[This file is from the Sf-Lovers Archives at Rutgers University. It is provided as part of a free service in connection with distribution of Sf-Lovers Digest. This file is currently maintained by the moderator of the Digest. It may be freely copied or redistributed in whole or in part as long as this notice and any copyright notices or other identifying headers or trailers remain intact. If you would like to know more about Sf-Lovers Digest, send mail to SF-LOVERS-REQUEST@RUTGERS.EDU.] STAR COPS Introduction and Background It is the year 2027 and the commercial exploitation of space is in full swing. There are six orbital stations around the Earth, an internationally manned base on the moon, and a colony on Mars. Unfortunately, criminal enterprise in space is in full swing as well, and the International Space Police Force was created to deal with it. But the ISPF is an ad hoc group of part-time volunteers looking for a little extra money in addition to their regular jobs, and they're so inefficient that they're dubbed the "Star Cops" by the press. The decision is made to appoint a commander and turn the force into a full- time unit. As our story opens, Detective Chief Superintendent Nathan Spring has been pressured into submitting his name for the post despite the fact that he's never even left Earth before. Spring is an old- fashioned cop who thinks modern police methods rely too heavily on computer projections. According to series creator Chris Boucher, "Star Cops" was three years in the research and planning stage. The ideas for Earth, Moonbase, the orbital stations, and the Martian colonies were elaborately worked out, and we only saw a fraction of the detail. Boucher is known for previous work on the science fiction series "Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7," and on the crime dramas "Shoestring," "Juliet Bravo," and "Bergerac." The technological sophistication in "Star Cops" was almost unprecedented for broadcast serial television drama, and yet it never bogged down in technical detail. The maturity of the human drama was unusual for any medium, and it was handled with wit and intelligence. The crime stories were not pitched as whodunits. Generally it was either ridiculously easy or virtually impossible to figure out who the criminal was. Instead, the mysteries were always occasions to question the validity of one's evidence for believing in anything at all: for believing that a crime had been committed, for believing that one was doing the right thing, for placing trust in another human being. "Star Cops" went into production in the fall of 1986 and was shown in the summer of 1987 on BBC-2. There were nine 51-minute episodes in all. A tenth script was commissioned, but because of labor disputes at the time, it never went into production. A second series was planned, reportedly to have focused on the Martian colonies, but the series was canceled without much fanfare. I can provide excellent copies of all nine episodes to interested parties for the cost of the blanks and postage. Reply by U.S. mail, please. Micky DuPree 24 Boston St. #2 Somerville, MA 02143-2011 STAR COPS episode guide Starring David Calder as Nathan Spring/Box Semi-regulars: David Theroux Erick Ray Evans Colin Devis Trevor Cooper Pal Kenzy Linda Newton Alexander Krivenko Jonathan Adams Anna Shoun Sayo Inaba Series devised by Chris Boucher Producer: Evgeny Gridneff Script Editor: Joanna Willett 1. AN INSTINCT FOR MURDER July 6, 1987 W: Chris Boucher; D: Christopher Baker "Groundsider" career cop Nathan Spring finds himself being kicked literally upstairs to the International Space Police Force. He's assigned a case in space that he doesn't want, and told to drop a case on the ground that he does want. w/ Evans, Newton Commander Moray Watson Controller Keith Varnier Lee Jones Gennie Nevinson Brian Lincoln Andrew Secombe Hans Diter Frederik de Groot Lars Hendvorrsen Luke Hanson Marie Mueller Katja Kersten 2. CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD July 13, 1987 W: Chris Boucher; D: Christopher Baker Spring, newly appointed Commander of the Star Cops, is suddenly called back to Earth about a case in his own back yard, leaving David Theroux to solve the mystery of a rogue space freighter. w/ Evans, Cooper Lee Jones Gennie Nevinson Corman Sian Webber Paton Alan Downer Fox Sean Scanlan Gina Carmen Gomez John Smith Benny Young Traffic Controller Deborah Manship Mike Richard Ireson Lara Rosie Kerslake 3. INTELLIGENT LISTENING FOR BEGINNERS July 20, 1987 W: Chris Boucher; D: Christopher Baker On his first assignment in the ISPF, Colin Devis stings corrupt cop Pal Kenzy, and the Star Cops get a mysterious tip on the moon about space shuttle hijacking that may tie into computer sabotage on Earth. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton Michael Chandri David John Pope Leo Trevor Butler Ben Thomas Coulthard Shuttle hostess Tara Ward Shift foreman Peter Quince Process operator Peter Glancy 4. TRIVIAL GAMES AND PARANOID PURSUITS July 27, 1987 W: Chris Boucher; D: Graeme Harper Having reinstated herself, Kenzy follows Spring to the American space station on the trail of a missing scientist who may have never existed. Meanwhile, Russian Dr. Alexander Krivenko, the new Coordinator of Moonbase, starts asking a lot of questions. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton, Adams Commander Griffin Daniel Benzali Dilly Goodman Marlena Mackey Pete Lennox Robert Jezek Marty Russell Wootton Lauter Angela Crow Harvey Goodman Morgan Deare Receptionist Shope Shodeinde 5. THIS CASE TO BE OPENED IN A MILLION YEARS August 3, 1987 W: Philip Martin; D: Graeme Harper Spring is attacked and framed for murder in Rome, while the Star Cops investigate the aborted launch of a nuclear waste dumper rocket on the moon. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton, Adams Carlo Santanini Michael Chesden Marla Condarini Susan Curnow Inspector Canova Stewart Guidotti Lina Margello Vikki Chambers Personnel officer Flip Webster Angelo Pordenone Andre Winterton Tour guide Carl Forgione 6. IN WARM BLOOD August 10, 1987 W: John Collee; D: Graeme Harper When a survey spaceship arrives home with a dead crew, the contracted medical firm sends in its own investigator, Dr. Anna Shoun, but after one of its top researchers also dies in the same manner, Spring suspects a coverup. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton, Adams, Inaba Richard Ho Richard Rees Christina Janssen Dawn Keeler Receptionist Susan Tan 7. A DOUBLE LIFE August 17, 1987 W: John Collee; D: Christopher Baker An influential woman's frozen embryos are stolen from the Moonbase clinic and held for ransom, but when Shoun identifies the thief, he has absolute proof he was on Earth when the crime was committed. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton, Adams, Inaba James Bannerman/Albi Brian Gwaspari Chamsya Assadi Nitza Saul 8. OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS August 24, 1987 W: John Collee; D: Christopher Baker Suspicious technical glitches abound on Moonbase just as a safety inspector does his tour, and aggravation waxes instead of wanes when an abrasive psychiatrist shows up to shrink heads in space. w/ Evans, Cooper, Newton, Adams, Inaba Ernest Wolffhart Geoffrey Bayldon Dr. Angela Parr Maggie Ollerenshaw Hooper Barrie Rutter Beverly Anderson Leigh Funnell 9. LITTLE GREEN MEN AND OTHER MARTIANS August 31, 1987 W: Chris Boucher; D: Graeme Harper The Star Cops have to contend with a Moonbase abuzz with meddling journalists, scientific fraud, political corruption, drug smuggling, and murder when the discovery of a Martian, now on its way to Moonbase, is announced. w/ Newton, Cooper, Adams, Inaba Daniel Larwood Roy Holder Andrew Philpot Nigel Hughes Susan Caxton Lachelle Carl Operations manager Wendy Macadam Co-pilot Bridget Lynch-Blosse Pilot Kenneth Lodge Customs officer Peter Neathey Outpost controller Philip Rowlands Surveyor David Janes "Star Cops" is copyright (c) 1987 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. This episode guide is copyright (c) 1992 by Micky DuPree. Permission to reproduce it is hereby granted so long as it is always reproduced in its entirety and never reproduced for profit.