Gerald Fried Gerald Fried is an Academy Award - nominated , Emmy Award - winning composer from New York City who wrote the music scores for five episodes of . Perhaps his most notable " Trek " composition is " The Ancient Battle / 2nd Kroykah " , which played during the " koon - ut - kal - if - fee " fight scene between Kirk and Spock in . This music was re - used in many more episodes throughout the second season and became among the most memorable pieces from the series . The score has acquired cult status over the years and was memorably featured in the film " The Cable Guy " , and referenced again by Michael Giacchino in when beams down to Earth to confront . Fried was hired to work for the series by associate producer Robert Justman who knew his previous work on film and television scores . Educated at the Juilliard School of Music , Fried began his career as a composer for short films and motion pictures for his childhood schoolmate and friend , director . His collaborations with Kubrick include the acclaimed films " The Killing " ( 1956 , featuring Elisha Cook , Jr . ) and " Paths of Glory " ( 1957 ) . Fried moved on to work for director / producer on such films as " I Mobster " ( 1958 , featuring Celia Lovsky ) , " The Cry Baby Killer " ( 1958 , featuring Bill Erwin ) , and " High School Big Shot " ( starring Stanley Adams ) . He also worked frequently with director during the 1950s . His other credits for that decade include " I Bury the Living " ( 1958 , starring Theodore Bikel ) and the Jerome Bixby - written 1958 films " Curse of the Faceless Man " and " The Lost Missile " ( the latter of which stars Phillip Pine ) . During the early 1960s , Fried composed several television specials for United Artists . His film credits during this time include 1961 ' s " A Cold Wind in August " ( directed by Alexander Singer ) , 1962 ' s " The Cabinet of Caligari " ( starring Lawrence Dobkin and written by Robert Bloch ) , and 1964 ' s " One Potato , Two Potato " ( photographed by Andrew Laszlo ) . Fried went on to write music for a number of popular television shows in the 60s , including " Gilligan ' s Island " , " The Man from U . N . C . L . E . " , " Lost in Space " , , and , of course , " Star Trek " . He continued composing for films , as well , including 1966 ' s " Deathwatch " ( starring Robert Ellenstein , Michael Forest and Leonard Nimoy ) and 1967 ' s " Danger Has Two Faces " ( starring Robert Lansing ) . In the late 1960s and early 1970s , Fried worked on several films for director / producer . Their collaborations include 1969 ' s " What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice ? " ( starring Rosemary Forsyth ) and 1971 ' s " The Grissom Gang " ( starring Kim Darby , Don Keefer and Robert Lansing ) . After films such as " The Baby " ( 1973 , featuring Marianna Hill and Michael Pataki ) and " Vigilante Force " ( 1976 , featuring Dick Miller ) , Fried worked primarily on television for the remainder of his career . Fried received a 1975 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for the Lee Bergere - narrated documentary " Birds Do It , Bees Do It " . He then won an Emmy Award ( shared with ) for his scoring on first chapter of " Roots " , the acclaimed 1977 mini - series which starred LeVar Burton , Thalmus Rasulala , John Schuck , Madge Sinclair , and Ben Vereen . He also received Emmy nominations for his work on the eighth chapter of " Roots " , the 1980 John Erman - directed TV movie " The Silent Lovers " ( starring Brian Keith and John Rubinstein , with cinematography by Gayne Rescher ) , the 1984 TV movie " The Mystic Warrior " ( starring Robert Beltran , Nick Ramus , and Ron Soble ) , and Part III of the 1987 mini - series " Napoleon and Josephine : A Love Story " ( featuring William Lucking and Leigh Taylor - Young ) . Following his Emmy - winning work on " Roots " , Fried returned to compose the music for the sequel , " Roots : The Next Generation " ( featuring Fran Bennett , Bernie Casey , James Daly , Albert Hall , Bruce French , Charles Lucia , Bill Quinn , Brock Peters , Logan Ramsey , Percy Rodriguez , John Rubinstein , Paul Winfield and Jason Wingreen ) . Another mini - series he worked on was 1977 ' s " Testimony of Two Men " , co - directed by Leo Penn and starring Theodore Bikel , Jeff Corey , Logan Ramsey , and William Shatner . His TV movie credits include three " Gilligan ' s Island " follow - ups , " Disaster on the Coastline " ( 1979 , starring William Shatner ) , " The Return of the Man from U . N . C . L . E . : The Fifteen Years Later Affair " ( featuring Anthony Zerbe and art direction by Herman Zimmerman ) . Following 1988 ' s " Roots : The Gift " ( starring Fran Bennett , Avery Brooks , Jerry Hardin , Kate Mulgrew , and Tim Russ and featuring cinematography by John A . Alonzo ) , Fried retired from film scoring . In total , his credits consist of nearly 200 films , television episodes , and specials .