Star Cops

This was sci-fi at its best. No hard-nosed, crew-cut heroes, this was full of people with flaws (I.E. real people). This had everything, politics, corruption...oh and BOX!!!!!!!

I want box! I do not care about any other invention, I want the world's scientists to make one for me now :)

Aside from that, this is a series that made me like sci-fi again, after the rubbish mainstream offerings from Hollywood with their weak plots and special effects-driven scenarios. I am glad I got the videos when they escaped from the BBC archives a few years ago and still enjoy the shows as much as I did when they were first shown.

It's truly sad that Star Cops never got its second season. It was signed up for one, but with A TV technicians strike cutting the first season down to nine epidodes (the last one was also hugely amended after Erik Ray Evans took ill and David Calder replaced him (hence the strange romance bits between him and Pal) and with Calder moving on to another show, there was no realistic possibility of the crew getting back together to make another 13 episodes.

Truly a classic.

OK, it is a bit dated (the USSR still around). And the effects are not terrific - but for what I am sure was a minimal budget, not bad, in fact if what I've seen was basically the pilot, pretty decent. Especially for 1986-7 TV. Come to that, the movie *Outland* with Sean Connery in 1981 is the only one I've seen to outdo *2001*, made in 1968 (they at least knew that you cannot see into a shadow without a light - that is still being done wrong in 2005)! And it is a cop show, not a science fiction show.

So if you're expecting a space opera, forget it.

But if you like cop shows, this is pretty darn good - at least episode one, which is all I've seen so far. And as a computer programmer since 1965, I know whence the lead character's skepticism comes - Hello son!

'Star Cops' is one of the best sci-fi series we've watched in years. In the U.S. we are inundated with 'junk' situation comedies and copycat dramas, so the British shows we are offered are heartily welcomed.

We found this show innovative and very interesting. We really liked Nathan, and 'Box' was a clever touch. Even if it was just a 'crime in space' show as some people termed it, the characters became friends, and the tension and suspense were real to us. Nathan's reluctance at being posted in space was understated and believable, and made a recurring theme below each week's story. I definitely was able to immerse myself in the shows and 'become' one of the people stationed there and at risk in each episode's situation; unlike most American shows--and many movies--I wasn't looking at my watch every few minutes to see how much longer I was going to have to sit there. Thanks, U.K., for another series in the tradition of 'Doctor Who' (which is BRILLIANT). We're just sorry that it was on for only one season.

Star Cops is something of a rarity, and it should be noted as such. It sacrifices glitz and glamour for plot and character development, something a lot of 'critically acclaimed' sci-fi shows lack.

While like Doctor Who or Blake's 7, it did have it's budgetary constraints, and that is probably why the 'story before effects' way of writing developed. Something that can be applied to modern TV, overall. Unfortunately, flashes and bangs win out every day on American TV.

Want a good explosion? Turn on Star Trek. Want a good story? Make it worth your while to track down this overlooked gem.

I remembered this series after seeing The Moody Blues on breakfast TV the other morning. It reminded me of Justin Hayward's haunting theme song for the show ("Like a ripple on the water...")

Great series. Hard Sci Fi, uncompromising and willing to take a risk. Like a previous reviewer said. The stories weren't huge "save the world" epics but they were so well written they didn't need to be. Even the effects were just a little above the Dr Who budget level, but it didn't matter

I hope it'll turn up on TV again some day.