Most Wonderful Sound (Sugar Wiki)/Live-Action TV

Examples of the Most Wonderful Sound in Live-Action TV include:

Hearing the TARDIS on Doctor Who arrive has made most characters who understand the significance flip out with joy. (And it probably would do the same for most people familiar with the sound, were it to happen in Real Life.) The sound in question (the "rrrnt!--rrrnt!--rrrnt!") -- official onomatopoeia for the TARDIS is VWORP-VWORP—is one of the BBC recording techs taking a house key and scraping it down the bass string of a piano at varying speeds. This almost 50-year old sound effect is still being used in the current series. Why mess with perfection?
- In the episode "Love & Monsters", Elton describes the 'vworp' as "the most beautiful sound in the universe."
- The Doctor himself obviously loves it: In "The Time of Angels", River Song claims that the TARDIS makes that sound because he keeps leaving the brakes on. The Doctor's response?

Doctor: Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise.

- - So do the other renegade Time Lords—in the classic series, the Master's TARDIS and the Rani's TARDIS both have the "vworp" sound.
- Captain Jack Harkness' eyes spoke for us all at the end of Series 1 of Torchwood.
- When the good Doctor throws the switch to start the TARDIS, there's a deep 'clunnnggg!' sound that starts the whole dematerialisation sequence. Depending on how the episode has gone, this can sound like the end of the world, notably in 'Fires of Pompeii'.
- The TARDIS also has its cloister bell alarm, the sound of which indicates something has gone very wrong with the fabric of time and space. Hearing it usually means something truly epic is about to go down.
  - A recording. Apparently it was achieved by striking a gong under water, and the result is hauntingly beautiful.
- "EX-TER-MI-NATE!" Awesome for viewers. For characters? Not so much.
  - There's an 'electronic heartbeat' sound associated with Dalek control rooms, which has remained the same since 1963, and can cause excessive cold sweats just before the Daleks appear.
- This is shocking. How can it be that no-one has mentioned the Master's drumbeat yet? That sound sends shivers down every spine in hearing range.
The Reichenbach Ballad from Sherlock. Tears will fall.
Similarly, the CTU ringtone (bip-bip, BEEP boop) works the same way with 24 fans.
- Not to mention the awesomeness that is the ticking digital clock. Bip-THUNK, Beep-THUNK, Bip-THUNK, Beep-THUNK, Bip-THUNK, Beep-THUNK...
"Boop-bipbip, boop-bipbip"...
In Babylon 5, the human security forces were armed with a space age version of the Walther PPK that had to charge a capacitor before firing. That faint 'Buhwaaaah' meant 'action scene next'.
- The sound of the Hyperspace Gate powering up.
- The Shadow ships.
K.I.T.T. had its unique engine sound and of course the scanner SFX.
Airwolf and its famous roar/howling of superacceleration jets.
Many a classic Monty Python's Flying Circus skit, when performed for an audience, will provoke a mild ovation just with the first line.
- "Good evening ladies and gentlemen; here's a little number I tossed off recently in the Caribbean."
  - Then, of course, there's the old guy at the start of most of the shows: "IT'S...."
  - Well, by that extent, it'd be the foot stomping shit with that classic farting sound.
  - "And now for something completely different."
  - What? All this and no mention of the opening theme?
    - In all fairness, John Philip Sousa's "Liberty Bell March" long predated the show (just like the "Colonel Bogey March" long predated Bridge on the River Kwai), and so it's not really a theme and isn't automatically connected to Monty Python.
      - Says you.
In a similar vein, in SNL's first season, the sound of crashing as Chevy Chase falls over and then breaks character: "Live from New York! It's Saturday Night!"
Every Kamen Rider has a specific sound associated with their pose. Many an older fan would like the ability to produce this sound on-cue, as it tends to work as an Let's Get Dangerous cue. Example: The Shocker Monster of the Week is winning! Tokyo is doomed! Nothing can save us n- *Rider Sound*.

Kamen Rider: "Ridaa~...Henshin!"

- A good example of this would be The Movie for Decade, which gives us the majority of pose sounds for the 70s and 80s riders, or at least reasonable re-recordings.
- As well as the bike sounds. Not a "vrooom" so much as a "ZH-WHOOOOM".
- "Full Charge" voice from Kamen Rider Den-O. And pretty much all the henshin sound effects from Kamen Rider Kiva. And Kamen Rider Decade's Driver voice, especially when a Final Attack or Final Form Ride card is used.
- 1, 3, 2 - KAIJO-SHIMASU. *transforms GX-05* GATTLEGATTLEGATTLE...
- *DOO-deedee-DEE-dada-DEEDALEE, DOO-deedee-DEE-dada-DEEDALEE* *beep!* "Sword-Form."
  - "Ore sanjou!"
- Final Vent!
- Kamen Rider 555's henshin sequence. Beep-beep-beep! STANDING BY. "Henshin!" COMPLETE.
- ONE. TWO. THREE. "Rider Kick." RIDER KICK.
- "CYCLONE! JOKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Pretty much almost any Gaia Memory that's activated.
  - Especially EXTREEEEEEEEME!!!
- TA-TO-BA, TATOBA TA-TO-BA!
- Three... Two... One! UCHUU KITA!!
Go-o-o-kaiger!
- Final Wa-a-ve!
Everyone knows who Ultraman is, right? The sounds made as they transform signal the main battle scene, as well as the horrible situation everyone is in on-screen? It's gonna get better, starting right now. *henshin sound* *Ultraman appears* *victory is basically assured*
"Kawoosh", anyone?
- All the noises in a Milky Way dialing sequence: The "bwa-AWAH" as it starts up, the low rumble as the ring turns and the "Clunk-shunk" noise of the symbols locking give even the "Engaging Chevrons" padding a sense of awesome power, building up to the final "Whirrr-Kawoosh" and the awesome vortex effect.
  - Any sound the Stargate makes. All of them. The Pegasus gates, the SGU gates, the Supergate, all of them. Except for that one sound that sounds like static that means the wormhole is unstable. That just means nothing but bad news. And even the Destiny powering its FTL engines just before it enters FTL, or drops out. Hard not to love 'em!
- The "Dong-Zing" noise of an Asgard transport. Especially in the early seasons where it was still limited to Thor's calling card.
- The satisfyingly deep tone of Ronon's blaster charging and firing.
  - The sound a Zat gun makes when opening up, firing, and after it's hit something.
  - The staff weapon/cannon as it is fired.
  - The sound effect of the Goa'uld Glowing Eyes of Doom.
  - The undulating sound the ribbon device makes.
  - The *thud* sound made when an unwelcome someone tries to come through the Gate when the Iris is closed. Especially if they had just been chasing our heroes. One does feel sorry for which ever airman gets to clean the back of that thing with a squeegee.
"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise..." Best Opening Narration ever.
- "Pwsht-pwsht" of the Enterprise's automatic doors, the "eee-whrr-eee" of the transporter, and the "rrr-rrr-whoosh!" of warp drive.
- The highly distinctive door opening sound of the original series (the "pwsht-pwsht" made by crossing a flare gun with a shoe squeaking against the ground) would be continued in later series.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation. The warp engine powering up and "Engaging". Comfort food for the ears.
  - Incomplete without a ridiculous onomatopoeia: rrrrooooOOOOO--zzeeewwBOOOM!
  - So iconic, they used it not just once, but TWICE during the opening credits.
- And the doors of the holodeck in TNG (also cargo bays in Voyager.) Drrrrrrrr-kachoong!
- The deep, pulsing rumble of the Warp Core in Engineering. It just sounds like power.
- The sound effects on the bridge (any incarnation, but TOS is probably the most distinctive). It's like a wonderful symphony of technology.
- The "blip-blip-blip-blip blip-blip-blip" of a communicator. This Troper has it set as her text alert, and instinctively grabs her phone when she hears it while watching the show.
- A little present to help you all sleep at night. You're welcome.
Battlestar Galactica has the ominous clanking of the Cylon Centurions and the soft whirring of their red laser eyes.
- You forgot the taiko drums. The many, many taiko drums.
  - Sadly, the most badass and promising Taiko Drum sequence (1:11) comes immediately after the BSG logo during the first minutes of the pilot/mini-series, and never appears again. Still gives one hell of a rush when you start watching it again from the beginning though.
- Also: the grinding whine when Cylons appear on-screen, and the "shhh-WHOOSH-whine" of an FTL jump.
The gun-powering-up sounds from Firefly. You know asses are going to be kicked.
- And of course, the sound of Serenity herself, especially when she's the final shot of the episode.
- The twangy little western riffs as well. This troper realized how distinctive they were when she heard them in an episode of Castle and cheered.
The QI klaxon. Yes, a klaxon. Everyone except for the person who triggers it does the arm-raising cheer us Brits normally do when a waitress drops a plate. Yes, even the viewers.
- The QI theme can be this too, for people who like the show. Hearing that music from anywhere in the house always makes this Troper drop whatever she's doing and come rushing into the living room to watch it.
- "Alan goes...!" Insert Alan Davies' gag buzzer of the week here.
In a juvenile way, the explosion a monster makes when it's defeated in Power Rangers is very cool and satisfying.
- Just ask Gem and Gemma of Power Rangers RPM what they think about "boom time."
- The whoosh of the teleporter in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo.
- *KABOOM!* "AH! After ten-thousand years, I'm free! It's time to conquer Earth!" "Alpha, Rita's escaped! Recruit a team of teenagers with attitude! *beeb, beep-beep* *drumbeats* "GO-GO, POWER RANGEEEEERS! GO-GO, POWER RANGEEEERS! GO-GO, POWER RANGEEERS, YOU MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGEEEEEEERS!"
- "It's Morphin Time!"
- The Dragonzord flute.
- Doot doot doodit dit doot!
Somehow, the hatch's lockdown chime from Lost is just kind of satisfying. Mostly because it doesn't appear often but, when it does, something exciting and suspenseful is about to happen.
- The sound of "SYSTEM FAILURE" and the subsequent sound of the electromagnet starting up brings a smile to This Troper's... ears(?), for the same reason as above: cool things are going to be happening, and they're going to be happening soon.
- The siren of the monster is always exciting to hear.
  - And euphonic somehow, even the chilling "foghorn from hell" noise, but I especially like that sound like a chain being pulled across concrete or a rusty castle portcullis being raised. You can hear them all at this link.
  - And all of the above are made even more exciting by Michael Giacchino's score.
Two Words: Bomp-bom.
- It's actually more of a "CHUNG-CHUNG" noise, but still.
  - Word of God is that it's supposed to evoke a jail door slamming ("CHA-CHUNK").
    - If you isolate the surround channels of the 5.1 audio, you will also hear a gunshot mixed into the sound.
- The Something Awful L&O icon is "DOINK-DOINK".
- For the UK version my (American) closed-captions render it as "cell door slamming shut (two musical notes)". Interstingly, this is the only time "CHUNG-CHUNG" is acknowledged by the closed-captions.
  - As in "cell door slamming shut ♪♪"?
MythBusters asks us: What is the sound of one cement truck exploding? The answer: AWESOME.
The "plonk-plonk-plonk" sound of the clock ticking down in most Bob Stewart-created game shows (most notably Pyramid), which intensifies the situation rather nicely. Of course, it's Nightmare Fuel for some (like the contestants themselves).
- Same with the "Illegal-Clue" cuckoo.
The slight smooth sound of a chair sliding out in the Swedish improv comedy show Parlamentet. This is because most of the time, the competitors sit behind their desks as they make people fold double with laughter—so whenever they get up, something hilariously awesome is generally about to happen.
Vyo wei oh, hum va rey...
The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again"... *puts on sunglasses* ...makes any One-Liner awesome.
- YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
To fans of Heroes, the sound of two or more clocks ticking at different pitches in imperfect unison means that Sylar is about to do something EVIL and AWESOME.
Boom-deyada boom-deyada boom-deyada boom-deyada...
The Langley Productions Vanity Plate: complete with accompanying blues-rock riff
The One, the Only, the Classic, Star Trek: The Next Generation Theme Tune. Ba-ruppumpumpum, puppuppumpum, buppumpumppum-pum-pum-pum... Arguably even more classic and evocative than its predecessor. Doesn't it just scream Awesome Adventure?
- Which is, of course, a reuse of Jerry Goldsmith's opening fanfare of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, with a synthesized version of Alexander Courage's "Space, the final frontier..." theme.
In the not-too-distant future...
- "We've got movie sign!"
- The sound of the hallway of doors, signaling either a merciful break from whatever film they're watching or a return to the hilarity.
- And, of course, the so-called "MST3K Love Theme", heralding the end of an episode. And for that matter...

Dr. Forrester: Push the button, Frank.
Button: Chk-WAAAAH...

Another klaxon example: DING-DING-DING-WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOOOOOP! The "jackpot" sound on The Price Is Right, whenever someone wins the top cash prize in a pricing game, in the Showcase Showdown, or wins both showcases in the Showcase Round.
- Just about any example from Big Win Sirens, really.
"Answer there: the Daily Double." Bweedoo-bweedoo-bweedoo-bow-bow-bow!
- And that whooshing sound before Johnny Gilbert says THIS... IS... Jeopardy!
- The board fill sound, either the original 25-tone sound, or the modern 6-tone sound, it's surprisingly uplifting, letting you know that you are about to take part in a nice, stimulating round of trivia.
A more recent example from The Colbert Report is the Hilarious Arabic Chanting that made it's first appearance in Mysteries of the Ancient Unknown, and has become the stock sound for Arabian, Egyptian or Muslim-based skits.
- Accompanied by Stephen Colbert proving he has the most versatile eyebrows in the entertainment business. And then cracking up himself. This troper would totally pay to see Stephen Colbert's Mysteries of the Ancient Unknown: King Tut's Penis: Part 2: The Res-erection.
"Our category for this next round is Phrase." (ding ding DING ding!) Especially if you hear the second, higher-pitched set of dings afterward, indicating that whoever solves the puzzle wins a trip.
The theme tune of Castle (which interestingly is alarmingly similar to the theme tune of Sherlock) always fills this troper with joy.
- Yes! And then there's the part where Castle and Beckett walk into a bar and the piano player starts playing the theme song.
The Hockey Night in Canada theme, aka, the other Canadian national anthem.
Grr. Arrgh.
*PING!* *Sparkle*
THE CHAAAAMPIOOOONS! The full song verges on narmy, but the refrain is chillworthy-in-a-good-way in the context of the game.
During the theme song of Chuck, the noise when the stick figure puts it's head back on is... wonderful.
- On that same note, this troper thinks the entire theme song itself should qualify, particularly the trumpets that play throughout it. It's just a reminder that the viewer's in for an awesome time after the theme.
The Countdown timer, the ending especially. Do-do-doily-do-DO!
Whenever Arthur says Guinevere's name on Merlin. He pronounces it as though it's the most beautiful word he's ever heard, with emphasis on the vere, and there are plenty of YouTube compliations of all the times he's said her name during the course of the series. In fact, their very first Ship Tease moment was a scene in which he lies in bed, extends his hand, and says "Guinevere" as though he's inviting her to join him. Watch it here.
"In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles Underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help...and if you can find them...maybe you can hire... The A-Team" Cue gunfire and the theme song.
- Say it with me now: "I love it when a plan comes together."
The assorted sounds from Shawn's Sherlock Scan on Psych.
The "green light" bell of the Omni in Voyagers!
Robert Stack saying "UPDATE!" in that deep voice of his. Nine times out of ten, it means a mystery is about to be solved.

Back to Most Wonderful Sound (Sugar Wiki)