Star Cops was a British sci-fi TV series, first broadcast on the BBC in the summer of 1987. It was devised by Chris Boucher, who had previously worked on TV shows such as Blake’s 7 and Dr. Who.
Set in 2027, the show followed the International Space Police Force – the Star Cops – as they provided law enforcement to the new colonies developing through the solar system. The force was led by Commander Nathan Spring (the fab David Calder), who, along with his team, faced crimes ranging from murder, terrorism and drug smuggling, all in the most unhospitable of surroundings.
Along for the ride was David Theroux, Nathan’s American second-in-command, who was so dull I would regularly forget about him. His character did not appear in the final episode due to the actor being ill, and sadly I do not think he was missed.
Much more interesting was the five-times married Inspector Colin Devis, played rather brilliantly by Trevor Cooper. Although rather obnoxious, he actually turned into an incredibly likeable and, most importantly, fun character!
And finally we have the wonderful Pal Kenzy, played by Linda Newton. An Aussie firebrand, Kenzy started off very much out for herself, but by the end of the series she had shown herself to be loyal and faithful to her colleagues. She was my absolute favourite. Watching the show back in 1987, the 14-year-old me had no idea women could be like that. She was my hero!
From the start, Star Cops was plagued by behind-the-scenes tension between its creator and producer. The main problem, however, was that it was stuck away on BBC2 in July, almost as if the BBC wanted it to fail. Broadcast times varied between 8:30pm and 9:55pm, as it found itself up against the ratings juggernaut that was Terry and June (yes, really!) It is such a shame because it really was a decent, ‘proper’ sci-fi show. When rewatching it years later, I found it to be way more grown up than the teenage me had remembered.
Star Cops lives on in audio form with a range of audio plays from Big Finish, and David Calder, Trevor Cooper and Linda Newton all reprising their roles as Spring, Devis and Kenzy.
In my opinion it’s a bit of an overlooked gem, with these nine episodes being the perfect example of what might have been.
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