Gerald Fried: Amok Time Music Composer
2 min readOne of the best-known pieces of Star Trek music, composed by Gerald Fried, comes from the original series episode Amok Time, where Spock and Kirk face off on Vulcan in a fight to the death.
This piece of music, known as either “The Ritual” or “Ancient Battle” has been used in other shows and movies, such as Futurama (Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?) and Cable Guy.
Fried explained how he came to work on Star Trek, where he also composed music for Shore Leave, Catspaw, Friday’s Child and The Paradise Syndrome, and why he only worked on five original series episodes. “Bob Justman knew of my work, and hired me when the opportunity arose,” he said. “The series ended shortly after I worked with them.”
When asked how it felt to have become part of the musical lexicon of every single generation of composers since he created the music for Amok Time, Fried said that it was “one of life’s continuing pleasures.” Fried also enjoyed having his grandchildren discover that he had scored the fight theme. “I find it more fun to have the grandkids, four of whom are graduating high school and college, this month and next, stumble on the credits on their own.”
Working on Star Trek was a positive experience for Fried. “I enjoyed all the Star Treks. There was a good feeling surrounding the Trek series.”
Fried answered fan questions regarding his other work, which can be read by heading to the link located here.
Thanks to Justin Boggan for the tip!
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