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As the title would suggest, this thread doesn't centre on any specific release, but rather (I hope) will open the floor for discussion on forms of media other than films that are regularly underscored with music, the two most prominent being the eponymous two art forms.
Now obviously the focus on movie scores from the big score-centric labels makes sense. Movies usually hit the 90 minute to 2 hour mark, and even if the film in question includes almost wall-to-wall scoring, that still means a snug fit on one or two CDs with room for bonuses. It makes perfect business sense to focus on movie scores, since they're easily packaged and often make an easy sell to their regular customers.
However, while this focus on movies is understandable and is certainly no bad thing, I can't help but feel TV shows and most definitely video games are neglected as a result. These words will no doubt ring hollow with the regular releases of high profile TV scores like Sherlock, Doctor Who and Thunderbirds by Silva Screen and in the immediate wake of Once Upon A Time, but these are exceptions rather than the rule. Intrada may be the go-to label to see older, more obscure titles released, but Silva Screen are only sort of an equivalent for TV series and there is no equivalent for video games whatsoever.
Don't think I'm pointing a finger at any labels and demanding they completely change their business models to fill this gap, that would be a ridiculous ask, rather I'm wondering whether anyone but me is noticing this gap and would like to see it at least partially filled. While there are still stupid, brainless scores for video games (*cough*Gears of War series*cough*), and cheap, quickly composed by no-name nobodies scores for TV, they aren't all like that, as some people I've encountered seem to believe. Perhaps the fact that video games rarely have the strong themes and thematic development films have due to their rather piecemeal nature, perhaps it's that there's so many television shows on in a day that it's near impossible for one to make a strong enough impression to build sufficient popularity to get a release, but that doesn't automatically mean they're bad or warrant no attention. Take, say, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a recent video game whose widely varied electronic score was no doubt only released months later due to massive demand from those who enjoyed it both in context and from the abbreviated taster CD that came with the collector's editions. Going further back, take Curse of Monkey Island, another rich score, this one full of Carribean flavour and atmosphere. However, it came out in the late 90s, too late to appeal to the retro game crowd who search out rare and expensive releases of NES-era chiptunes, and too early to be in an era where a soundtrack CD for a game is relatively commonplace in comparison to earlier eras. Were either of these scores a movie, I think there'd be quite a good chance they'd be picked up by a label for some sort of release (Curse probably in quite limited quantities, but still a release), in Deus Ex's case a far more expansive 2-CD album given the massive popularity of the score in context and the size of demand. However, one was never released outside of rips from the game files, and the other given a much shorter release than it deserved.
I must reiterate the point of this post is not immediate action to drop successful business models. Both TV shows and video games have a far greater quantity of music by design, and in the case of video games the varying recording methods and sound engines from game to game make the idea of remastering for CD a logistical nightmare. Rather, my point is to raise the issue that just because a score is created for a different art form does not mean it should be ignored or considered inferior. I won't name names or places, but I have seen first hand some rather disheartening... well, let's call it what it is, 'snobbery', in the soundtrack community that because a score was created for an art form other than films or media aimed at children or likewise it is somehow inferior. I don't want to start any arguments here, so I don't want to go into that further, but instead say that the fact that this kind of attitude exists at all is perhaps a sign that labels should at least consider these avenues. Again, that's not to say these art forms aren't represented, with IT, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, the various Star Trek series, the Halo scores by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori (the ones in the series not composed by them are of considerably lesser quality, IMHO), and yes, despite being less that it could have been, Deus Ex: Human Revolution all standing out as shining examples of things that are happening, but should happen more often.
I hope I've at least stimulated some amount of thought during this rambling wall of text. This is where I open the floor to you. Are there any TV or video game score you feel should be released, or scores for any other crazy kind of media form (hell, with Battlefield Earth at least even BOOKS can have scores, so really anything goes)? Why do you think that?
Over to you, guys.
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OBLIGATORY GRAIL LIST
Robot Wars (Parnell, Waddell)
Thomas The Tank Engine (Campell, O'Donnell)
Flight of the Navigator (Silvestri)
Digimon: The Movie (Harpaz, Plessner, Levy)
The Crystal Maze (Lawrence)
Blackadder: Back and Forth (Goodall)
Dune (Toto)
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