Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct: The Complete Series

Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct: The Complete Series

Review by Adam Bielawski

The balance of being a cop as well as a family man, Space Precinct 2040

I must admit I never knew of this show Space Precinct which aired on the BBC and brought to the states on the SciFy Channel.  As I sat down and watched many of the episodes I really got caught up in the shows. You would think a show about cops in space would just be it, catching space criminals.  But as all TV shows, there is a common balance between work and family life. That was kind of interesting to me, the family and all that goes along with it.  Several of the episodes focused on family such as marriage problems, getting the day off to watch the World Series, growing up and trust.

Our story in Space Precinct is about a 20 year veteran of the New York Police Department, Patrick Brogan (played by Ted Shackelford) who joins the Demeter City Police Force of Precinct 88 in 2040 on the planet Altor. Brogan's partners in our space cop show are Jack Haldane (Rob Youngblood) and Jane Castle (Simone Bendix).  Their mission, to investigate crimes near and on the planet Altor. Things do not change too much out in space you still have the mob corruption, thieves, drug dealers, murders, some mind control aliens, and illegal aliens. Humans and aliens live together harmoniously, just too bad about the crime.

What I liked about the series that it was engaging. I sat up and watched as many episodes as I could and probably will finish the series by the time you read this review my friend. The filming is not bad and the sound is good; I thought the make up for the alien costumes was excellent for something filmed in 1995. The only thing I always wondered about space films and shows is why majority of the aliens have to be lizards. In our series most do have the scaly looking lizard get up but with hair.  So are they reptiles or mammals, I guess a hybrid alien creature.  Probably two of my favorite episode which I watched was about a character named Houdini who is escorted to The Rock prison and at the end winds up the New York World Series Game.  The other is about a computer hacker that is everywhere.  Very interesting story.. The animation created in our story is not bad at all, but you can catch the strings on the space crafts as they fly through space and some may think that the filming is dated.  I would disagree on that, I actually thought it was fine, watch some stuff today off the major network channels. Space Precinct was filmed just fine. The other thing to note is this is a re-release on DVD, it came out about a decade ago. One of the major problems I had with the DVD is that there are no captions. That I give a complete suck…. Man, if you cannot produce a DVD captions I think don’t even do it.  This is a definite to rent or get the series from your library.

 

From Image Entertainment: Law and Order beyond All Earthly Borders!
Gerry Anderson's Space Precinct: The Complete Series
Landing on DVD and Digital Download November 23, 2010.

Welcome to Demeter City. It has all the "qualities" of a modern city: population crowding, traffic problems, a soaring crime rate. It is also half way across the galaxy. On November 23 Image Entertainment presents sci-fi legend Gerry Anderson's ("Space 1999," "Thunderbirds," "UFO") Space Precinct: The Complete Series -- the chronicles of two cops battling the cosmic criminals that menace their new world. Gerry Anderson, a holder of the M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Animation, displays his unique talents here, with the use of complex make-up techniques, special effects and puppetry. Alien offenders never looked so real! This 5-DVD set presents all 24 episodes of the series, and will be available via digital download.

Lieutenant Patrick Brogan (Ted Shackelford - "Dallas", "Dirty Sexy Money"), a veteran of New York's mean streets, and his rookie partner Officer Jack Haldane (Rob Youngblood - "NYPD Blue", "Sliders") have a new beat. They have been transferred to the planet Altor, where it is their job to protect the law-abiding citizens of Demeter City. Lost amongst planetary felons, galactic gangs...all the debris of criminal constellations...it is their job to investigate crimes committed by aliens as well as humans.

Also starring Simone Bendix ("The Inspector Lynley Mysteries") and Jerome Willis (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer), and with directors such as John Glen (For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill) and Sidney Hayers ("Magnum P.I.", "Remington Steele", "The A Team") at the helm, Space Precinct is a thrilling, otherworldly ride through an unruly universe.

Space Precinct is a high-speed, mind-bending journey into inter-galactic realms - the adventures of men who have crossed light-years to uphold the law! The Space Precinct DVD will be available prior to the Syfy Channel marathon from November 30th through December 1st.

For more information, check out www.spaceprecinct.com, featuring over 500 never-before-seen behind the scenes photos from the making of the series, along with complete episode guides with full cast & crew, as well as breaking news about the series and links to all things Gerry Anderson.

About Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. (OTCQB: DISK) is a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 exclusive CD titles in domestic release and more than 450 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, the Company has exclusive audio and broadcast rights, as well as digital download rights to over 2,100 video programs and approximately 400 audio titles containing more than 5,600 individual tracks. The Company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California. For more information about Image Entertainment, Inc., please go to www.image-entertainment.com.