The Music of Iron Chef Japan, Part II

It’s time for the second installment of this post by a guest author, William Raymer. (Remember, if you purchase any of the soundtracks through the links in the article, you are helping to support the Iron Chef Collection.)  –Keith

The Music of Iron Chef Japan, Part II

by William “Blissey” Raymer

This time, I shall focus on some of the lesser-known (compared to the “Triple Crown” films in Part I)films whose music was used on the original Japanese and English-dubbed versions of Iron Chef.

2ND CONFRONT: OTHER FILMS I

Other than the “Triple Crown” films, there are still some other films whose music was used on Iron Chef. Here is a look at some of them.

First up in this section is the score to the 1994 film Star Trek Generations (the seventh film in the Star Trek franchise), which was composed and conducted by Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series composer Dennis McCarthy. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

• Track 1, the “Star Trek Generations Overture” (which was used as the film’s end credits) (1STGO time code 0:00 to 0:26) was used in the finals of the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef World Cup 1997” special (ICC episode number 538b) during the pre-verdict entrance of Iron Chef Japanese II/Japan Representative Komei Nakamura and France Representative Alain Passard. (The 0:04 to 0:10 section of the cue was also used to introduce countdown segments in the (also)unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Best 50 Battles” special (unnumbered in ICC episode list).)

1. Excerpt used in the World Cup 1997.
2. Full Track

• Next up is composer Bruce Broughton’s score to the 1998 film version of the ’60s sci-fi series Lost in Space. The cue “Thru the Planet” (19TtP time code 0:40 to 1:07) was used during the introductory film of Dominique Bouchet in the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Millennium Cup 2000” special (ICC episode number 801a). (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)
• Next up is the score to the 1995 film Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie, composed and conducted by Graeme Revell. The cue “Freddy to the Rescue” (17FttR time code 0:00 to 0:11) was used in a sequence deleted from the American version of the 2000 “Iron Chef: New York Battle” special (but left intact in the original Japanese broadcast–ICC episode number 802aOA). In this scene, Fukui-san and the four Iron Chefs (Michiba, Morimoto, Sakai and Kobe) are en route to an event at a Harlem community center. The “Freddy to the Rescue” clip plays over the establishing shot of the van bearing Fukui-san and the four ICs.

1. Excerpt used in show
2. Full Track

• Next up on our list is the score to 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, composed and conducted by Cliff Eidelman. Track 13, the “Star Trek VI Suite” (the film’s end credits) (13ST6S time code 0:00 to 0:11) was used in the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Best 50 Battles” special (unnumbered on the ICC episode list) during a recap of the 1994 Potato Battle between Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi and challenger Katsuyo Kobayashi (ICC episode number 232), which was at #10 on the Best 50 Battles list. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

1. Full Track

• Our next stop is the 1999 film Wing Commander. The theme of the film, composed by David Arnold (01O time index 0:11 to 0:42) (For the record, the other cues in the Wing Commander score were composed by Kevin Kiner), was used as Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai’s personal entrance theme during the original Japanese version of the “King of Iron Chefs Tournament.” You can hear the Wing Commander theme during Sakai’s entrance to the “Grand Finale” (ICC episode number 736cOA). (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

1. Excerpt used on show
2. Full Track

In the next installment, we will focus on even more films whose music was used on the original Iron Chef. We will also focus on items from other media, such as TV shows and video games, whose music was also used.

William “Blissey” Raymer

Yuma, Arizona USA

7 August 2009