It is the year 2027, and the International Space Police Force has been set up to oversee law and order in the new frontier, as mankind continues to increase its presence into space. Operating from a base on the surface of the Moon, the I.S.P.F. - unkindly nicknamed the 'Star Cops' by the general public - is made up of undisciplined officers more concerned with their own welfare and making money than with upholding the law.

Into this disorderly operation comes Nathan Spring (played by David Calder), a grumpy, no-nonsense detective with brilliant investigative instincts; unwillingly pushed by his superiors into taking the job as Head of I.S.P.F., Spring begins to reshape this rag-tag team of police officers into an effective force for law enforcement. Assisted by Box, his sophisticated hand-held computer, Spring and his American second-in-command, David Theroux (portrayed by Erick Ray Evans), quickly recruit other members to the organisation: the larger-than-life womanising police-inspector Colin Devis (Trevor Cooper); brash and opinionated Australian Pal Kenzy (Linda Newton); and quiet but capable Doctor Anna Shoun (Sayo Inaba).

‘Star Cops’ is one of the BBC’s forgotten greats. Choosing not to rely heavily on its special effects, which are actually very realistic and well shot, the show features some skilfully written and intriguing storylines, and believable, well-rounded characterisation; in fact, the latter is the show’s main strength, as the interplay between the main characters is particularly entertaining, and the good-humoured rivalry amongst them is certainly the highlight of many of the episodes. It also has some of the best story titles ever to grace the episodes of a television show!

Unfortunately, only nine episodes of this excellent series were ever made; the original episode nine, ‘Death on the Moon’ by Philip Martin (which was to have concerned the swindling of a Swiss organisation by one of its executives, and focused on the issue of national stereotyping), was cancelled due to an electricians' strike at the BBC, and so the tenth episode was brought forward, resulting in a premature end to the series, and a second season was never commissioned.

If you have never seen ‘Star Cops’, then I strongly advise buying the recently-released DVD set. Ignore the rather cringe-inducing theme tune (‘It Won’t Be Easy’ by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues), and just settle back to enjoy some of the most entertaining and underrated science-fiction ever to grace our screens...

...or, you can listen to new audio adventures of the Star Cops: thanks to Big Finish. In 2018 members of the original cast were reunited for eight new episodes, released under a story-arc entitled 'Mother Earth'; this was followed by a further eight-episode arc: 'Mars', in 2019/2020.


Star Cops - Season 1
Star Cops - Season 2

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Other cool sites out there include the excellent 'The Star Cops Site'

Legal Bit: 'Star Cops' is a registered trademark of BBC Worldwide. The 'Star Cops' logo and all images from the television series are copyright BBC unless otherwise stated; music is copyright the original composers and producers; no copyright infringement is intended. All specially created images and text are copyright © Clive Banks; please do not use these without my permission. All rights reserved. No profit is made from this website, and any revenue made from using the banner-links featured goes straight back into the costs of maintaining it, which comes out of my own pocket in the first place. No profit advertising is accepted. This website was created purely to entertain and amuse, and any references to persons living, dead, comatose, in suspended animation, not born yet, under arrest, or a figment of someone's imagination is purely coincidental. All opinions expressed are my own, so there...

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