When it turned up in things like DEAD OF NIGHT- A DARKNESS AT BLAISEDON, the DS movies, particularly, and later those video-shot cheapies (Frankenstein, Shadow of Fear, Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest etc.) did most fans think it was fun and a treat, or cheap and tired?
Great question, Darren, and since I haven't sent you a personal note of thanks...here it is: "thanks" for your work on the complete DS music collection CDs. (Side note: do you think Mr. Cobert will ever offer his DS compositions in published form? I'd love to SEE the music on the printed page, even if in his hand-written manuscripts--and follow along as I listen to the recordings.)
First, I saw Jekyll/Hyde before I ever watched DS, and didn't make the connection until many years later. But I did see the Blaisedon pilot on ABC, and I thought the music was simlar to DS' music. Later, after DS was off the air, I watched the late-night ABC Wide World of Entertainment programs, with particular interest in the Dan Curtis shows (i.e., Dorian Gray and Frankenstein, and the repeat of Jekyll/Hyde. To me it was a treat to hear the music again. I even taped (on my old Panasonic cassette recorder, with the mic next to the TV speaker) Frankenstein (as I recall) and maybe even Dorian Gray. Those cassette's are long-gone, of course.
Interestingly, some years later I saw the movie Ladybug, Ladybug (long overdue for a DVD release, BTW) on TV, and I knew immediately the music was by Robert Cobert. Same with Scalpal, which I watched on a rented VHS tape from Blockbuster some years ago (okay, probably 20+ years ago!).
As for the other late-night shows, I didn't see them when they were aired, so I had no connection to them as DS shows/Cobert music. Same with Turn of the Screw. Somehow that escaped me.
Now, one more note--and does anyone else remember this?: The Julie Andrews Hour featured Rich Little as a regular (I think) and I recall one show where Rich was (maybe) a mad scientist and drank some strange potion....and they had DS music playing as background for the sketch. I recall/think it was what we now know as the "Barnabas" theme (but it might have been the "Laboratory/Cyrus Longworth music--hey, it's been 35 years, what more can I say. LOL).
Can I add that Cobert's music opened the door for me to a variety of musical languages, including atonal music and dissonance...most pop music at the time (except for Broadway and film soundtracks) was pretty boring in it's I-IV-V chord progressions, and I found Cobert's music very exciting and different. AS for modern pop music--I won't even start on rap/hiphop and heavy metal...anyone who calls those styles "music" should study the classics--or at least the film/TV composers of the past 75 years.
Brian