Soundtrack: Torchwood: Children of Earth
Composer: Ben Foster
Label: Silva Screen Records
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Torchwood‘s abbreviated third season, titled “Children of Earth,” is about as dark as I’ve ever seen television get. Throughout, there’s a sense of foreboding, urgency, and a call to action which the score accurately reflects. The opening track, “The First Sacrifice,” has a kind of childlike, fantastic quality about it which morphs into a more nightmarish melody; it is recalled later in “Clement MacDonald” and “Clem Remembers” (with haunting vocals added on the latter). The 4-5-6 have their own motif as well which features prominently throughout the entire soundtrack but is most distinguishable in “Something’s Coming.”
Starting with “Diplomatic Cars,” there’s a motif for all the government’s affairs; appropriately, it has a dutiful air about it and is punctuated with some commanding brass. In “Phase Two Has Begun,” it’s melded with the 4-5-6 theme to evoke a particularly desperate feeling. Meanwhile, Torchwood’s “do what we must” attitude is illustrated in the (somewhat ironically) triumphant “Judgement Day.” Ianto is given a theme, first heard in “Ianto Jones” but developed further with vocals and rock-like drums in the sorrowful yet celebratory “The Ballad Of Ianto Jones.”
“Sacrifice & Salvation” is, as is the part of the narrative it scores, a perfect mix of horror, sorrow, and relief. “Redemption” follows it with mournful strings and a young boy’s haunting vocals which are also heard in the earlier track “The Children Of Earth.” Finally, “I Can Run Forever” closes the fifth episode with a combination of Jack’s and Ianto’s themes. Interestingly, the regular Torchwood theme song does not seem to appear on this soundtrack; “Here Comes Torchwood” is based mostly on Jack’s theme.
The soundtrack is certainly dark and mournful throughout, but it also contains a lot of rousing percussion and brass which tempers the desperation and despair. One of the strengths of the series is the constant sense of building tension, which Foster deftly mirrors in the score. With 40 tracks and over an hour and fifteen minutes’ worth of music, this is a fabulous accompaniment to the series and definitely worth checking out if you enjoyed the five-night event.
Track Listing:
Day One
1. “The First Sacrifice” (1:25)
2. “What’s Occurring?” (2:10)
3. “Jack’s Daughter” (1:28)
4. “Diplomatic Cars” (1:20)
5. “We Are Coming” (1:12)
6. “Thames House” (1:53)
7. “Double Crossed” (1:26)
8. “Countdown To Destruction” (1:52)
Day Two
9. “The Crater” (1:00)
10. “Torchwood Hunted” (1:42)
11. “Gwen’s Baby” (1:03)
12. “On The Run” (1:13)
13. “Jack In A Box” (1:34)
15. “Tractor Attack” (2:21)
16. “Resurrection” (1:11)
Day Three
17. “Clement Macdonald” (2:05)
18. “Something’s Coming” (2:35)
19. “Eye Spy” (1:20)
20. “Trust Nobody” (1:46)
21. “The World Looks To The Skies” (2:10)
Day Four
22. “Jack’s Secret” (1:36)
23. “Clem Remembers” (1:34)
24. “Judgement Day” (4:05)
25. “Requiem For The Fallen” (1:23)
26. “The Ballad Of Ianto Jones” (4:36)
Day Five
27. “The Final Day” (0:40)
28. “Calm Before The Storm” (3:22)
29. “Phase Two Has Begun” (1:50)
30. “Requisition 31” (2:38)
31. “He Was A Good Man” (1:39)
32. “The Children Of Earth” (3:27)
33. “Breaking The Connection” (2:25)
34. “Fighting Back” (2:02)
35. “Run For Your Lives” (1:13)
36. “Sacrifice And Salvation” (1:39)
37. “Redemption” (3:13)
38. “I Can Run Forever” (3:28)
………
39. “Here Comes Torchwood” (2:24)
40. “Next Time On Torchwood” (0:31)
