Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast from 1994 to 1995 on Sky One and later on BBC Two from 1995 to 1996 in the UK, and in first-run syndication in the United States. Many US stations scheduled the show in late night time slots, which resulted in low ratings and contributed to its cancellation. The series was created by Gerry Anderson and was a mix of science fiction and police procedural that combined elements of many of Anderson's previous series such as , UFO and Thunderbirds, but with an added dash of Law & Order and Dragnet. Anderson was executive producer with Tom Gutteridge. One of the series' directors was John Glen, who had previously directed five James Bond films. There were a number of directors used on the series, but the majority of the episodes were edited by the series editors, Sue Robinson and Jason Krasucki.
Premise
The series is set in the year 2040 and starred American actorTed Shackelford as former NYPD detective Patrick Brogan, now a lieutenant with the Demeter City police force on the planet Altor in the Epsilon Eridani system. Brogan and his partner Jack Haldane must adjust to living in another solar system, and investigating crimes being committed by aliens as well as humans. Also co-starring was Danish actress Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle, Haldane's love interest. All other major characters were played by actors wearing complex make-up that also included elements of puppetry in order to depict the different alien races.
The series was one of the highest-budgeted shows Anderson produced, and was relatively popular in Europe. However, in a repeat of the situation that UFO encountered 25 years earlier, American broadcasters were uncertain what to make of the series that looked on the surface to be aimed at younger viewers, yet featured adult-oriented storylines and was usually played straight despite the bizarre storylines and make-up. As a result, Space Precinct was often scheduled in late-night/early morning time slots. The subsequent low ratings led to its cancellation after just one season.
Episodes
Pilot
The idea for Space Precinct predated the series by nearly a decade. In 1987 Anderson produced Space Police, a 55-minute pilot film that featured Anderson regular Shane Rimmer as Brogan. The series failed to sell at that time and the pilot was never broadcast. The pilot, which has since circulated on video and online, features many differences. Brogan is a much older character than that played by Shackleford, and is a bachelor. His partner - and the only other apparently human character in the pilot - is Sgt. Cathy Costello, who is revealed to be a Gynoid capable of shifting between human appearance and a more robotic look for dangerous missions. The aliens featured in the pilot are catlike rather than the more exotic aliens in Space Precinct. The only character other than Brogan to transfer from the pilot to the series is the robot Slo-Mo. The pilot, which is more comedic in nature than the somewhat serious series that followed, combined live action, full-size prosthetics, puppetry, and Supermacromation techniques.
''Space Police'' (1983)
Home releases
Space Precinct was released on DVD in the UK but, as of 2015, is out of print. It was released on DVD in North America on 23 November 2010. As of July 2017 Space Precinct is available in the US on streaming service Amazon Prime. In November 2018, the complete series was rereleased as a DVD box set in Region 2, by Network DVD.
