A Weak Case

First, comedian Harvey Korman. Now, composer Alexander Courage, who was undoubtedly best recognized for creating the theme for the original Star Trek series. Courage, who also worked on music for the TV series Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Daniel Boone--in addition to writing compositions for myriad movies--passed away on May 15 in Southern California. He was 88 years old and had apparently been in poor health for several years.

What makes Courage’s demise fodder for The Rap Sheet is a small note I stumbled over in the Associated Press’ obituary today. Reporter Robert Jablon recounts the composer’s TV experience, and then observes that “the only themes he created were for Star Trek and Judd, for the Defense. Some of you might have the same vague recollection of Judd that I do, which means that you probably don’t remember anything specific about that 1967-1969 series at all. Let Wikipedia refresh your memory:

The show starred Carl Betz, who had previously spent eight years in the role of the bland Dr. Stone, husband of Donna Reed in The Donna Reed Show. In his new role, reportedly based on high-profile lawyers such as F. Lee Bailey and Percy Foreman, Betz played Clinton Judd, a flamboyant attorney based in Houston, Texas, who often took on controversial cases across the country. Playing his top assistant, Ben Caldwell, was Stephen Young.

Even before the show premiered, Foreman threatened a lawsuit by saying that the program was “appropriating for commercial purposes my career as a lawyer.” Throughout the course of the two-year run of the show, there were never enough viewers to establish Foreman’s claim, although critics gave it positive reviews. Undoubtedly the skittishness of viewers was a result of the program’s dealing with then-taboo (though contemporary) subjects such as homosexuality, blacklisting and draft dodgers, as well as the open-ended conclusions in many episodes.

The show’s producer, Harold Gast, sought to break new ground with the program, using a number of new writers for scripts that veered away from previous television conventions. In addition, one personal experience involving credit card problems caused by computers became the basis for an episode entitled, “Epitaph on a Computer Card.” In 1968, Gast and writer Leon Tokatyan won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the episode “Tempest in a Texas Town.”

I was hoping that the music Courage wrote for Judd would be somewhat more memorable than the show itself. Unfortunately, it sounds much like other crime-drama themes of the 1960s and ’70s--boldly orchestrated, but nowhere near as haunting as what he wrote for Star Trek. You can listen to it here.

READ MORE: “One of Star Trek’s Unsung Heroes Is Gone,” by Joseph Merrick (Ain’t It Cool News).