Space Precinct | |
---|---|
Released by | Grove Television Enterprises |
Producer | Gerry Anderson |
Executive Producer | Tom Gutteridge |
Music Director | Crispin Merrell |
Medium | Colour |
Episodes | 24 |
Duration | 43 Minutes |
Original Air Date | 3rd October 1994 |
Previous | Next |
Dick Spanner | Lavender Castle |
Space Precinct was Gerry Anderson's most spectacular series ever - a $36 million space cop show featuring live-action and movie-style alien effects.
Plot[]
Set in the mid-21st century, the story of veteran New York police lieutenant Patrick Brogan who gets a transfer to Demeter City, the crime capital of the galaxy.
Synopsis[]
Two hundred years ago, planet Altor in the Epsilon Erandi System was completely uninhabited, but by the year 2040 I has been colonised by alien species from the planet's neighbouring worlds, primarily Creons from the planet Danae and Tarns from the planet Simter. Considerable poverty on their home worlds and numerous trading opportunities on Altor have encouraged large numbers of Creons and Tarns to settle on Altor, alongside smaller communities of alien life-forms from other solar systems. A community of humans from Earth is the planet's third largest group of settlers and is growing fast.
Demter City is Altor's largest population centre, a major refuelling point and stopover for interplanetary freight. Consequently, the city has become a home away from home to a large transient community, and crime is rife. Keeping order in this unpredictable environment are the officers of Space Police Precinct 88, under the command of Creon Police Captain Rexton Podly, and based in a space Station House which sits in geostationary orbit over Demter City. The Officer's primary mode of transport is the Police Cruiser, a high-speed patrol vehicle that is equally at home in a planetary atmosphere or the depths of space.
Recently transferred from the New York Police Department on Earth are Lieutenant Patrick Brogan and his rookie partner Officer Jackson Haldane, posted on a law enforcement exchange programme. After 20 years with the NYPD, Brogan felt in need of a change and volunteered to join the Space Police. He has been accompanied to Altor by his wife Sally, their 10-year-old daughter Liz and 14-year-old son Matt who all live with him in an apartment in a huge orbiting Space Suburb, a friendly mixed community in a residential orbit around Altor.
Practically all of Brogan and Haldane's colleagues at Precinct 88 are Creons and Tarns, but there are two other humans, former ECPF (European Community Police Force) Officer Jane Castle and forensics specialist Lionel Carson, the station's science officer. They are assisted by the station's RSA (Robot Secretarial Assistant) Slomo who has instant access to all police files and records.
Regular Cast[]
- Officer Lionel Carson - Joseph Mydell
- Zipload - Rob Thirtle
- Zil
- Officer Sasha - Rob Thirtle, Andy Dawson and Will Barton
Episodes[]
(Production Order)
- Double Duty
- Protect and Survive
- Enforcer
- Flash
- The Snake
- Body & Soul
- Time to Kill
- Deadline
- The Power
- Seek and Destroy
- Illegal
- Divided We Stand
- Two Against The Rock
- Take Over
- Predator And Prey
- The Witness
- Hate Street
- Friends
- Smelter Skelter
- Deathwatch (Part one)
- The Fire Within (Part one)
- The Fire Within (Part two)
- The Forever Beetle
- Deathwatch (Part two)
(First USA Transmission)
- Protect and Survive
- Enforcer
- Body & Soul
- Double Duty
- The Snake
- Time to Kill
- Deadline
- Seek and Destroy
- The Power
- Illegal
- Divided We Stand
- Two Against The Rock
- Take Over
- Predator And Prey
- The Witness
- Hate Street
- Friends
- Smelter Skelter
- Flash
- The Fire Within (Part one)
- The Fire Within (Part two)
- The Forever Beetle
- Deathwatch (Part one)
- Deathwatch (Part two)
(Broadcast Order - Sky One)
- Protect and Survive
- The Snake
- Time to Kill
- Body & Soul
- Deadline
- Enforcer
- Two Against The Rock
- Predator And Prey
- [Seek and Destroy
- Illegal
- Double Duty
- The Power
- Take Over
- Hate Street
- The Witness
- Flash
- Friends
- Smelter Skelter
- The Fire Within (Part one)
- The Fire Within (Part two)
- The Forever Beetle
- Divided We Stand
- Death Watch (Part one)
- Death Watch (Part two)
(First UK Terrestrial Transmission - BBC2)
- Protect and Survive
- The Snake
- Time to Kill *
- Predator And Prey
- Body & Soul
- Deadline
- Enforcer *
- Two Against The Rock *
- Seek and Destroy *
- Double Duty *
- The Power
- Take Over
- Hate Street
- The Witness *
- Friends
- Flash *
- Smelter Skelter
- The Fire Within (Part one)
- The Fire Within (Part two)
- The Forever Beetle
- Divided We Stand
- Illegal
- Deathwatch (Part one)
- Deathwatch (Part two)
Notes[]
- Production of the series was preceded by a 1986 pilot episode Space Police, with Shane Rimmer playing a different, older version of Brogan. While a number of concepts from the later Space Precinct are recognizable, this was still a very different planned series. Several years later, Anderson combined special effects footage from the pilot with newly filmed scenes with a new cast (including remounted sequences from the pilot) as a proof-of-concept short. This version recast Brogan as a younger character and gave him a partner - similar to the final series, and with Chloe Annett (who would later appear in Crime Traveller and Red Dwarf) playing another new character, Jane Castle. Space Police and all available raw footage from the test film (including outtakes) was included on the Lost Worlds of Gerry Anderson DVD release.
- Space Precinct was the first Gerry Anderson production in which all 24 episodes were screened on American television prior to transmission on British TV.
- In the UK, the series first appeared on the satellite channel Sky One from March 18th, 1995.
- A full terrestrial television screening followed on BBC2 from September 18th, 1995.
- The "BBC Six O'Clock" versions were specially prepared by the series post-production department under instructions from the BBC to tone down or completely delete scenes of violent, threatening or sadistic behaviour, remove all traces of blood and optically enhance all bladed weapons to appear as laser-style instruments. (affected episodes are marked with a asterisk)
- Illegal and The Fire Within has specially reshot scenes for the BBC Six O'Clock versions.