Forgotten Women of Genre: Shirley Walker

March is Women's History Month. And while here on SYFY FANGRRLS we celebrate women's achievements throughout the year, we're going above and beyond for the upcoming month with a limited podcast series called Forgotten Women of Genre.

The field of composing and orchestration in Hollywood is very much a boy’s club, but Shirley Walker was not about to let that stop her. A long time collaborator of creators like Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, Walker is responsible for the soundtrack to our youth. She composed the theme song for The Adventures of Batman and Robin, she worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s her work we hear in that iconic airplane crash in Finale Destination. She co-composed 1989’s Batman theme, and if you grew up on DC superhero cartoons, her name would have flashed across your screen while you were eating your cereal. Shirley was an icon in the history of nerd music, and we love her for it.

Science fiction, fantasy, and all associated genres have finally evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream staple. But the women who have been instrumental in creating and shaping the nerdverse have largely gone unrecognized. Until today. Forgotten Women of Genre tells the stories of the women who helped some of the most famous fantasy worlds become a reality.