My Top Ten Doctor Who Themes PART I

A lot of shows have great theme songs, but Doctor Who has one of the best in my opinion. There have been many versions of the Doctor Who theme because of the wonders of technology and talented composers. The theme has transformed and evolved many times during the 50 years of the program, along with its opening sequence. Doctor Who has such an iconic theme song and opening sequence (that I admittedly always love to watch with every new episode) that I’ve decided to compile a list of My Top Ten Doctor Who Themes split into two parts! Here is Part One!

PART I

10. Doctor Who Theme (William Hartnell, The First Doctor, 1963-1966) 

The original theme that was arranged by Delia Derbyshire had a very haunting, alien, enigmatic and strange sound to it, but that’s what made it such a great theme! Considering Derbyshire and Ron Grainer didn’t have a lot of technology to work with at that time, it’s pretty impressive how well the theme turned out, especially how they made the opening titles fade in and out. I would put this higher on my list, but there are just so many themes I enjoy more.

9. Doctor Who Theme (Patrick Troughton, The Second Doctor, 1967-1969)

This is another arrangement of Delia Derbyshire’s and it’s very similar, except a couple of changes for one the tempo is faster and this marks the first time where the actor’s face appears in the opening sequence. Patrick Troughton’s face fades in and out along with the titles, and there is also this cool kaleidoscope effect near the end of the intro sequence, giving it this more freaky, trippy, strange and sci-fi feel to it. I really enjoy this theme for the innovation and creativity put into it, and it was just so original at the time!

8. Doctor Who Theme (Tom Baker, The Fourth Doctor, Peter Davison, The Fifth Doctor, and Colin Baker, The Sixth Doctor, 1980-1985)

This version of the theme was arranged by Peter Howell, and at first I wasn’t a big fan of this theme, but the more Peter Davison episodes I watched the more it grew on me. This theme introduced the star field in the opening sequence with a cool sound to start the theme, and some cool synthesizer that is admittedly very 80’s haha. Despite that I still think the theme has a cool retro sound to it, it also is just a great theme on its own. The Peter Howell arrangement has this very sci-fi and strange sound to it, that’s haunting and mysterious but also filled with wonder (much like The Doctor himself) making it unique from the other themes I’ve mentioned so far.

7. Doctor Who Theme (Matt Smith, The Eleventh Doctor, 2012-2013)

This was Matt Smith’s (The Eleventh Doctor) second theme and first aired on December 25, 2012 during The Series 7 Christmas Special, “The Snowmen.” The opening sequence marked the first time since the classic series that we got to see the actor’s face in the intro. This intro was arranged by Murray Gold who has worked on Doctor Who since 2005 and is one of the best composers the show has ever had. The opening theme is very loud, bombastic, and has a nice bassline, giving it this grand and powerful sound, giving The Doctor this grand entrance so to speak. This version is different than any other theme I’ve heard in awhile in a good way. Murray Gold did a good job with this theme, and it’s a shame the opening titles weren’t as good as the theme itself.

6. Doctor Who Theme (Matt Smith, The Eleventh Doctor, 2010-2011) 

The first theme heard during Matt Smith’s debut as The Eleventh Doctor in “The Eleventh Hour.” This theme also arranged by Murray Gold was a little more fast paced than the classic themes, and had the Murray Gold bassline along with some drums. The intro showed The Doctor’s TARDIS travelling through a cloudy and foreboding time vortex until his TARDIS is struck by lightning causing it to spin out of view. The really great thing about the opening sequence was how the D and W to form Doctor Who looked like The TARDIS and during the intro it actually turned into the TARDIS and flew down the vortex, that was very a clever and creative idea! This is probably one of my favorite Doctor Who themes, because this theme gives you a sense of adventure and excitement (what it would be like to travel with The Doctor). Suffice to say this theme grew on me very quickly and I was very excited to watch a new episode once this theme kicked in!

This concludes Part I of My Top Ten Doctor Who Themes! Part II will be up shortly!