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				 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.
