28 - The Twin Dilemma

Composer: Malcolm Clarke
Director: Peter Moffatt

What's the score?
For the first and only time, Malcolm Clarke provides two scores in the same year. This one, like the one for Resurrection of the Daleks, is largely atmospheric and full of growling bass sounds. However, there are no grandiose moments of the sort that brightened up Clarke's previous scores, and dramatic moments are largely reserved for the cliffhangers and scenes in which the Doctor has a funny turn and attacks someone. This is a small, intimate score.

Musical notes

• Let's first take note of the theme tune, which has been tweaked, as has the title sequence. In response to the new showier reveal of the DW logo, Peter Howell has replaced his original faint washing sound with a noise that I like to call "the thunder ripple". This brasher logo sound is of a piece with the more colourful title sequence and the boisterous new Doctor. The thunder ripple will remain in place throughout the next season, following which we'll have a whole new theme arrangement to listen to.
• The backbone of The Twin Dilemma's incidental score is provided by a childlike waltzing motif that is repeated liberally throughout the story. It plays over the introductory scenes of the Sylvest twins in Part One and becomes an all-purpose theme for them, but a harpsichord version of it can also be heard as the Doctor attempts to rewire the transmat on Titan III at the end of Part Two. We might think of it as the "maths genius" theme.
• As noted, then, the harpsichord represents the Doctor in this story. It's jaunty when he's in a good mood - there's a pronounced flourish when he delightedly produces The Coat from the TARDIS wardrobe. It steps hesitantly when he's preparing to stroll out onto the surface of Titan III. It startles when he's surprised by an armed guard in Part Two. When the Doctor bursts into a fit of anger, the harpsichord is replaced with more straightforward roars and clangour - we might take this as an attempt by Clarke to reassure us that this isn't the "real" Doctor we're seeing. Clarke alternates between the two musical voices to underscore the Doctor's mood swings in the TARDIS scenes in Part One. 
• The other synth voice to listen out for is the sad, reedy sound of the oboe, representing the sad, reedy figure of Azmael. It's most notable in Part Two when he gets some of his most contemplative scenes, and during his final scenes in Part Four. 
• We get a couple of "oo-wee-oo" moments in this story, to reassure us again that we're still watching DW. The first one, high and fluting over a pom-pom-pom bassline, is heard as we finally see the Doctor dressed in his eye-searing new costume; there's also one rendered in double bass at the end of Part Four over the line "I am the Doctor, whether you like it... or not!"
• In a surprising moment of musical continuity, when the Doctor briefly addresses Peri as "Tegan" in Part Two, Clarke reprises Tegan's departure cue from Resurrection of the Daleks. Finally, she gets a theme - after she's left the show! This is the last time in DW's original run that a companion will be referenced across stories with a specific musical theme.
• Sinister low-end growlings accompany scenes of Mestor, his palace on Jaconda, and indeed most of the rest of the story.

Vox pop
Back when we dealt with Time-Flight, I pondered whether a bad story could drag a good composer down. In fact there are several examples in DW of composers rising above poor visual material to provide solid incidental scores, but Malcolm Clarke really does seem to be struggling with The Twin Dilemma. In fairness to him, what is there for him to work with? Giant slugs? Annoying precocious twins? He's a concept composer - witness the watery burbling of The Sea Devils, the metallic clangour of Earthshock, the maritime whimsy of Enlightenment - and here he's given a story without a concept to latch on to. It's tempting to suggest that the grumbling sounds that pervade The Twin Dilemma reflect his mood at the time. But this score feels like a very half-hearted job; between this and the tried-and-tested character of the Resurrection of the Daleks score, it feels as if Clarke is running out of steam.

Availability

• The BBC DVD does not include the isolated score for this story, but does include a photo gallery featuring eight minutes of Malcolm Clarke's music.