likewise, the soundtrack to Pyramids of Mars. Wonderfully eerie.
 * Everyone seems to hate the "Sea Devils" soundtrack, calling it a glorified series of electronic fart noises- listen to this arrangement, which captures the most eerie parts of the music and avoids the least well-regarded snippets.
 * The soundtack for The Invasion, a cross between a soundtrack from a western with one from a spy thriller.
 * The soundtrack from Remembrance of the Daleks is '80s-licious, especially the bit (0:00 - 1:15) where Seven and Ace are tearing down the street with the Daleks hot on their heels.
 * The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon from The Gunfighters, while hard to find a complete version of, is a really catchy western tune.

Dr. Who and The Daleks/Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1965-1966)

 * They're cheesy and oh-so-60's, but the title themes from the two Peter Cushing Dr. Who movies (no reflection on you Sir Peter, naturally) are fun.

Big Finish Audios (1999-)

 * David Arnold's remix of the main theme adds layers of Creepy Awesome to an already awesome theme.
 * Gallifreyan Buccaneer is no less than a Continuity Porn Modern Major-General song.
 * The theme from The Natural History of Fear. A Suspiciously Similar Song has never sounded so eerily cool.
 * The unbelievably creepy music in the Eighth Doctor's "The Chimes of Midnight" is probably part of the reason why it's considered one of the best audios.

2005-ongoing revival

 * Most of the work of Murray Gold, composer on Doctor Who since the revival. Not counting the Theme Tune (which is hugely awesome anyway), "All the Strange, Strange Creatures" is particularly good, especially during "Utopia" as . Russell T Davies' instructions were to "give it everything". Magnificent piece, used to perfection in the series.
 * That song was used in the final few minutes of "Turn Left". As the Doctor questions Donna on the alternate reality that had been built around her, the music is soft and in the background. Then when she talks about Rose, the music picks up, and when Donna passes on the message, "Bad wolf", the music picks right the hell up and punches you in the gut. It's fast and crazy and can't help but get your heart pounding.
 * The scene in question, you can clearly see how the music builds up with the Doctor's Oh Crap face.
 * Also used to great effect in The End of Time as the Doctor finishes his frantic race back to Earth to face
 * "Doomsday", from the episode of the same name, contributes just as much to the Tear Jerker ending as the acting.
 * Whenever the Daleks' Leitmotif begins, you know that the body count is going to start soaring.
 * The Daleks up the ante in Season 4, with the absolutely terrifying "The Dark and Endless Dalek Night".
 * The new series' Cybermen Theme.
 * Hell, any music in "The Stolen Earth" gets CMOA syndrome. "The Doctor's Theme" and get upgrades (the former having first been unleashed in "Forest of the Dead"), whereas  become awesome without change.
 * The full version of the Doctor's Theme upgrade.
 * Then there's another not-on-the-soundtracks violin piece you can hear at the end of "The Runaway Bride".
 * Murray often uses big, bold fanfares in place of traditional tear-jerking cues for emotional scenes, which give them all the more power. The afore-mentioned "Doomsday",.
 * The glorious "This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home". Absolutely perfect, soaring, gorgeous, heartbreaking and utterly epic.
 * A short, dark, and utterly awesome version of "This is Gallifrey" plays at the beginning of Part 2 of The End of Time. The song, gives an inkling of just how twisted and desperate
 * A slower, sadder version pops up in "The Doctor's Daughter", when, to steal from Russell, "things get Time Lordy".
 * Behold this bassoon-eriffic, subdued version from the 2010 Proms--followed by the magisterial Vale Decem no less, and showing footage of all the Doctor's regenerations. Extra points for the audience's standing ovations at Pertwee, Tom Baker and Tennant.
 * Starting Vale Decem 2 seconds before This Is Gallifrey, and playing with the latter's volume just a bit at times, produces a heartrendingly beautiful song. They play off of each other really well... the beginning is a little discordant, but it soon resolves. For example: the swell in T.I.G. at ~1:45 - it's perfectly mirrored in Vale Decem, and that's only the most prominent matchup.
 * In "Journey's End," when, there is some truly, truly awe-inspiring music: . Ten minutes later, however, and it's back to . Thank god Murray isn't leaving the show anytime soon.
 * The 2008 and 2010 Doctor Who Proms were a glorious Crowning Moment for the series' most bombastic themes, reworked to even more awesome levels.
 * Props goes to the medley of Martha and the Master's theme as well as "Martha's Quest", aka "Martha vs. The Master".
 * The Master, Magnificent Bastard that he is, gets two Crowning Music(s) of Awesome: "The Master Vainglorious", symbolizing the "Sound of Drums" that torments him every moment, and "The Master Tape" for his out-of-control lunacy. Evil WIN.
 * This remix in his second appearance is even more sinister.
 * One more, counting his singalong to Scissor Sisters' "I Can't Decide"
 * No matter your feelings about the two songs, the uses of "I Can't Decide" and "Voodoo Child" were each a Crowning Moment of Awesome for the Master.
 * "Song for Ten" from "The Christmas Invasion", and "Love Don't Roam".
 * It's not on the soundtrack album, but "School Reunion" has a beautiful little instrumental version of "Song for Ten" at the end of the episode as Sarah Jane says her farewells.
 * "The Stowaway" deserves a mention too.
 * My bad, bad angel/Ya put the devil in me!
 * How awesome did Donna Noble turn out to be? This track sums it up nicely. Seriously, it sounds like the sort of music that would be playing if the girls from Sex and The City were out saving the freaking universe.
 * Martha's Theme is pretty good, but "Martha Triumphant" is Exactly What It Says On the Tin.
 * The start of "Martha's Quest" is even more awesome.
 * ...and the ending is such a tear jerker, makes sense considering there are Toclafane.
 * The Doctor Forever has an epic part about 2 minutes in. It involves the score when the Doctor is hopping through the cars in Gridlock.
 * "Gridlock" also includes a bit of tear-jerking religious music: the thousands of travelers, stuck on the motorway, clinging to their hope and seeking solace by singing a beautiful choral version of "The Old Rugged Cross."
 * That moment when Jenny steps out of the clone machine. That electric guitar riff...
 * The piece on the soundtrack composed for "The Doctor's Daughter" fits perfectly with that scene.
 * The track in question.
 * Also in that episode, "The Source", which is another one of Murray's gentler and still-epic pieces.
 * Davros gets his own motif in Series 4, which doesn't quite suit him but is creepy as hell.
 * That descending brass sound midway through sounded like something straight out of Lost.
 * And speaking of creepy, just listen to the Blink suite or the music from Midnight. Anyone who can listen to those without looking around in paranoia and getting goosebumps wasn't really listening.
 * The "Voyage of the Damned" suite from the Series Four soundtrack. In particular, three passages: Astrid's Theme followed by a Braveheart-flavoured rendition of "The Doctor Forever"; the reworking of "All the Strange, Strange Creatures" as the Titanic falls before rising into a glorious instrumental of "The Stowaway"; and the finale with the Doctor's goodbyes to Astrid and Mr. Copper.
 * "Turn Left" got one of the most chilling themes ever, combining all sorts of recognizable snippets into one haunting piece that NEVER gets old. EVER.
 * "The Greatest Story Never Told". Very moving piece, especially in light of how little we know of River Song at that point.
 * "The Lone Dalek" Not only was it beautifully used during the episode "Dalek" but it was AMAZINGLY used at the end of "Doomsday" (admittedly, most people assume that the last piece of music in that episode is Doomsday or Rose's Theme).  This piece of music is one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces of music EVER.
 * In The End of Time part two, whatever that music was that started up when  That was pure badass. And it's a
 * Behold!. This song should be played loud.
 * Speaking of The End of Time, what about that song Ood Sigma sings for the Doctor?
 * The song is called Vale Decem, or "Farewell Ten". It's in latin, and it is actually a true goodbye to the Tenth Doctor. Apparently this translation is a bit rough and inaccurate, but it's close enough for us to get the overall meaning. That made the scene even more meaningful. If it was a Tear Jerker before, it's even more now.
 * "We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep."
 * The rousing choral crescendo that plays as the 10th Doctor begins to regenerate in the TARDIS. It's a reprise of "the Doctor's theme" that's been with us since day one of the new series, but it manages to be bombastically triumphant and desperately sad at the same time.
 * The music for Matt Smith's first scene. Geronimo, indeed.
 * In The Waters of Mars, a fast-paced, action-oriented piece of music begins to play in the climactic scene of the episode, continuing on until . It's such a fitting piece that pretty much defines the urgency and heroic nature of the situation, but what's even weirder is that a good deal of the same piece is later used in The End of Time as the Master's plan   comes to fruition. It doesn't sound a bit out of place in the new context and now sounds utterly diabolical.
 * That is actually a different version of "All the strange, strange, creatures." but the pace and the timing and the scene oh God with the aliens and the exploding, OH MERCY.
 * The scene in question. My god, the music.
 * The Eleventh Doctor's theme -- "I Am the Doctor". (version from the Proms included, for extra goodness) It sounds like the orchestra managed to purify badass down to its essence, drenched their instruments in it, and just started to rock the hell out. You know things are about to get intense.
 * It's also played over particularly dramatic moments and trailers (like this one), thumping you upside the head to say "This is goddamn epic!"
 * The music playing over his Badass Boast at Stonehenge is a track called "Words Win Wars". Trust me, he's the Doctor.
 * "A Useful Striker" is a football themed remix of "I Am the Doctor". It sounds EXACTLY how you think it does.
 * "Onwards!" is the version from the "Basically... RUN." scene, and oh yes it is epic.
 * Now in accordion form!
 * And in Utah form.
 * And now, Murray Gold on a piano.
 * The stirring, Dambusters-esque march heard during the Spitfire sequence in Victory of the Daleks.
 * It's given the fitting name "Battle in the Skies".
 * Unit Rocks, the second version. Wherein UNIT stops being the Redshirt Army, finally kicking ass and taking names.
 * The Dream of a Normal Death is one of the most beautiful orchestral pieces from Doctor Who. Soaring, gorgeous, and heartbreaking.
 * Especially the way it was used at the end of "Journey's End".
 * The Liz, Lizards, Vampires and Vincent tune has got to be one of the most epic themes (especially towards the end) of the 2010 series.
 * Amy's theme is a mixture of haunting and calm.
 * "" sounds like something out of Lost, right down to its name. Beautiful. It plays at the end of "The Pandorica Opens", followed by this eerie reverb of the track that creepily...stops.
 * The one playing during "Planet of the Ood" when the Doctor says "The Ood are coming home" was just so.....Suffice to say, it was the best timed line in the most beautiful song in the whole episode.
 * "The Shakespeare Code" has the track "The Carrionites Swarm", which rivals even All the Strange Strange Creatures in soaring epicness.
 * "Life Among the Distant Stars". Quieter, softer and sadder, but equally as beautiful as the new series' action themes.
 * How about the very first track after the title theme -- "Westminster Bridge". A crazy awesome Who / 007 mashup that's perfectly designed to let new viewers know they're in for a hell of a ride.
 * "I Remember You" plays over the climax in The Big Bang at Amy's wedding. It's, in a word, triumphant.
 * The Vampires of Venice is a very awesome song. It is also used in the 2010 Christmas Special trailer too. Good god, that's scary.
 * A Pressing Need to Save the World. Says it all, really.
 * A Victorian Christmas. A beautiful, epic Christmassy theme...interrupted by the sweeping jazzy entrance of the next Doctor.
 * "A Lonely Decision" from The Beast Below, which is both beautiful and haunting.
 * "The Runaway Bride". What better song to accompany the TARDIS chasing a London cab with a kidnapped bride? Then there's "After The Chase"...after the chase, another one of Murray's slower, peaceful ones.
 * Another theme of Eleven, "The Mad Man With a Box" and its Dark Reprise "The Sad Man With A Box".
 * Any track from Vincent and the Doctor qualifies, really, especially "A Troubled Man" and "With Love, Vincent". Not to mention Athlete's "Chances" at the museum.
 * Abigail's Song from "A Christmas Carol". Haunting, beautiful, and with a slight suggestion of the Arc Words "Silence will fall".
 * Two more saddening and heart-wrenching tracks from David Tennant's final moments: Four Knocks and this reprise of "Song for Ten".
 * Even more heart-wrenching when you consider the fact that the last thing the Doctor said before Wilf knocks was his astonished statement of "I'm still alive."
 * "You. Are. Not. Alone."
 * The Cyberman theme from series 2 turns into a dark march for "The Next Doctor", ending with a rousing hint of "The Doctor Forever".
 * "Hologram" alternates between emotional and triumphant.
 * "A River of Tears" is not only a very haunting piece, it also features backmasked sections, which symbolise River's relationship with the Doctor, always meeting in reverse order. And if you play it backwards you get a similar piece that sounds a little darker and more intense...
 * "Goodbyes". Bravo sir indeed.
 * "Rose Defeats the Daleks"...where, yeah.
 * This piece from "The Vampires of Venice," particularly from the 2:50 mark, where you can almost feel the Doctor's promise to "tear down the House of Calvierri brick by brick."
 * The End Draws Near, from the cliffhanger of The End of Time Part One, another soft, emotional Tennant piece that increases into a Time Lord march.
 * The Girl with no Name and Silence in the Library from "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". Very eerie, almost fairy-tale, quality to it.
 * A Dazzling End is the music played in "Turn Left" as Donna chooses to sacrifice her potential future self to save her potential past self so that her life with the Doctor continues to exist.
 * Slitheen is some really cool action music.
 * Father's Day is so downbeat and haunting.
 * The Impossible Planet. Some rather scary, mournful strings, evoking the ancient and impossible setting of the episode of the same name well, before turning to a more emotional piece of Murray's midway through.
 * Madame de Pompadour was already good, but then the Proms came along and made it all dramatic and chorussy.
 * Down to Earth is a sweeping big bang of an action theme that starts off series 5 pretty well.
 * You and Me, Amy is a sad remix of several series 5 pieces, before closing with a quiet, soft piece.
 * "Tell Me Who You Are", "Melody Pond", "Forgiven" and "The Wedding of River Song" are all beautiful, heartbreaking pieces symbolizing River, her identity, and her past as revealed in Series 6.
 * A Special Sort of Bus. No kidding.
 * Lithuania, a joyous fanfare.
 * The Patient Centurion is lovely. Listen closely and you'll hear a slower, more melancholy version of the melody in "I Am The Doctor".
 * "Your Father, the Last Centurion", aka the epic, swashbuckling march of Rory-badassery.
 * The bonus track "Emotions Get the Better of Him" from the Series 5 soundtrack is intense, to say the least.
 * "Come Along Pond", which later became used as the trailer music to "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe".
 * "Day of the Moon", truely heroic music played in The Girl Who Waited during the scene where Amy, Rory and Samurai!Amy fight off the handbots while heading back to the TARDIS.
 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is an amazing piece starting out small and sad, yet quite beautiful as the Doctor finds out about one of his oldest and best friend's death, then builds up to an awesome arrangement of I Am The Doctor that captures the bittersweetness of revisiting the events of The Impossible Astronaut and the death of the Doctor from the Doctor's perspective.
 * "The Majestic Tale (Of A Madman In A Box)", the epic, triumphant variation of I Am The Doctor that plays as the Doctor defeats the Silence and River's ensuing ass kicking of said Silence in "Day of the Moon".
 * "The Impossible Astronaut", yet another creepy One-Woman Wail.
 * "The Enigma of River Song", just this song.
 * "Help Is On Its Way". Scary, intense, foreboding, and all round epic.

Trailer music (2010-present)

 * The first trailer for the 2010 season has another awesome sound track.
 * The 2010 trailer music was Destiny of Mankind by Two Steps From Hell.
 * The music for the second 2011 trailer. That dramatic choral crescendo, followed by the eerie little coda. Shivers the whole way through.
 * That would be "Tristan" by Two Steps From Hell.

K-9 and Company

 * The K-9 and Company theme.
 * K-9! K-9!

The Sarah Jane Adventures

 * The Sarah Jane Adventures Theme.
 * Mr. Smith? I need you. *cue awesome fanfare*
 * Made even better by the reveal in The Stolen Earth that
 * One more: the "next time" theme.
 * At the conclusion of many episodes, there's this beautiful heartwarming little piano piece that just screams "it's not all doom and gloom".
 * The really lovely music that plays when Sarah Jane sees her parents in The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, as well as the heartwrenching score from the beginning.

Torchwood

 * The Torchwood soundtrack, mostly composed in series 2 and 3 by Ben Foster, gives us Owen's Theme and Owen Fights Death, and the epically creepy and haunting Pearl And The Ghostmaker. Not to mention some real Tear Jerker pieces too.
 * "Captain Jack's Theme". Pure. Win. Even better, it crops up in the aforementioned "Owen Fights Death". The companions' themes in the Who series tend to be softer, more melodic tunes, but Jack's is exactly the opposite.
 * Jack's theme becomes even more awesome when you learn that it was written for the end of Countrycide, and is structured around repeated use of the phrase, 'Here he comes in a bloody great tractor.' Which is just kind of hilariously brilliant.
 * Even better is Children of Earth: Day Two, when Jack's Theme is played for Ianto...IN A TRACTOR.
 * Don't forget "Jack's Love Theme", which is in complete contrast to the majority of the soundtrack in its simplicity and pure beauty.
 * The Children of Earth score is basically one long standout moment. "Diplomatic Cars" makes the government exciting, "Jack's Theme" crops up in various forms; and "Ianto Jones", "Requiem for the Fallen" and "The Children of Earth" deserve to be spotlighted. The album ends on a high with all major themes for the Torchwood team reappearing in "I Can Run Forever" before the bombastic march "Here Comes Torchwood".
 * Captain John's Theme from "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", with the organ and electric guitar swelling into a subversive crescendo as he swaggers across the screen.
 * Gray's Theme is just heartbreaking and haunting.
 * Judgement Day is...in a word, epic.
 * "Torchwood Theme" from the credits is pretty cool too. The use of the pattern from "Army of Ghosts" is a pretty neat touch. Also in the first album, "The Chase" is an action theme that makes you want to break into a run.
 * Miracle Day's slower-paced take on the Torchwood theme.
 * Out of Time is sort of sad, but nice.
 * "Calm Before the Storm" from Children of Earth, which begins sad and defeated, before swelling into a triumphant march at around 2:29.
 * "Run For Your Lives" is action-packed and rather terrifying.
 * "The Ballad of Ianto Jones", the utterly heartbreaking piece that accompanies Ianto's death.