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Cosmos had also previously gone through a major soundtrack revision;
now it would get yet another one. This time, electronic composer
Vangelis was actually on hand, creating new "Comet" pieces specially for
Cosmos (reportedly 21 of them), whereas the original 1980 version had
merely used pre-existing pieces from his various LP albums.
His compositions "Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three"
(which became the "Theme from Cosmos") and "Alpha" each appear
in two versions throughout the six specials.
One version is the old familiar one from the pre-existing LP's,
and the other is a newer "Comet" version specially created for
the show. These two compositions appear to be the only bits of Vangelis
music used in the original 1980 Cosmos that also appear here.
As with most of the rest of the score, there has been no proper
release of these new versions of "Theme from Cosmos" and "Alpha".
The only new Vangelis piece that has had a proper release is
"Comet 16". This appears in various places in the show,
most notably on all six end credit sequences, and on the
first two title sequences. Many people don't seem to
notice that the titles for episodes 3-6 revert back to using
the original "Theme from Cosmos" from Vangelis' pre-existing
"Heaven and Hell" album.
Many bits of other classical music remain the same, and there
is quite a lot of Hovhaness and Vivaldi here. But it seems
nothing of Shostakovich or Wm. Jeffery Boydstun appears in
this version.
The 6 episodes have also clearly been created in three 90-minute pairs,
as evidenced by the arbitrary division of content between
the end of each part 1 and beginning of each part 2.
Episode 1 - Other Worlds, Part 1
This episode used footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 1, 6, and 5,
but it has all-new unique bits that make watching it worth it
for those who have already seen the original shows.
There's a brand new opening segment of a Comet's tour of our Solar System,
highly appropriate since, at that time in 1986,
Halley's Comet was about to pass by the inner solar system.
Plus, in the 6 years since the original episodes aired,
the Voyager spacecraft had encountered Saturn and Uranus.
This version of Cosmos delivers the RESULTS from those encounters,
to replace previous speculation from the older episodes,
and in the case of Uranus, these new findings were "hot off the press"
at the time, as the encounters only happened in late January 1986.
These new segments are unique - much longer than the "Update" on
the 2000 Collector's Edition.
Also, some of the narration has been changed, to accommodate new sequences
and abridgements.
The episode also ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, as the Mars segments of
"Blues for a Red Planet" will continue in the next episode....
The Music:
Okay, here's something you don't see everyday....
Cue listings for Cosmos based on the 45 minute episodes from 1986...
the ones that actually had Vangelis composing new music
specially for them. How many of the reported 21 "Comet Movements"
have we correctly identified, and which of those also feature
on the 2000 Collectors' Edition DVD?
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up
to help keep some music better identified in my own head
as I cross-reference all the different versions of the episodes.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by a slow crossfade to "Comet 16" and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | Titles |
| Vangelis | Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three
also known as "Theme from Cosmos"
(original version from "Heaven and Hell", Side A) | Narrated Opening |
| Vangelis | Alpha (original version) | New footage of Comet touring Solar System |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | (just a few notes) |
---------- Commercial advertising break -------------
|
| Ludwig von Beethoven | Symphony No. 7, Movement 1 (excerpt) | Return to Earth |
"Chorale" (Steve Davies,
Robert Frederick Howes,
Barbara Courtney-King,
Bill McGillivray) |
The Restless Ocean - Prelude | KPM 1305 Impressions
("Ooooh"ing classical music) |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos (original version) | |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 19 - "Sea Slog" excerpt | |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Bassoon Concerto RV501 "La Notte"
Final Movement: "Sorge L'Aurora" | back to 1600's Holland |
| Gottfried Finger |
Sonata in C-Major for Trumpet, Oboe, Basso Continuo
| Movement 1 of 4: "King of Pies" |
|
|
(mislabeled "D-Dur" [D Major]
on 2-disc 2002 Cosmos CD album) |
| Keith Mansfield | Planet Earth (D) | Huygens' Clocks |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 19 - "Trekking Theme" excerpt | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | (just a few notes) |
|
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos
NEW "Comet" version!! | |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 19 - few seconds of tinkling | 11 seconds mixed over end of previous cue |
| Sergei Prokofiev | Love for Three Oranges Suite: Mv. 3 of 6 - March | for the Foot People |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Bassoon Concerto RV501 "La Notte"
Final Movement: "Sorge L'Aurora" | Image storage & processing |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Patterns of Patience | Intro [not yet the bit from DVD isolated track] |
| Alan Hovhaness | Prayer of St. Gregory | Io and Linda Morabito |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" | Extended!! :-) (over 5 minutes) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" | Extension continues... (another minute) |
continuing with tiny snippets from Voyager's golden record "Sounds of Earth",
also released publicly as "Murmurs of Earth": |
| J.S. Bach | Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Mv. 1 | |
| Traditional Chinese | Flowing Streams | |
| Blind Willie Johnson | Dark Was the Night | |
| Ludwig von Beethoven | Symphony 5 | infamous phrase |
| Gustav Holst |
Mars
| |
Traditional? /
Jean-Philippe Rameau? | Frère Jacques | (sung by children's choir) |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan", Movement 3 of 4 | (Mahler quotes "Frère Jacques",
but did not compose it.) |
| Gustav Holst | Mars | |
| Johann Strauss, Jr. | Blue Danube Waltz | (Marching band version) |
| Gustav Holst | Mars | (no Comet 16 at this break) |
|
| Gustav Holst | Neptune | (several excerpts) |
| Gustav Holst | Mars | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
Episode 2 - Other Worlds, Part 2
This episode used footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 5 and 4 (in that order)
plus some of the most extensive re-shoots of the entire 1986 special edition.
There's a brand new segment with Sagan shot in a NASA control center,
where he advocates joint U.S.-Soviet missions to Mars.
We also get the first of several new "garden" segments: -
This one discusses fossil evidence of a comet impact affecting evolution,
mainly by making dinosaurs extinct.
Some narration has also been changed, particularly as additional detail
surrounding Halley's Comet is merged in with the older comet segments from 1980.
These "Other Worlds" episodes have some of the best, purest, most unique extra material
to be found in the 1986 Special Edition of Cosmos, and come highly recommended.
The Music
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up to help keep some music better identified for cross-referencing.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by an unlisted slow crossfade to Comet 16 and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | Titles |
| Samuel A. Ward | America the Beautiful | |
| Jeff Jones | Pacific Eagle March | (on synthesizers) |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Concerto RV 443 for Piccolo in C Major,
Movement 1, from the top | Robert Goddard & rockets |
| Andrew Jackman | Frivolity | (more humorous replacement for
Rodger's "Theme of the Fast Carriers") |
| Richard Harvey | Reach for the Stars | (last 40% only) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Mars Lament | |
| Gustav Holst | The Planets: Mars | (skimming through Mariner Valley) |
| Gustav Holst | The Planets: Jupiter | (landing on Mars) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 1 (beginning) | Viking awakes, 1st photos
nice long definitive usage (over 4 min.) |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Concerto RV 443 for Piccolo in C Major,
Movement 1 | taking soil samples |
| Antonio Vivaldi | Concerto RV 443 for Piccolo in C Major,
end of Movement 2 | speculation |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Mars Lament | Wolf Vishniac |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | Terraforming |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" | Extended!! (nearly 6 min.) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Heat from Hell | low tones & percussions for Venus segments
(over 4 minutes) |
| Ludwig von Beethoven | Symphony No. 7, Movement 1 (excerpt) | Return to Earth |
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown - old classical | for environmental warning |
|
| Vangelis | Alpha (original version) | Comet stuff from ep 4, computer study
new narration - 5 missions to Halley's Comet for 1986 |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan", Movement 4 of 4:
Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch ("Strike" excerpt) | (briefly listed as "Energetic Strike")
Tunguska event - same as Ep 5 Miller-Urey Thunder |
|
| ?? unknown | ??Comet Movement? - Jurassic Rubber Ducky | Dinosaurs extinct - NEW footage
pitched up - fast; (faint quiet short) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - The Big Burn
| good deliberate start |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
Episode 3 - Children of the Stars, Part 1
This episode used footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 7, 3, 8, and mostly 9.
For those that know the original series, this one does feel like it is cramming in
too much too soon, and leaving out a lot. We get a taste of the opening Brooklyn
bits from episode 7, but nothing of the more interesting content about ancient Greece.
The older episode 3 is particularly badly short-changed, as we waste time on Sagan's
designed-to-be-bashed definition of astrology, without getting to the good bits
comparing the geocentric vs. heliocentric models of the heavens, or to the
story of Kepler and his laws of planetary motion.
What does fit together seamlessly is the jump from episode 3's lengthy varied interpretations
of the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major, to episode 8's look at how this constellation
and many others can change over time. There isn't all that much of episode 8 used here either,
but in that case, I think only the very best, safest, and cleanest portions made it into this
special edition.
At least 50% of the screen time here comes from 1980 episode 9's footage, and successfully tells
that episode's main story of atomic construction and distribution facilitated by the life cycles
of varying kinds of stars. Episode 9's material isn't quite finished, before we get another
sort-of cliffhanger to lead us into the next special edition episode.
The only content that seems to be brand new here is an examination of
the Beta Pictoris planetary disc: -
New planets may be forming from the debris in the ring around that star.
It is also mentioned that similar debris discs have been discovered around
some other stars as well.
The Music
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up to help keep some music better identified for cross-referencing.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by an unlisted slow crossfade to Comet 16 and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three
also known as "Theme from Cosmos" | Title Music |
| Keith Nichols | Handy Blues | (2 excerpts: end, then middle) |
| Alan Moorhouse | Starlight Serenade (end) | slower smooth sax/clarinet Swing piece |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos - NEW "Comet" version!! | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Pristine | ~1 minute leading from familiar portions
into rare extension... |
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown - old classical | |
|
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown - old classical | |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos - NEW "Comet" version!! | |
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown - old classical | |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos - NEW "Comet" version!! | |
| Galt MacDermot | Aquarius | (Cheesy synth version, with vocals)
(two excerpts) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Mars Lament - choir version | (w. synth) (connected universe) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Pristine | |
| Vangelis | Alpha - NEW "Comet" version!! | (2 excerpts) |
|
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | Cambridge |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Trumpet Concerto in D Major - TWV 51:D7
Mvmt. 1 of 4: Adagio | |
| Vangelis | Alpha (original version) | nuclear chemistry |
|
| Vangelis | Alpha (original version) | stars make atoms |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 1 | Star Life Cycle |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Corona Alchemy | Very cool & lively! |
| Alan Hovhaness | Prayer of St. Gregory | (Ghost of the Sun sits here in other versions) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - The Big Burn | |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan", Movement 4 of 4:
Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch ("Strike" excerpt) | |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos (original) | |
| John Coloff | Flute Call | Cry from the Earth, Side B, Track 10
(flutey oriental-sounding piece) |
| Trad. Navajo / Sandoval Begay | Night Chant | Cry from the Earth, Side A, Track 5 |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan", Movement 4 of 4:
Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch (opening excerpt) | (Crab Supernova) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Patterns of Patience | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
Episode 4 - Children of the Stars, Part 2
This episode used footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 9 and mostly 10.
In fact, this really just feels like a compressed version of the old episode 10,
missing some of the galaxy photos and the studio bits shot at the "Flatland" desk.
This is bookended by some of the remaining bits from episode 9. It all makes
a nice special edition episode, but it's pretty much all re-run material.
The differences in the editing and the soundtrack are the primary highlights here.
The Music
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up to help keep some music better identified for cross-referencing.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by an unlisted slow crossfade to Comet 16 and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three
also known as "Theme from Cosmos" | Title Music |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Patterns of Patience |
(continues beyond what is on DVD isolated track) |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | over 3 minutes |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Pristine | ~1 minute - This is the actual end of the piece!
Long crossfade obscures connection to rest of song. |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 2 | (2 minutes worth) |
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown | (unknown classical violin feature) |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | (just a few notes for the logo...) |
---------- Commercial advertising break -------------
|
| Blind Willie Johnson | Dark Was the Night |
("mule train" style music - 2 excerpts) |
| Harry Gold | Joy Ride |
(same 1920's Jazz/Swing piece
heard in regular Cosmos episodes 1 & 10) |
| Keith Nichols | Jelly's Blues | (Jazz of the Twenties) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Starfield Glitter | (unknown electronic - extended here!) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "Skyline" | |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Venus Goes Digital | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Code Generator Bubble | (lengthy overlap with previous cue) |
| -- no music -- | Sagan lands back on Earth / in India |
| East Indian music section...
| Clem Alford | Raga Sind Bhiravi | (with really pronounced opening) |
| Clem Alford | Raga Yaman | |
|
| Clem Alford | Raga Sind Bhiravi | (faint with echo) |
| George Fenton & John Leach | Lands of Beauty | (woodwind lead) |
| Keshav Sathe | Tabla Solo | |
| Clem Alford | Raga Sind Bhiravi | |
|
| Keshav Sathe | Tabla Solo | (slowly fading out) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Data Drilldown |
(slowly fading in, lasts a good 90 seconds or so...)
(beeping down-swooping electronics) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Pristine | (snowflake landing) nearly 3 minutes
An edit cuts to the final phrase early. |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos (original) |
(with a commercial break part-way through) |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
Episode 5 - Message from the Sky, Part 1
This episode used footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 2, 1, and 11.
Some narration has been changed.
The old episode 2 is the primary source for the content here,
as Sagan digs deep into the story of evolution, and the chemistry that supports it.
The bits that involve the Cosmic Calendar also require that it should now be properly
introduced, and for this it seems that a small bit of modified footage
from the old episode 1 is also carted in.
Only when we get past the final commercial break and into the last of the six segments
do we switch to material from the old episode 11 to probe the depths of knowledge
stored in DNA. This story barely gets going before another "to be continued"
notice appears on screen, and the old episode 11's material will have to be concluded
in the next instalment of the special edition....
The Music
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up to help keep some music better identified for cross-referencing.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by an unlisted slow crossfade to Comet 16 and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three
also known as "Theme from Cosmos" | Title Music |
| ??? Traditional Japanese | ??? alternate Japanese flute music | |
| ?? unknown | drum & drone sound | mixed in with flute music above
throughout the political-warrior-crab tale |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 1 | (mixed in with previous cues) |
| Wolfgang Mozart | Clarinet Concerto K622 in A Major
Movement 2 | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | commercial out |
|
| Vangelis | Alpha (NEW 1986 COMET version!!) | (nearly 5 min. long)
Cosmic Calendar introduced |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "Skyline" | (definitely the bit we know) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Chicxulub Requiem | (Sad bit for dinosaur extinction) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Corona Alchemy | most complete airing of this piece
(over 3 minutes) |
| Antonio Vivaldi | "The Four Seasons" - Spring No. 1 | |
|
| ?? unknown | ?? beep bop & drone | (unknown library SFX??) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Corona Alchemy | |
| Johann Pachelbel | Canon in D | |
|
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown solo horn notes | |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan", Movement 4 of 4:
Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch ("Strike" excerpt) | (briefly listed as "Energetic Strike")
(same as Ep 2 Tunguska) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Code Generator Bubble | (for most of Miller-Urey experiment) |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | (2 excerpts) |
|
| J.S. Bach | Air on G | (played on strings) |
| ?? unknown | ?? unknown - Jurassic Rubber Ducky | (descending squeaky electronic)
pitched down - slow |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Pristine | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
Episode 6 - Message from the Sky, Part 2
This episode is composed of footage from 1980 Cosmos Episodes 11, 12, and 13,
using about the same amount of content from each and doing a pretty good job
of trimming the fat and sticking to the main story.
Unique highlights include a brand new concluding monologue shot in the garden,
plus a few completely new effects sequences. Some narration has been changed,
chiefly to fit the new abridgements and tie everything together.
The Music
(Anything written in green text
represents a name I made up to help keep some music better identified for cross-referencing.)
(Also, black bars indicate where commercial advertising breaks occurred;
these are typically preceded by an unlisted slow crossfade to Comet 16 and a Cosmos logo.)
| Composer/Performer | Title | Notes |
| Vangelis | Symphony to the Powers B, Movement Three
also known as "Theme from Cosmos" | Title Music |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 19 - "Trekking Theme" excerpt | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Venus Goes Digital | |
| Johann Pachelbel | Canon in D | |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 4 - Movement 1 | (two excerpts) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Rockin' Construct Lurch | (all-new portions) |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Patterns of Patience | |
| Georg Philipp Telemann | Trumpet Concerto in D Major - TWV 51:D7
Mvmt. 1 of 4: Adagio | |
| Alan Hovhaness | Symphony No. 4 - Movement 1 | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 2 (beginning) | deliberate start |
"Chorale" (Steve Davies,
Robert Frederick Howes,
Barbara Courtney-King,
Bill McGillivray) |
Mysteries (version 1 of 2) | KPM 1305 Impressions
(spooky oooh) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Data Drilldown | (beeping down-swooping electronics)
(very deliberate start) |
| Vangelis | Alpha (NEW 1986 COMET version!!) | deliberate start |
| (prime number pulse sound) | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" (Alt)
alternate version or extension | |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - "À Voir La Lumière" (Alt)
alternate version or extension continues | |
| Alan Hovhaness | Prayer of St. Gregory | |
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - The Big Burn
| (deliberate gliss start) |
|
| ?? Vangelis? | ??Comet Movement? - Alien Vista 1 (end)
| (lone brassy synth lament) |
|
| Vangelis | Alpha (original version) | |
|
| Ludwig von Beethoven | Symphony No. 7, Movement 1 | (starts earlier than the usual excerpt) |
| Vangelis | Theme from Cosmos (original) | |
| Vangelis | Comet 16 | End Credits |
The episodes feature the following music-related credits:
- original music by VANGELIS
- Classical music selections: DELOS RECORDS
- Alan Hovhannes [note the bad spelling!]
selections from the Poseidon Records are used by permission Crystal Records, Inc.
- "Pacific Eagle March" by Jeff Jones, Fortune House Music / ASCAP
These credits would be exactly the same for all six episodes,
except that the credit for Jones' March only appears
on episodes 1, 2, 5, and 6, but not 3 or 4. This is additionally strange,
as his piece of music can only be heard in episode 2.
It is also curious that almost none of the suspected Vangelis Comet movements
appear here on top of the exact same footage as on the more modern 2000 Collectors' Edition.
(Humason's 1920 telescope observation of galaxies is the big exception.)
Most Comet cues seem to have been moved to all new positions, to fill in whatever gaps
they needed to. One wonders how much of each composition has never been heard yet
on any version of Cosmos...
Comments on this article are welcome. You may contact
the author from this page:
Contact page
LYRATEK.COM
|
Read the data capsule review for another documentary:
"Alien Earths" - A tour of early exoplanet findings by their discoverers...
Or, get an overview of all episodes of this series from our
"Cosmos" Episode Guide Catalogue.
|
|
