Space Precinct

Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast by syndication in the United States between 1994 and 1995. In the UK, it was first shown on channel Sky One between March and August 1995, and later BBC Two from September 1995 to March 1996.^[2][3] Many US stations scheduled the show in late night time periods, which resulted in low ratings and contributed to its cancellation. The series was based on an unbroadcast 1986 pilot movie titled Space Police, featuring Shane Rimmer.

The series was created by Gerry Anderson and was a combination of science fiction and police procedural.

Premise

The series features American actor Ted Shackelford as former NYPD detective Patrick Brogan, now a lieutenant with the Demeter City police force on the planet Altor in the star system Epsilon Eridani. Brogan and his partner Jack Haldane (played by Rob Youngblood) must adjust to living in another star system, and investigating crimes being committed by aliens as well as humans. Also featuring was Danish actress Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle, Haldane's love interest (Brogan was happily married with a wife, daughter and son who relocated to Demeter City with him). All other major characters were played by actors wearing complex make-up that also included elements of puppetry to depict the different alien races. Brogan's badge, number 2040, was used in the opening credits, resulting in the common misconception that the show is set in 2040.

Characters

Brogan family

• Ted Shackelford as Lieutenant Patrick Brogan
• Nancy Paul as Sally Brogan
• Nick Klein as Matthew Brogan
• Megan Olive as Elizabeth Brogan

Demeter City Police

• Rob Youngblood as Officer Jack Haldane
• Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle
• Joseph Mydell as Officer Lionel Carson
• Gary Martin as the voice of Slomo – Station 88's robot computer

Creons

• Jerome Willis as Captain Rexton Podly
• Lou Hirsch as Officer Silas Romek
• Richard James as Officer Hubble Orrin^[4]
• Kieron Jecchinis as the voice of Officer Hubble Orrin
• Tom Watt as Officer Beezle (four episodes)
• Gary Martin as the voice of Officer Beezle (four episodes)

Tarns

• Mary Woodvine as Officer Aurelia Took
• Colette Hiller as the voice of Officer Aurelia Took
• David Quilter as Sergeant Thorald Fredo

Other characters

Appearing as various guest aliens: Rob Thirtle, Leigh Tinkler, Andy Dawson, Joanna Berns, Wayne Forester, Alexa Rosewood, Ken Whitfield, and Will Barton. Idris Elba makes a brief appearance in one episode as a pizza delivery man, with his voice dubbed by David Healy.^[5][6]

Episodes

The dates of broadcast shown are the US first syndication dates.

Production

The series was filmed between May 1994 and April 1995 at Pinewood Studios. The special effects were filmed at Shepperton Studios.^[2]

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 seemed to be intended for young 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 or early-morning time slots. The subsequent low ratings resulted in its cancellation after just one series.

Pilot

The idea for Space Precinct predated the series by nearly a decade. In 1986, Anderson and his then business partner Christopher Burr produced Space Police, a 53-minute pilot film featuring Anderson regular Shane Rimmer as Lieutenant Chuck Brogan. 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. It features many differences from the later series. Brogan is a much older character than that played by Shackelford, and is a bachelor. His partner – and the only other apparently human character in the pilot – is Sergeant Cathy Costello, who is revealed to be a gynoid capable of shifting between human appearance and a more robotic appearance for dangerous missions. The aliens featured in the pilot are cat-like 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.

Production was based at Bray Film Studios and ran for 15 weeks,^[7] including eight weeks of special effects shooting.^[8] The completed film, subtitled "Star Laws", was screened at the 45th World Science Fiction Convention in 1987. In 1989, Anderson made a condensed 24-minute version in collaboration with the Moving Picture Company.^[2] Although it has never been shown on television, the pilot has been available in DVD format since 2002.^[2]

By the end of 1987, Anderson and Burr had made a deal with Harmony Gold USA to produce a series based on the pilot, but it was never developed.^[7][9] Jim Henson had been impressed by the pilot and offered to finance a series through his company Henson International Television (HIT), but negotiations between Anderson and Henson broke down following a management buyout of HIT in 1989. No further progress on a sale was made until 1991, when Mentorn Films took on the project and secured funding from American company Grove Television Enterprises.^[8][2] The BBC ordered a series of 13 episodes, but later withdrew its commission due to a reduction in its drama programming budget. "Space Police" was kept as the title until shortly before filming began in 1994, when the production companies learnt of the trademark on Lego's "Space Police" and renamed the series "Space Precinct".^[2]

Space Police (1986)

Home media

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.^[10]

In 2017, the series was made available for streaming in the US on Amazon Prime. In November 2018, it was re-released as a DVD box set in Region 2, by Network DVD.

In 2023, the series became available to watch on BritBox in the UK. In February 2024, it was released on Peacock. In November 2024, Anderson Entertainment announced the release of a limited-edition, HD remastered Blu-ray box set for February 2025.^[11]

See also

• Star Cops, an earlier TV series with a similar premise

References

1. ^ "Space Precinct". Fanderson. 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
2. ^ Bentley, Chris (2008 [2001]). The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide. 4th ed. Reynolds & Hearn. pp. 249–251; 317–318. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
3. ^ McManus, Kyle (9 October 2014). "Looking Back at Gerry Anderson's Space Precinct". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
4. ^ Matthews, Luke (26 October 2014). "Actor pens his experiences on Gerry Anderson's Space Precinct 20 years on – Maidenhead Advertiser". Maidenhead Advertiser. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
5. ^ The Graham Norton Show: Episode 2, Series 22. BBC. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2025. Event occurs at 19:10.
6. ^ Anderson Entertainment, "Idris Elba talks Space Precinct on BBC One", Andrew Clements, 21 October 2017.
7. ^ Clark, Mike (December 1987). "Gerry Anderson's Space Police". Starlog. No. 125. pp. 54–57.
8. ^ Archer, Simon & Hearn, Marcus (2002). What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson. London, UK: BBC Books. pp. 254–256; 264–265. ISBN 978-0-563-53481-5.
9. ^ Clark, Mike (August 1994). "Space Station Blues". Starlog. No. 205. pp. 48–51; 70.
10. ^ Sinnott, John (December 15, 2010). "Space Precinct: The Complete Series". DVD Talk. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
11. ^ "Space Precinct: 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition [Blu-ray] (Region)". Anderson Entertainment. Retrieved 14 September 2025.

External links

• Space Precinct at IMDb
• Space Police (unaired pilot) at IMDb