Kevin Kiner

Kevin Kiner was the composure, the writer, and the performer for all the music heard in 'Superboy'. He was literally a one-man-show and the only one solely responsible for the main title score and all the indiviual music pieces for each episode. The music was arranged on synthesizers and performed from his own private studio. The series wouldn't have been the same without his music--it really had a special kind of energy to it; the musical scores were sometimes so powerful it would literally tell you how to feel. He just didn't arrange background music, he also gave central and guest-starring characters their own unique scores. Bizarro, for instance, had his own little theme. So did Lex Luthor. The audience would always know who was about to appear by the music alone.

For the first season of 'Superboy' , Kiner's synthesized music appealed more to a hipper 80's crowd. Not only did he make use of the popular synthesized music of that time, but of electric guitars as well. In Kiner's debut for the 'Superboy' Pilot in "Countdown To Nowhere", the opening title sequence shows John Haymes Newton flying over the golden gate bridge. Immediately, there is a rush of this very upbeat rhythum with electric guitars in the background. Perhaps the electric guitars were thrown in there to help appeal to the younger, junior high/high school (Generation X) crowd which was the target audience for the first two seasons. The 'Superboy' series wanted to modernize the legend; make the character modern (as was clearly indicated in the promos which Superboy was labeled the superhero of the 90's). That up-beat feel pretty much continued on through the second season. Yet the 1st season, being more reality based, was often very dark, maybe a little scary. In the 1st season episode "Bringing Down The House", Kiner arranged a score that combined a low, dark theme with the screams of women in the background. It was very cool to hear, but maybe a bit too frightening for children.

Seanson 2 had it's dark moments, but overall, it was more up-beat. We heard some wonderful music pieces in the episode "Superstar". Two original songs had been performed for this episode, and they don't sound at all that bad. The producers of the show decided to do something different with the 3rd and 4th season of 'Superboy'. The title of the show was officially changed to 'The Adventures of Superboy' and it was decided over the hiatus between season 2 and 3 that the show would became more "mature" in nature. It would still be Superboy, but it would feel more like Superman. That meant the music had to change. And it did. Maybe it was a little less exciting, but the character themes pretty much remained the same. Kiner had been working on the new title sequence for months and just couldn't seem to get it the way he liked. When the dead-line came, Kiner actually went with a different piece of music than the one he was originally working on. Interesting enough, the one we hear now in season 3 and 4 was composed in a matter of hours. It was a true creative impulse. The original title score that Kiner composed has never been hard by the general public, and it's whereabouts are viturally unknown.

Kiner's talent always managed to find a way to shine. A lot of "heart" and synergy was in his compositions and truely that attributed to the success of the show. Kevin Kiner is now composing music (as a one-man-show) for the Sci-Fi Channel, on the series "The Invisible Man". Previous to that, he composed music for the TV series 'Stargate SG-1'. Check your local listings and listen to what Kiner is doing today. Some extraordinary stuff. If anyone can build excitement and synergy in a series through his music alone, then Kiner is definetly the man.


KEVIN KINER LINKS:

'Leprechaun' (Interview with Kevin Kiner)
'Wing Commander' Soundtrack Review (Composer Kevin Kiner)
'Wing Commander' Soundtrack Review #2
'Wing Commander' Soundtrack Review #3
'Wing Commander' Sound Clips
'Invisible Man' Episode/Credits Giude



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