Gerald Fried

On his childhood and early influences; on music in his family and playing the oboe; on his musical influences when he was growing up; on attending Juilliard

On his first professional job - with the Dallas Symphony; on scoring for film - a Stanley Kubrick movie; on how he learned film scoring by watching movies; on his style

On his early memories of television; on films that he scored - mostly monster movies; on how he got jobs; on composing for M Squad, Shotgun Slade, and Riverboat; on overcoming writer's block

On conducting his scores for film and television; on working with musicians; on composing for TV shows Ben Casey, Slattery's People and Gilligan's Island

On working on the music for Gilligan's Island and the show's reunion specials

On the music and kazoos for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; on taking chances when composing for Ben Casey; on blacklisted musicians

On working on the music for various National Geographic specials; on the music and theme for It's About Time and Mr. Fantastic

On his work on Star Trek (including his work on the episodes "Shore Leave", "Cat's Paw", "Amok Time", and "The Paradise Syndrome"); on getting royalty checks from The Simpsons for quoting his music from Star Trek's "Amok Time" for Bart's anger scenes; on "Spock's theme" for Star Trek; on interacting with the cast; on attending Star Trek conventions

On working on the music for Lost in Space

On composing for Lost in Space and feature films; on composing for Robert Aldrich movies; on composing for "The Bell Jar" and TV shows Police Woman, Medical Story, Emergency, and Executive Suite

On composing the main theme and character themes for Roots; on the legacy of the miniseries

On working on incidental music on Dynasty; on using videotapes to help compose; on being asked to imitate other composers

On composing for made-for-TV movies, including The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd and The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel; on loving the Appalachian sound; on the "Gauguin" TV movies, "Murder is Easy", TV series Embassy, and other television movies

On composing for "Mathnet" on children's series Square One TV; on music for the documentary "The Secret Life of 118 Green Street"

On working on Roots: The Next Generations and scoring the theme to different decades; on composing for miniseries "The Rebels", "The Seekers"; on the Disney documentary "A Gift of Time"; on "Freedom", and miniseries "Mystic Warrior"

On working with Stan Margulies and David Wolper; on censorship in his music; on then-current projects; on how film composing has changed over the years; on composing for the Stanley Kubrick film "Paths of Glory"; on the role of music in a TV score

On the business side of television music; on the highlight of his career; on advice to aspiring composers; on his longevity in the music business

B-roll photos from Roots, Flamingo Road, and other projects on which he's worked; on demonstrations of some of his compositions from Star Trek