Star Cops - Production History - Production

Production

Assigned to produce Star Cops was Evgeny Gridneff, who had previously worked for the BBC on Tenko, Blott on the Landscape and Hold the Back Page. Gridneff and Boucher clashed over their respective visions for the series from the outset when, on their first meeting, Gridneff told Boucher that all his scripts would have to be rewritten. Boucher later remarked that their "relationship started out at the bottom and worked its way down".

Boucher had intended to write all ten scripts for the series himself but the tight timescale under which the episodes had to be recorded meant he could only contribute five, with the rest written by John Collee (three scripts) and Philip Martin (two scripts). Having previously qualified and worked as a doctor, Collee was a journalist who wrote for The Observer newspaper and later moved into films, most notably writing the screenplay for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Martin was an experienced scriptwriter, best known for the controversial BBC drama series Gangsters, with previous experience in television science fiction, having written for Doctor Who. Two directors were assigned to the show: Christopher Baker, who had worked with Gridneff before on Hold the Back Page as well as BBC veterinarian dramas All Creatures Great and Small and One by One, and Graeme Harper who had directed two Doctor Who stories.

At the time, most British television drama was shot on a combination of film and videotape. Usually location shooting would be on film and studio work would be recorded on video. The effect of the change in medium from film to video (or vice-versa) during a scene change in a programme could be jarring for some viewers. Boucher structured his scripts carefully so that all the Earth-based scenes would be shot on film on location and all the space scenes would be recorded on video in the studio hoping that the effect would give the space scenes a unique look. He was disappointed, therefore, to discover that Gridneff had decided to record the entire series on videotape.

Cast as Nathan Spring was David Calder, an experienced character actor with a reputation for "tough-guy" roles and best known at the time for his role as Detective Inspector George Resnick in the Lynda La Plante television serial Widows. Naming him Nathan after his youngest son, Boucher had originally written Spring as a much younger character, a high-flyer in his early thirties who had risen rapidly through the ranks of the police. Despite this Boucher was pleased with Calder's performance describing Calder as "a class act" whose "performance was immaculate". Trevor Cooper was cast as Colin Devis at the suggestion of Graeme Harper who had worked with him on Doctor Who and in theatre. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Jonathan Adams (who had a semi-regular role on Bergerac), were relatively unknown.

Given that the series was set in the relatively near future, Gridneff took great pains to ensure that the space scenes were depicted as accurately as possible, seeking advice from NASA and other space agencies as well as arranging a set visit by astronaut Pete Conrad, the third man to set foot on the Moon. Conrad's input proved useful in making the scenes set in weightlessness as convincing as the budget would allow. Assistance was also received from an aerospace manufacturer, the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, who provided stock footage of astronauts training in a water tank and received an on-screen credit on the first episode "An Instinct for Murder".

Recording of the series began on 12 August 1986 with the first block of episodes—"An Instinct for Murder", "Conversations with the Dead" and "Intelligent Listening for Beginners"—directed by Christopher Baker. This was followed by a block directed by Graeme Harper comprising "Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits", "This Case to be Opened in a Million Years" and "In Warm Blood". Christopher Baker then returned to the director's chair for "A Double Life" and "Other People's Secrets". Both directors had differing visions for the overall look and feel of the series, with the initial block directed by Baker favouring a pristine, brightly lit approach. This contrasted with the look preferred by Graeme Harper who drastically reduced the light levels (leaving many scenes illuminated only by computer monitor screens) and whose designer, Malcolm Thornton, dressed the sets in a messier and dingier fashion. When Baker returned for his second block of episodes, he sought to return to the brighter, cleaner look which led to some continuity problems. Meanwhile, Evgeny Gridneff and Chris Boucher's professional relationship continued to be stormy with Gridneff deciding to introduce a new Star Cop, Anna Shoun, without consulting Boucher. The cast and crew were well aware of the behind the scenes conflicts and David Calder later recalled that there was "uncertainty as to which direction this series should go in". Chris Boucher has been frequently critical of the way in which the series was realised and has since stated that, in retrospect, he wishes he had volunteered to produce the series himself. In response to Boucher's criticisms, Gridneff has said, "I respect him as a writer and he's professional and, you know, it's his series and if it didn't quite go the way he thought, you know, that's unfortunate when you're dealing, you know, you're losing your baby".

The final block was to be directed by Graeme Harper and would comprise the final two episodes "Death on the Moon", written by Philip Martin, and "Information Received", written by Chris Boucher. However industrial action at the BBC affected Star Cops and many other BBC programmes leaving a backlog of programmes once the strike had ended. Forced to prioritise and despite the fact that the episode had been cast, costumes made and sets constructed, the decision was taken to drop "Death on the Moon" and bring "Information Received", now titled "Little Green Men and Other Martians", forward. The three-day recording block for this episode began on 16 February 1987 just two days after recording of episode 8 had finished. Recording was further complicated when Erick Ray Evans fell ill and his lines had to split amongst the rest of the cast at the last minute with most of Theroux's dialogue going to Pal Kenzy. Production on Star Cops finally wrapped on 18 February 1987.

The theme song for the series, titled "It Won't be Easy", was written and performed by Justin Hayward, the lead vocalist with the Moody Blues. The theme was produced by record producer Tony Visconti who also composed, with Hayward, the incidental music for every episode. Gridneff hoped that the theme would act as a gentle method of enticing casual viewers into the series. Reaction to the music and Hayward's song in particular, has generally been negative. SFX magazine, in particular, has been highly critical of the theme tune: in one issue it was placed twenty-ninth in a list article titled "The 50 Worst Things About SF Ever!" while in another it was placed sixth in a list article titled "The 10 Worst Things About UK Telefantasy". Writer and critic Kim Newman has described the theme as the "worst single theme tune of any TV show ever". Chris Boucher has said that he "hated the music. The incidental music wasn't appropriate and it didn't have the style and feeling it should have had".