The 1994-1995 classic sci-fi syndicated TV series “Space Precinct” finally comes to DVD! Sure, the episode plots, the rubberized suits and so-so acting may appear to be a bit cheesy, but still, if you enjoy older syndicated sci-fi series, there is a good chance that you will enjoy “Space Precinct 2040 – The Complete Series”.
© Grove Television Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Space Precinct 2040 – The Complete Series
TV SERIES RELEASE DATE: 1994-1995
DURATION: 17 hrs. and 43 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color, 1:33:1 Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
COMPANY: Image Entertainment
RATED: N/A
RELEASE DATE: November 23, 2010
Directed by John Glenn, Peter Duffell, Sidney Hayers, Alan Birkinshaw, Piers Haggard
Written by David Carren, J. Larry Carroll, Marc Scott Zicree, Gerry Anderson, Steve Brown, Mark Harris, Michael Berlin, Eric Estrin, Sam Graham, Philip Morrow, Burt Prelutsky
Produced by Gerry Anderson
Executive Producer: Tom Gutteridge
Co-Executive Producer: Roger Lefkon, John Needham
Associate Producer: Jeffrey Brunner, Richard Grove
Line Producer: Tom Sachs
Music by Crispin Merrell
Cinematography by Alan Hume, Tony Spratling
Edited by Jason Krasucki, Matthew Glen, Brian Freemantle, Sue Robinson
Casting by Rebecca Howard
Costume Design by Raymond Hughes
Starring:
Ted Shackelford as Lieutenant Patrick Brogan
Rob Youngblood as Office Jack Haldane
Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle
Jerome Willis as Captain Rexton Podly
Nick Klein as Matt Brogan
Megan Olive as Liz Brogan
Mary Woodvine as Officer Aurelia Took
Gary Martin as Slomo
Rob Thirtle as Zipload
Leigh Tinkler as Nurse
Joana Berns as PC
Andy Dawson as Barco
Nancy Paul as Sally Brogan
Lieutenant Patrick Brogan (Ted Shackelford – “Dallasâ€, “Dirty Sexy Moneyâ€), a veteran of New York’s mean streets, and his rookie partner Officer Jack Haldane (Rob Youngblood – “NYPD Blueâ€, “Slidersâ€) 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 Mysteriesâ€) 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.â€, “Remington Steeleâ€, “The A Teamâ€) at the helm, Space Precinct is a thrilling, otherworldly ride through an unruly universe.
Space Precinct – Episode 1 Clip #1
Space Precinct – Episode 3 Clip #1
Space Precinct – Episode 3 Clip #2
Space Precinct – Episode 3 Clip #3
When it comes to Gerry Anderson’s classic hits such as “Thunderbirds” and “Space: 1999”, for 40 years, fans have followed every Anders0n-related release and in the 1990’s, there was a resurgence of interest towards Anderson’s work and in1994-1995, the British sci-fi series “Space Precinct” was shown on BBC Two and later syndicated in North America and the SyFy Channel. The series originally had a pilot (starring different characters) back in 1983 known as “Space Police”.
The series takes place in 2040 and stars Ted Shackelford (“Knots Landing”, “Another World”) as Patrick Brogan, a former NYPD detective who joins the Demeter City Police force (Precinct 88) in the planet Altor. As the new lieutenant, Brogan balances his life as a husband and father to his family while adjusting to his new life in another planet and working alongside his partner Jack Haldane (played by Rob Youngblood) and Officer Jane Castle (played by Simone Bendix) investigating various crimes.
While the primary characters are human, many of the other characters are aliens who are part of the police force or are part of organized crime. In planet Altor, humans and aliens co-exist.
Here is a basic synopsis of each episode featured in this DVD set:
DISC 1:
- EPISODE 1: Protect and Survive – Brogan and Haldane must protect a crooked business executive named Armand loyster.
- EPISODE 2: Enforcer – Someone is killing people in Demeter City with their hearts shredded but no single mark on their bodies.
- EPISODE 3: Body and Soul – Brogan and his son visit a space probe lost in space and find a dead body.
- EPISODE 4: Double Duty – A drug war is taking place in Demeter City and an assassin is killing the competition.
- EPISODE 5: The Snake – The officers of Space Precinct 2040 must stop an alien extortionist and explosives expert known as the Snake.
DISC 2:
- EPISODE 6: Time To Kill – The officers of Precinct 88 are attacked by a cyborg.
- EPISODE 7: Deadline – Brogan and Haldane discover a capsule and inside, the body of a Tarn.
- EPISODE 8: Seek and Destroy – As Aladine-50 has been discovered, the vaccine fights against Creon fever and thus allowing the legalization of dogs in Demeter City. But when three executives working for Demeter Dogs, Inc. are killed, Brogan investigates.
- EPISODE 9: The Power – Jane and Took are assigned to protect a shipment of Luxorian Ice, which is important to the new Solartek solar power system.
- EPISODE 10: Illegal – An illegal immigrant saves Brogan’s life and with the immigrants young son being held, Brogan does all he can to help him.
DISC 3:
- EPISODE 11: Divided We Stand – Brogan and Haldane must protect an underworld crime boss.
- EPISODE 12: Two Against the Rock – Haldane and Jane must escort the most notorious escape artist, Houdini to asteroid A5.
- EPISODE 13: Takeover – Brogan and Haldane are accused of murdering Naxus Simi and evidence that Jane finds may hurt their innocence plea.
- EPISODE 14: Predator and Prey – With the death of an officer from Precinct 79, Brogan and Haldane join the search for a serial killer.
- EPISODE 15: The Witness – Small time crooks in Demeter City are turning up dead and the officers search for a prime suspect.
DISC 4:
- EPISODE 16: Hate Street – Race riots and hate crimes against Xyronite immigrants are being coordinated by Burl Flak. Now the officers do what they can to stop him.
- EPISODE 17: Friends – A computer hacker named Reeve Pataki is taken into custody and his friends try to break him out.
- EPISODE 18: Smelter Skelter – Brogan’s wife and daughter are violently threatened during an armed robbery at the Jewellery Centre.
- EPISODE 19: Flash – A drug known as HE-11 (Flash) is hitting the streets of Demeter and those who use it are spontaneously combusting.
DISC 5:
- EPISODE 20: The Fire Within (Part One) – Pyrist priest Tendall Kalike combusts during a ceremony and the officers continue to investigate if it was a homicide.
- EPISODE 21: The Fire Within (Part Two) – Haldane resigns from the police force to join with the Pyrists.
- EPISODE 22: The Forever Beetle – A rare beetle capable of cell regeneration is stolen from a laboratory. Brogan and Haldane are assigned to the case.
- EPISODE 23: Deathwatch (Part One) – When a meteor fragment arrives on Altor, strange events take place.
- EPISODE 24: Deathwatch (Part Two) – More and more people are being possessed by the alien meteor. Will life be destroyed on planet Altor?
VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Space Precinct 2040” is presented in 1:33:1. Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Considering the age of this series and it was an older syndicated show from the ’90s the truth is a lot of syndicated series form that time does show its age. Mostly in costume and visual effects which was good for 1994-1995. So, it all comes down to the viewer and if they mind (or don’t mind) the series and costume design.
Some sets with the space craft flying through the city has a “Thunderbirds” feel to it. As for the costume design, in today’s standards, some people may have a hard time with the costumes looking like rubberized costumes. But considering when they were made, I actually thought they looked pretty good back then. As for picture quality, you can see combing during the action sequences and although not a pristine print, this is probably the best we are going to see of the series for now.
As for audio, audio is clear and understandable. But if I had one problem is how the aliens similar to humans, have accents. Especially those who have a New York accents. But for the most part, the series audio is fine as it is front-channel driven.
There are no subtitles included.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Space Precinct 2040 – The Complete Series” comes with no special features.
Back in 1994, I used to watch a lot of sci-fi syndication and still watch a little bit of it today. And when I was younger, I used to tape a lot of the series and figured, one day, I would watch them all over again and see how they would hold up. For the most part, series such as “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Babylon 5” have held up pretty well.
As for “Space Precinct 2040”, in many ways, watching it today… while some aspects of the series hold up, the series does look its age and also, I can see how the series confused broadcasters as it was shown very late at night (or early morning). In one hand, scenes with Brogan and his son or his family, you would think that the series has its family time moments. But then you see aliens getting killed by other aliens and blood splattered on them (of course, watching it today, it doesn’t look that grisly. More like red ketchup on rubberized aliens) or watching Brogan and his wife smooching in the bedroom and seeing the more mature lingo between the two, you realize that the series is not exactly a family sci-fi series.
But still, “Space Precinct 2040” had its fun and entertaining moments, especially if you are able to watch it with open eyes and enjoy it for what is. I liked the concept of humans in other planets, co-existing with aliens and humans and aliens working together to take down criminals. But although you get a serious actor like Tedd Shackleford starring in a series, then you have some alien extra or character just really demonstrating terrible acting and not-so-well written lines. As mentioned earlier, aliens speaking with a New York accent? It just didn’t seem right. But I suppose the bad acting at times could be source for laughter and added to the enjoyment of the series.
Again, the series may look its age when it comes to visual effects and costume design on a budget but if you’re used to kitschy sci-fi series (and I watched everything from “Space Precinct” to the family robot series “Small Wonder” to “TekWar”, “TimeTrax”, “VR.5” back then) and have a nostalgia to watch older sci-fi series, “Space Precinct 2040 – The Complete Series” is for you!
