Space Precinct – 3. Enforcer

The first two episodes of Space Precinct are something of a trial that you just have to get through. They present a directionless series still very much finding its feet. My reviews of Double Duty and Protect and Survive both called out the dramatic shifts in tone that occur from scene to scene, and the wild swings throughout each story from one subplot to the other. It was a shotgun approach to see what worked. Ordinarily, that’s what a pilot would be for, but seeing as Space Precinct had already gone through 8 years of development (including two vastly different pilots), I can understand why they got straight on with it and just let the first two episodes explode into the chaotic messes they turned out to be. But now we’re at episode 3, Enforcer, and the writing team has realised that trying to cram as much stuff into each episode as possible probably isn’t the best way to craft compelling stories. Enforcer is a tighter, much more focused story which happily confines some main cast members to supporting roles for a week, creates some juicy guest characters full of potential, and probably gave the production a chance to breathe and build upon the aspects of the show that were beginning to work.

Sidney Hayers helmed this episode as director, bringing onboard his wealth of experience directing television and feature films in both Britain and the United States. He was very well qualified to bring the look of American television to this British production, with his credits at the time including Baywatch, The New Adam-12, and The A-Team. Meanwhile, Marc Scott Zicree came to Space Precinct as a very experienced American science fiction writer with prior television credits including Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Real Ghostbusters to name a few. With Hayers and Zicree’s input, there should have been no doubt at this point what type of show Space Precinct was trying to be – a wholly American science fiction series for a primetime audience in the United States, which just happened to be made in the UK. The question is: did the rest of the production team share or understand that vision for the show?

Lots of action and lots of creepy-looking aliens in this week’s opening teaser. That’s quite an amusing shot of Podly gawping at goodness knows what.

In a break from the tradition established in the previous two episodes, Enforcer doesn’t open with Officers Brogan and Haldane in a police cruiser, patroling the skies of Demeter City late at night. Okay, yes, it is a late-night scene over the skies of Demeter City, but our lead characters are nowhere to be seen. Instead the scene focuses on two guest Creon characters for the episode, Skeevan (Andy Dawson) and Lurvan (Leigh Tinkler). How can I put this… Lurzan isn’t exactly a looker… which is saying something for a Creon. That aside, the pair seem like a perfectly ordinary married couple, with Skeevan on his way back from finishing some business with a Tarn junk dealer, raking in cash.

I know it’s the basics of screenwriting, but since the first two episodes weren’t so good at handling the basics I have to praise this opening scene for its simple but effective approach to building our sympathies towards these characters. Skeevan is trying to earn enough money to take his wife to “New Hawaii,” and enthuses about his wife rubbing “moon screen” on his back. A nice, straightforward motivation for the characters that’s been very broadly skewed through a space-themed lens that’s comical and quite endearing. You might argue that it’s another cliché, and you’d be dead right, but it works to serve the story, rather than confuse it.

Skeevan’s van touches down, and it’s clear that the model department has been having words with the live action design team. As mentioned last week, the special effects crew were considerably held back in their endeavours to build out-there futuristic vehicles for Space Precinct when the live action unit were quite obviously using real-life cars and vans but making no attempt to disguise them as anything other than cars and vans. Therefore, the effects team had to turn very ordinary-looking model cars and vans into vehicles that could conceivably fly without messing up continuity too much. So, you’ll see that Skeevan’s van has a couple of small thrusters on the back, some short little landing legs, and that’s about it. On the live action set, an attempt has been made to disguise the real-life van’s wheels using said landing legs. I think we can all agree that’s a step in the right direction. It’s nice to see them making an effort of some description.

This is Skeevan’s place of business – Skeevan’s Repairs. It’s a bit rundown, which probably came as a blessing to the live action set design team who normally seemed to struggle with spending actual money on the sets.

Our new friend Skeevan is apprehended by a charming young man with four blades, face tattoos, a shaved head, and a leather jacket. I’m sure he’s just collecting for a lost puppies charity or something.

Again, the dialogue is very effective at conveying the information swiftly. This ne’er-do-well is a member of the Hydras, and they’ve apparently tried to rob Skeevan four times in the last month. So – we’re dealing with a spot of criminal gang culture. True, there’s nothing especially sci-fi about any of that, but at least it fits a cop show and doesn’t feel too laboured.

The nasty man is politely interrupted by this Tarn chap asking for the time. You know how it goes – you wander down a dark alley in the middle of the night, spot a mugging in progress, and realise you left your wristwatch at home on the bedside table. Yeah, you can be sure there’s more to this than meets the eye.

The polite Tarn takes on a more sinister tone, inviting someone to join him from the shadows. Quite unexpectedly, it’s a young girl in a sparkly purple dress. On a world primarily populated by Tarns and Creons, it’s always refreshing to see an interesting new alien design on the show.

Then things take a big ole’ turn. We’re well aware that Tarns have psychic powers – and even if you’re not aware it’s very clearly demonstrated on screen by the third eye opening in their foreheads. But when the girl turns her head away it becomes clear that she’s a part of this too. The Hydra suffers a very sudden heart hiccup – to put it mildly. He struggles and writhes in agony while clutching his chest. I love how dark this has turned without going too far. It’s shocking without being gory which seems like the right tone for Space Precinct in my opinion.

Skeevan watches quietly as the mysterious Tarn and girl seem to accelerate the baddie’s heartbeat to the point of killing him stone dead. The Tarn, known as Trask, chuckles in a self-satisifed manner which doesn’t exactly make his intentions seem honorable.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what time it is either.” Well that’s one way to react. Unfortunately that line delivery is just a wee bit too unintentionally comical.

But Trask simply concludes that “it’s time Skall Street had a protector,” before the scene very suddenly fades out like there was maybe more dialogue coming but it was left on the cutting room floor.

It’s dawn and the DCPD are out in force. This is only a quick shot, so I feel bad to even point it out, but you can see the top of the sky backdrop in the top left of frame, and in the bottom right it’s obvious that buildings have just been plopped on the stage with no streets or other details in sight.

The street bustles with activity. I say “street” – it’s pretty obvious that this is a relatively small set inside the studio. Considering this is supposed to be a controlled crime scene, there’s an awful lot of random people just milling about right next to the corpse. Brogan and Haldane are chatting away in the background, not exactly doing a lot of crowd control work.

Captain Podly and Officer Orrin arrive on the scene and you might just notice something different about Orrin this week… that’s a beautiful head of hair you have right there, sir. Behind the scenes, the crew were concerned that Orrin and his partner Beezle looked too similar, so the decision was made to plant thick brown hair on Orrin’s head, continuity be damned. In broadcast order, this becomes a real problem because Protect and Survive was broadcast first (Orrin has no hair), then this episode (Orrin has hair), then Body & Soul (no Orrin appearance at all), then Double Duty (back to no hair), then The Snake (back to having hair). The hair is a good addition, but it does seem particularly funny that it was done to distinguish Orrin from Beezle, given Beezle’s ultimate fate in a couple of episodes’ time…

Time for the police to catch us up on what we need to know. The deceased is Nick Roberts, aged 23, a member of the Hydras, and he died of a heart attack. Podly is astonished, but obviously we as an audience already know exactly what happened so it doesn’t necessarily pack much of a punch.

Yes, thank you computer-thingy, you don’t need to explain it again.

Podly quickly runs through the gang situation on Skall Street, hinting at his personal knowledge of the shady goings-on.

Brogan and Haldane are sent to investigate… something. There’s a general need for answers and plot advancement, so I guess it’s up to our two leading police officers to go and take care of it! I do like this approach to structuring the story though. Double Duty and Protect and Survive needed to establish Brogan and Haldane as the series leads, so from the word go they’re at the heart of the action. Enforcer can afford to take its time setting up the plot before our heroes get involved, a less convenient and more typical approach to setting up a crime story.

Elsewhere (it’s not yet established exactly where), Trask and his young companion arrive at a very grubby wooden door and go inside. Frankly, it looks like one of the houses on Coronation Street. I know the vibe is supposed to be a run-down, working class street in the grubby underbelly of the city, but the set design doesn’t give a single hint that any of this is happening on an alien world.

The interior does little to inspire the imagination either because it’s neither particularly clean or particularly dirty – it just looks like some walls on a soundstage.

Trask and his young associate, named Vala, share some replicated food which looks suspciously like ordinary biscuits.

Vala is portrayed by Jade Punt, who plays the part in an eerie silence that’s incredibly effective. She gives an excellent performance, particularly given what I imagine was quite an awkward costume and make-up job. Obviously her key role in the episode is to be aloof, but there’s also an awareness in her eyes which just elevates the performance and makes her an intriguing character. Space Precinct appears to be Jade Punt’s only television acting credit, but she certainly seemed to have potential for bigger and better things if she’d wanted that career.

Meanwhile, Trask switches the conversation from his plans for power to mentioning Vala’s parents – who are supposedly living on a distant green planet in a big house that he’s going to try and get Vala back to as soon as possible. What’s that smell? Is it a rat?

Trask claims they’ll need time and money to reach Vala’s parents, but everything from the music to the tone of his voice is letting us know that Trask is not telling the whole truth. Rob Thirtle also gives an incredible performance as Trask – it’s unknown whether the character is being revoiced but if he is it’s done well, for once. It’s suprising at this early stage of the series that the producers dared to build an episode around two guest characters like this – one is a man in a rubber mask, and the other is a silent child. It could have so easily fallen apart if it had turned out Rob Thirtle couldn’t deliver a multi-faceted performance through the mask and animatronics, or if Jade Punt were one of those child actors that simply couldn’t act. But they both carry the episode superbly. Rob Thirtle manages to convey Trask’s charisma, deviousness, hints of warmth and coldness, and his quest for power. The script demands a lot from the character and it all comes across in just the right measures.

Up in the station house, Brogan’s got the autopsy report on Nick Roberts. Yeah, I’m afraid they’re still playing catch-up to the audience at home. Bizarrely, the entire autopsy report is shown in full on the screen in the most boring font and layout imaginable.

Seriously – you can read the whole ruddy thing if you want to, right down to his dental records. Highlights include the “Estimated Time of Death: 25:30”, which quietly enforces that Altor doesn’t stick to a 24-hour clock like we have on Earth. Also, “vessels” is misspelled as “vssels” in the final paragraph.

Sgt. Fredo calls Brogan away because there’s a call coming in from his wife. Oh no, not again. Please don’t let the Brogan family derail the episode with yet another pointless subplot.

Jane and Jack share a lovely little moment when Haldane speculates from personal experience that a woman caused Nick Roberts’ broken heart. Castle quips that Haldane even having a heart is quite a surprise. Yeah it’s cheesy, and I like it.

Before Sally Brogan even gets a chance to appear on-screen and ruin the episode with some petty family drama about the kids being stuck at school or some such nonsense, Orrin jumps in to interrupt the call and steer the plot back on course. Phew, we’re safe for now.

Brogan and Haldane are off to interview Andy Sturgeon, the leader of the Hydra Gang – alas, today, that also happens to be the name of a respected British gardener and broadcaster. Why the humans in this particular episode have such incredibly ordinary Earth names I don’t know – in Double Duty and Protect and Survive we had characters like Oturi Nissim and Tylan Gersham to make the whole thing sound a bit more sci-fi.

We’re back in the interrogation room which is still an impossibly tiny set. Rob Youngblood taps the top of the door frame as he crouches inside to really emphasise how rubbish and small it is.

Sturgeon is played by Andrew Tiernan, a face you’ll recognise from a long string of film appearances and TV guest roles. The cockney accent he’s chosen for the character does stick out quite a bit amongst all the American voices we’re hearing, but it works well enough.

Ted Shackelford plays the tough guy so well as he grills Sturgeon about his colleague’s sudden heart explosion. Note the scar that’s visible on Ted’s cheek as a result of the injury he received on the set of Protect and Survive… or Double Duty… depends on which story you believe.

Director, Sidney Hayers, dares to show the set for Skall Street at its full length with a somewhat elaborate crane shot. It’s not too bad. Maybe a little sparse in places but it’s got some depth and texture. There’s concrete and metal work to it which looks more futuristic than the usual fare. Nice job, live action design team – you actually understood the brief for once.

Andy has dropped in to visit Skeevan in the repair shop. We get a little bit of back story – Andy used to visit the shop as a youngster, and he was a nice boy before turning to a life of crime. It’s not exactly a revolutionary piece of world building, but what exactly goes on in the shadowy streets of Demeter City has been fairly glossed over so far in the series, so I appreciate that we get this opportunity to hone in on one particular neighbourhood, the characters who inhabit it, and their history. It’s the type of storytelling that fits the scope of the series at this early stage – rather than going for great big sprawling action and adventure before the production is quite up to it.

Andy turns nasty and desperate for information about Nick’s death. He improvises a creative torture technique by ripping out some electrical components and shoving Skeevan’s hand inside the sparking, fizzing contraption on the table. It looks properly dangerous – especially for someone wearing a big rubber head that they can’t see out of very well.

Somehow, Trask and Vala appear from nowhere without Andy spotting them.

Andy swings for Trask with a chunky piece of metal (accompanied by a rubbish “whoosh” sound effect), but it doesn’t take long for his heart to play up. The “ouch my heart” acting in this episode really is quite decent – hammy as heck, but that’s kind of the point.

Trask makes a little speech about Andy lacking empathy which might be a bit over the top. You hardly know the guy, mate.

Skeevan finally develops some sort of a spine and encourages Trask to stop the torture, to no avail.

Skeevan tries to convince Vala to stop it. She gives a single look which clearly conveys her moral doubt. It’s subtle. Yes, subtle! Space Precinct doesn’t do subtle all that well normally so this feels like a breath of fresh air.

It’s left ambiguous whether Trask chooses to stop the torture, or whether it’s Vala who cuts off Trask’s access to whatever power she wields. Andy slinks away like a wounded cat.

A little bit more lazy set design to point out here – look at the clear line in the wall where the “tiles” don’t match because they’re obviously not tiles at all but bits of misaligned wallpaper.

Skeevan hands over an astonishingly stupid-sized wad of money to repay Trask for saving his life twice. The slimy, weasely side of Trask comes out as he feigns modesty before calmly taking the money like that was his plan all along.

There’s even a gift for Vala in the form of a shiny musical thing. That’s nice.

Up in Podly’s office, our heroes are rather suspicious of how quiet things are on Skall Street with no witnesses coming forward and no further crimes being committed. After a brief hint earlier on, we now learn that Podly grew up on Skall Street. He makes a clever dig at Brogan and Haldane and their relatively soft careers on the streets of New York. The human officers chuckle on behalf of the audience at home.

This episode is not holding off on the back story now, with Podly diving in to his history with Skeevan. Podly explains that he once stole a cruiser, crashed it, and took it to Skeevan for repairs. Needless to say, this is quite a surprising reveal given the authoritarian, no-nonsense side of Podly we’ve seen in the series so far. Acting on Skeevan’s advice, Podly turned his life around and joined the police force. Again, it’s not the most original back story for a police officer, but I appreciate the script making an effort. For the past couple of episodes, Captain Podly has basically been there to shout orders at people, so I can’t fault any attempt to make him more sympathetic and interesting.

It’s also surprising once again that such an early episode of the series chose to hand a character like Podly a leading role in an episode. Jerome Willis was an established actor, easily capable of handling the material, but Enforcer was presumably written only a short time into production when the animatronic masks were still being put through their paces. The whole thing feels like a big test to see whether the Tarn and Creon characters could truly carry an episode, or whether the masks inhibited the actor’s performances too much. I think it’s fair to say that Jerome Willis and the other alien actors succeed in delivering nuanced performances and manage to make their masks feel like real faces.

One tiny thing that I find interesting though – listen carefully to the audio of this scene and you’ll clearly hear the electrical servos grinding away inside Jerome Willis’ mask as the character’s eyes move and blink. Normally, the alien characters were completely redubbed in post-production to avoid this issue. It’s curious that, for this scene, raw audio from the set has made it into the final programme.

It’s another beautiful day on Skall Street, and Vala is admiring her gift from Skeevan. The little detail of Trask holding her hand is simultaneously a symbol of guardianship, but also menacing control. A little red laser appears on Trask’s person and, of course, we all know what that means. There’s a gun-wielding, mean-looking Creon with a particular 1990s punk hairstyle about him.

Sure enough, Andy and the Hydras are back to get their revenge on Trask and Vala. It’s a little bit awkward watching the pair of them try to run for cover since Rob Thirtle is supposed to be leading but can barely see where he’s going, and Jade Punt seems a little unsure of her footing in the delicate costume she’s wearing.

There’s a bit of tension here as Trask and Vala try to find cover in a warehouse, while bad guys emerge from every shadow.

The shootout begins – injecting the episode with some all-important action which has largely been quite restrained up until now.

Brogan and Haldane are conveniently nearby so it looks like they’re off to the rescue!

You could say this action sequence is… heart-stopping… sorry.

With two of his colleagues collapsing dead, one of the goons begins to question his lifestyle choices, and backs away from the scene before Andy persuades him to rejoin the fight.

But it isn’t long before Trask takes out the Creon punk too. Have to give a lot of credit to the pyrotechnics for making this gunfight feel extra dangerous – they don’t hold back on the big bangs!

Andy is quite put out by the fact all his friends have been murdered. Even Fred. Yes, one of the Hydras was called Fred and apparently I’m not supposed to find that funny.

Andy attempts a double bluff which couldn’t fool even the most gullible nun in the convent. Before he can squeeze the trigger, Trask squeezes the life out of Andy’s heart – for good this time. Andy has several seconds with his gun pointed straight at Trask, but for some reason doesn’t take the shot… probably because heart attacks are quite distracting.

Trask and Vala make their escape just before Brogan and Haldane arrive. The model shots of Skall Street don’t particularly match the live action set but they work well enough I suppose.

The great thinker, Officer Haldane poses an important quandary: “So if déjà vu is when you get the feeling something’s happening again, what do you call it when it happens four times?” Still déjà vu probably? Or maybe déjà vu vu vu? I don’t know Haldane, maybe try asking a less dumb question. Podly isn’t happy and decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands – literally, he plans to “reach down someone’s throat and pull” to get answers. That’s a ruddy horrible image to be left with.

Now here’s a really great scene. More of that rich character work is on display as Podly reunites with Skeevan. Skeevan lays it on thick that Podly abandoned his roots in favour of a cushy life in the suburbs, while Podly demands that justice be done for the murder of Andy and the other Hydras. And by thunder does Jerome Willis in particular act his socks off. His tone of voice and his body language do much to convey the life that Podly has lived, struggling to the top of the tree, learning difficult lessons along the way, and admitting he’s not perfect. He’s earned his power, and yet he still feels powerless to fix the crime problems in his own neighbourhood.

The humour which was laced through almost every scene of Protect and Survive is gone now. Space Precinct is a serious drama, at least this week, and it works because the script is so tight and the actors are so committed. The direction, lighting, music, and even the questionable set design have found a consistent tone and they’re sticking to making it good all the way through.

The dialogue between Podly and Skeevan lasts just long enough, and we’re moved neatly along to the next part of the story – Skeevan announces that he’s off to a secret meeting for Skall Street residents only.

Before that – a quiet moment for Vala to admire the stars and enjoy her celestial music box. No dialogue whatsoever, just a few seconds that give her some depth. It’s setting something up without blantantly signposting it. It’s the first moment we’ve had with Vala on her own and it’s the perfect point in the story for us to wonder whether there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Trask is chairing the meeting with the residents of Skall Street – quite the eclectic bunch of people… but mostly just humans with stupid haircuts.

Rob Thirtle plays this scene with a touch of the southern evangelist preacher about him… well, more than a touch – it’s ruddy obvious that’s what he’s going for.

Let’s be honest, the sight of a dolled up Creon prostitute smoking a cigarette is so ludicrous it really ruins this scene. It’s so distracting I just can’t take my eyes off it.

I love that the Creons have all been placed in the front row to make the crowd appear more interesting, while everyone in the back is just a regular person… except for the pink-haired guy on the right… I’m not sure how he made it to the front.

The human “Madam” on the right, played by Kazia Pelka, speaks up with sentiments of, “no pay, no play.” Hmmm… quite.

Her esteemed colleague agrees, while pink-hair-guy questions what exactly three prostitutes are doing in a Gerry Anderson series. This is a very odd step in the wrong direction for the tone of the show. Obviously Demeter City is a seedy place full of all sorts of people trying to earn a living by any means possible, so it’s good to explore that. But this comically over the top, terribly 1990s spin on sex workers just does not fit the straight-laced, mysterious tone of this episode at all. The restraint and subtlety that we’ve seen so far just disappeared.

Trask drops the bombshell that his continued protection of Skall Street will cost the residents half of what they earn. The news goes down like a cup of cold sick. From the look on her face, it’s clear that the third prostitute on the right isn’t ready to make a financial commitment like that without speaking to her bank manager.

Skeevan looks ready to thump Trask for making such an audacious demand. Unfortunately, his wife is not so discerning and accepts that the couple will just have to pay up… not quite sure why… maybe she’s just thick.

So that’s that. This meeting scene probably needed to last a little bit longer so that Trask could use his two-faced nature to persuade the residents. Instead, they just feel forced into paying up, and I assume we’re just supposed to think Trask is a particularly savvy mob boss figure… or maybe we’re still supposed to think his intentions are wholesome? I’m not sure. I’ll be honest, this scene doesn’t quite land for me.

Skeevan leaves the rather naive Lurzan alone, stomping out of the meeting hall in a bit of a huff.

Trask steps out of the shadows as Skeevan walks by. Now, you have to really be paying attention here because everything happens quite quickly. Trask uses his psychic Tarn powers to read Skeevan’s thoughts, and learns – through hastily slapped in voice over – that he’s going to call on Captain Podly for help.

Skeevan is wary of sharing information with anyone other than Podly, but arranges a meeting with Brogan and Haldane at the waterfront by the anti-grav processor in half an hour. The Vidphone isn’t exactly the most impressive piece of technology I’ve ever seen, but what more can you ask from a television on a stick?

Speaking of the waterfront, doesn’t it look good? The model unit have obviously gone to a lot of effort with trying to show off a different part of Demeter City.

Skeevan is being followed by Trask and Vala – but you probably could have guessed that was going to happen.

Nice mix of live action set with model work here – I can’t tell whether the green glow on the actors is a touch of moody lighting or the artefact of a green screen.

Brogan and Haldane are standing by in the cruiser. As if he’s read my mind, Haldane is the first one to comment on how much time these two spend sitting around in the cruiser waiting for things to happen. Dang. He’s doing my job for me. Maybe Haldane should review the rest of this episode – it’s not like he’s got much else to do this week.

Trask is requesting that Vala do some murdering, but she isn’t exactly keen on the idea because of that nice musical box she received from Skeevan. At least that’s what the distant expression on her face says to me. It would therefore appear that Trask is powerless to do anything without Vala’s abilities. We don’t have this fact spelled out for us – it’s just dropped in here for us to remember for later. Once again though, Trask manipulates Vala into doing his bidding by dangling the promsie of contacting her parents.

Crash zoom in on Vala’s eyes which are sparkling bluer than ever before. She really means business! I can’t quite tell whether those are contact lenses or video effects, but either way it works great! I’m going to assume they’re contacts because they don’t line up absolutely perfectly with her irises. It’s an effect very reminiscent of Sapphire and Steel.

Alas, Skeevan knows exactly what happens next, his eyes gripped by sheer terror.

Not every special effects shot can be a winner, and this one of the van wobbling about on wires certainly isn’t.

We head into the commercial break with Skeevan plunging to his death while Vala maintains her grip on his heart. It’s thrilling stuff!

Straight back in from the break and it’s very apparent that Skeevan’s flying van is going to crash straight into Brogan and Haldane’s cruiser. A great mix of moody lighting on both the model set and the live action stage.

So far, this episode has tried quite hard to do things differently compared to the previous two, but it wouldn’t be Space Precinct without an over the top car crash… specifically we have a typical shot of the model vehicle being thrown across the set, and another shot of the camera rushing towards the vehicle’s target.

The impact causes a fire, but not the usual, earth-shattering, calamitous explosion we’ve seen in previous weeks.

Vala collapses in her seat – the first indication that there are limits to her powers.

Never mind.

No restraint here.

Brogan and Haldane aren’t even that impressed by the explosion because they’ve seen so many of them at this point.

The editor slows it down and speeds it up, just for maximum delicious fireball goodness.

Trask congratulates Vala on her efforts… despite the fact she’s obviously in some distress at the moment. Nice guy. He steers the car clear of the devastated warehouse and heads for home, while the police cruiser comes closer to investigate.

We get an “I love this job” from Brogan which I think we can all sympathise with – all these giant buildings getting blown to kingdom come across Demeter City week after week must create a lot of paperwork.

Back in Podly’s office, the Captain is disturbed by the news of Skeevan’s death. I’m just a little bit distracted by some of the trophies on display in the background. Podly never struck me as a golfer… and he certainly doesn’t strike me as a basketball player.

Lurzan is comforted by the out-of-place prostitute. It’s actually quite a convincing, heartfelt performance she gives – Lurzan I mean, not the prostitute.

Podly arrives to stir things up and get some answers, but nobody wants to talk to him. I’m just really distracted by how lazy the attempts are to make the human background actors look vaguely futuristic. Aside from oddly placed face tattoos and putting their hair up in messy, dreadfully unfashionable ways, they otherwise look totally normal. There’s something about how badly they’re all dressed that doesn’t exactly scream £20 million budget.

Seriously – why do all these people look like they don’t belong here? Is it just me? Something is off.

Podly’s commanding speech pays off when one crusty old Creon finally coughs up Trask’s address.

Just like that, Trask is surrounded by cops. Brogan, Fredo and Took on one side, Haldane, Castle and Podly on the other. Six officers to arrest one man seems a bit excessive.

But oh boy has Podly had enough of Trask today, knocking the takeaway kebab out of his hand with the fury of an Essex lad after a disappointing night out in Basildon.

Brogan and Haldane are sent inside to do the grunt work while Podly and Castle enjoy humiliating Trask up against the wall… although he seems like the sort of sick individual that would enjoy that sort of thing.

The officers work fast to track down Vala, whom they find hiding in the corner of the apartment – her face ever so slightly unreadable. There’s fear in her eyes but it’s also mixed with an unknowable, ethereal quality that keeps us guessing what her intentions might be.

It’s interrogation time – Brogan vs. Trask.

While Podly, Took, and Took’s psychic abilities listen in through the glass, Trask demonstrates the limits of his own Tarn powers by lifting a cup off the table – proving he didn’t have the capacity to shred those human hearts. Took is able to verify that, technically speaking at least, he’s telling the truth. Of course, we all still know he’s talking twaddle.

When asked about Vala, he reveals that she was separated from her parents in an ion storm, but hasn’t heard from them since – contrary to what he’s been telling her. How one gets separated from one’s parents in an ion storm I don’t know. “Ion storms” are just one of those sci-fi things we’re supposed to just accept as sounding slightly scary without really understanding what they are. I believe they’re ten-a-penny in Star Trek.

Officer Castle, who really hasn’t had much to do this week, has been put in charge of questioning Vala. It’s not going well. Vala’s eyes seem a lot bluer in this particular scene – not entirely sure why. Maybe she was meant to wear the contact lenses for the whole episode but Jade Punt couldn’t quite manage it, or maybe it’s a simple continuity error.

Sidney Hayers does a quality bit of framing here so the officers can talk about Vala out of earshot while keeping her visible. That’s what you get when you hire a veteran director, I guess.

I’m sensing there’s a deleted scene missing here because Haldane is suddenly quite the expert on Vala, claiming that Slomo ran her through records with no trace, but she resembles a race on one of the rim worlds. Ion storms? Rim worlds? Space Precinct is starting to sound like a proper sci-fi show!

The witnesses are dead. Vala won’t talk. Trask is telling something resembling the truth. The precinct has no reason to hold him any longer even though he’s obviously up to something.

“Well, as one would say… lovely…” I adore Captain Podly.

Oof yes, Podly’s ruddy scary, isn’t he? Trask is set free with a very stern warning from Podly that makes me a little damp in the trousers – interpret that how you will.

Oh fiddle. What’s she doing here? Everything was going so well.

Ok, ok, we’ve got some Brogan family drama BUT at least it’s relevant to the main plot this time. For some reason, Castle told Sally about Vala and the fact she’s probably heading for juvenile hall. Again, I’m guessing there were some scenes deleted here that would have shown all this. Sally is eager to take Vala back to the suburbs, but her husband Patrick is less than keen to take his work home with him.

Brogan submits. It’s tragic that the one scene Sally gets to have outside of her kitchen ends up revolving around setting another place for dinner.

Sally is pleased – yes, it’s that shot from the opening titles.

Yeah, it’s another Brogan family dinner scene but I promise this one isn’t a complete car wreck like the last ones.

Matt and Liz are at war, as usual. Matt insults the food and suggests his sister should learn to keep quiet like Vala, while Liz accuses her brother of being a gosh-darn-common-or-garden-scumbag-fourteen-year-old.

Don’t worry, the parents are on hand to embarrass Matt with the story of his bravery defending Liz from teasing. Specifically, he came home with a bruise the size of Horta’s egg – a reference to the 1967 Star Trek episode, The Devil In The Dark, which Marc Scott Zicree probably figured he could slip into the script without any of the British production crew noticing.

Jokes aside, this is another really nice bit of backstory that the episode offers us. It does just enough to elevate Matt and Liz away from the one-note bickering siblings schtick that we’ve had to put up with in the first two episodes. It’s refreshing to have something in a Brogan family dinner scene that isn’t thoroughly irritating.

Oh yeah, Zil’s still alive. She was absent last week. I’m not going to say I’m pleased to see her back, but hey-ho.

Liz invites Vala to go and pet her and somehow it’s made to feel like a significant moment. It feels sincere and insightful – like we’re getting a real glimpse of Vala in an unguarded moment of contentment. I never would have thought a moment with Zil in any capacity would have any importance attached to it, but it looks like they’ve managed it.

The Brogans tuck their new favourite child into bed. As Sally walks away, Vala retrieves her gift from Skeevan and enjoys the music.

Brogan claims to recognise the music, and that his mother used to sing it to him when he was scared during a storm… yeah I’m not buying that – mostly because the music doesn’t sound remotely sing-able. Nevertheless, it’s a touching moment between tough guy Brogan and the little girl.

Just as Brogan turns away (revealing the top of the apartment set in the process), Vala speaks for the first time.

Oh dear.

Jade Punt’s pitch perfect performance is absolutely ruined by some truly abysmal revoicing by a much, much, much older actor. Vala talks with the voice of a middle-aged woman doing a dreadful impersonation of a little girl and it completely ruins the magic of the scene. Maybe they thought it was okay because she’s an alien? Nah – not a good excuse. How bad could Jade Punt’s reading of the lines have possibly been that someone decided this was better? Have we learned nothing from Idris Elba?

If you can get past the atrocious dubbing, Vala explains that Trask has been talking to her parents and that he promises to get her back to them with the money they take from protecting Skall Street.

Ted Shackelford plays the scene so well – quietly bubbling with rage because Brogan knows Trask has been lying to Vala, but not wanting to disappoint the poor girl before she goes to sleep.

Brogan gets on the blower with Haldane to bring in Trask, but Trask has vanished. Well there’s a bloomin’ surprise. Apparently sunspot interference is preventing them from making contact with Trask, which is another jolly convenient bit of Star Trek grade sci-fi nonsense peppered into the script by Zicree. Looking rather less sci-fi is the backyard of Brogan’s apartment complete with naff metal furniture that you might find at the cafe inside a 1990s leisure centre.

Because we were never properly introduced to the Brogan family home in the first episode, it takes a moment for me to figure out exactly where we are. The suburbs space station is essentially a wheel with each home forming the individual spokes, and at the end of each spoke we can see a little garden under a glass dome. So, when Brogan sits in his yard looking out, he just sees trees and the blackness of space beyond. Therefore, he’s somewhat suspicious when he sees a car flying around outside his backyard. Is that clearer now? Hope so. Was I the only one that was confused? Probably.

Just like that, Trask has come to visit. How did he know where Vala was, or where Brogan lived? Beats me. Perhaps another scene was trimmed. Sometimes this script is a little bit too tight.

Vala has gotten dressed again. Remember, she was in pajamas in the last scene. So does that mean she planned on leaving, or knew Trask was coming? I can’t imagine she really wanted to leave the Brogans’ apartment. And when Trask gives the order for Vala to kill Brogan, she’d really rather not.

It seems Trask has never heard Vala speak either, which I suppose comes down to her never fully trusting him.

What happens next also requires some explaining, I think. Trask insists on killing Brogan, but Vala still refuses, so Trask uses his telekinetic Tarn powers to launch a vase in someone’s general direction. Picking up on the threat, Brogan draws his gun and starts to wrestle with Trask in order to get him away from Vala.

Try to ignore Ted Shackelford’s pit stains for a moment because there’s still more to explain here. Brogan gets his gun pointed quite close to Trask’s face which scares Vala and therefore encourages her to use her psychic power and attack Brogan’s heart, knocking him out just outside the front door – but not killing him because that wouldn’t help the plot – or possibly because Vala still likes Brogan a bit and doesn’t want to kill him.

And with that, Trask takes Vala away and leaves Brogan either dead or quite close to death. Well, as one would say… lovely.

Flying out into space, free to go and terrorise some other planet, Trask instead makes the bizarre request for Podly to place him in protective custody in exchange for the identity of the Hydra Gang killer. Obviously we know that’s a bluff… but I’m not immediately sure why he’s doing it. I mean, I’ve seen the episode so I know he wants to go back to the station house and have his revenge… but instead he could just escape before anyone finds Brogan or wonders where Vala has gone.

Frankly, I’m a bit distracted by the totally stationary space backdrop which slightly spoils the whole car scene.

The motion control scenes out in space look so much better than the little model cars being flown around on wires in the city.

Trask tries to do a bit more lying to Vala, explaining that everyone except him is trying to prevent her from reaching her parents. What a piece of work.

I’m not really sure what time of day it is any more because Sally is now up in the middle of the night, strolling around her apartment for no particular reason but fully dressed for the day, just on the off-chance a vase is broken and requires further investigation. Fortunately, she immediately decides to open the door and sure enough, she finds Brogan on the floor clutching his heart but apparently not dead or anything close. He explains that Trask has no power and that Vala is the one behind the attacks… something which everyone at home has understood since the beginning.

Podly instructs Trask to fly into Bay 6… just in case you’re keeping track of how many parking spots the station house has.

Bay 6 is accessed through the tiniest little door you ever did see. Or maybe the bit surrounded by yellow and black tape is just a part of the door? I don’t know. Door experts out there, let me know.

With a lot of smoke and careful camerawork, Sidney Hayers tries to suggest that Trask’s car has just landed. Sorry, his hopper has just landed. Podly is insistent on using the word “hopper” and that is the word generally used in the series to refer to flying cars. I’ll try to do better about that. Hopper – not car. Hopper – not car.

Anyway, Vala’s sitting in the car. She’s got her eye on this creep with a gun.

Vala doesn’t like guns. Definitely a video effect for the eyes this time…

A sarcastic round of applause for this guy’s acting choices.

Grabbing the guns from both officers, Trask takes control of the situation. He innocently offers to show Vala a control room.

So, Trask’s great big plan is to have Podly fire the emergency thrusters and send the station crashing out of orbit, vaporising everyone onboard. Not quite sure why he wants everyone to suffer such a grizzly death when all they did was detain him for a few hours, but I guess the guy’s gone nutty. Podly finds the idea understandably laughable.

Trask uses his catchphrase “drop him” and Podly’s heart gets a squeeze from Vala. Unfortunately even the incredible acting talent of Jerome Willis can’t save this moment from looking a bit silly because the mask’s eyes can’t quite express pain properly.

The control console for the station house thrusters looks a little bit basic – just a few screens and lights slapped on to some bits of wood. The system requires Podly’s palm print, so Trask cruelly grabs Podly’s writhing body and slaps his hand onto the reader. The sound effect which plays when the palm print is recognised is a generic computer sound instantly recognisable to anyone who’s watched a 1960s Doctor Who story.

An adorable little hatch opens, some thrusters fire, and the station house starts moving. I’m sure there is a practical purpose for those thrusters existing in the first place, but if all they do is guarantee death, one wonders why they’re really there. Maybe when they’re not being used by a lunatic they’re useful for stabilising the station’s orbit.

Everyone gets to have a go at some tilty camera acting – from Castle grabbing her table and leaning, to Haldane grabbing his table and leaning, to Orrin grabbing his table and leaning, to Beezle grabbing a wall and leaning. Okay. a bit more happens than that but it’s mostly left to the stunt people, who throw themselves around the set with rubber heads on. Slomo doesn’t have a stunt double, so they just drive him into a wall. Beezle informs us that the door has been locked shut. Oh yeah, remember Beezle? He doesn’t have much to do this week.

Meanwhile, Brogan is flying to the station house as fast as he can in his rubbish car… sorry… his rubbish hopper.

Brogan is also filmed against that rather unconvincing space backdrop as he tries to keep up with the station’s descent. Slomo basically explains that everything’s gone to hell in a handbasket.

Simone Bendix does some truly award winning “leaning on a spaceship” acting in order to cross the set. I’m not even kidding, that’s some of the best I’ve ever seen.

Meanwhile, Vala is slowly toasting Podly’s ticker. Trask takes a moment to taunt Podly, claiming he’s going to take Skall Street, and the whole of Demeter City, while the station house is left to burn up in orbit. It’s only implied, but presumably Trask wants the run of Demeter City for profitable criminal purposes and believes that destroying the DCPD and all its officers is the key to unlocking whatever illegal enterprise he has in mind. The only real flaw I can see with that plan, and it is quite a big one, is the idea that the entire concept of policing Demeter City will just pop out of existence as soon as Precinct 88 is terminated… surely the powers that be would just establish a new police force in its place?

I know we’re dealing with the impending destruction of our favourite characters here, but isn’t this shot of the station house tumbling towards its demise rather pretty?

Haldane explains to Brogan that they’ve put out a distress call, but realistically there just isn’t enough time left for anyone to help. Don’t be so despondent Jack! I’m sure Alan Tracy and Thunderbird 3 will get there as quick as they can!

Officer Castle takes the opportunity to run a visual check on various parts of the station house where people and cheap plastic furniture have been tossed about like confetti. But it doesn’t take her long to tune in to the Trask show and learn exactly why they’re crashing out of orbit right now.

Brogan studies the station’s schematics and cooks up a deliciously heroic plan to get onboard and save everyone. Kind of figured he would.

Emergency Airlock 4 runs on a seperate power circuit so Castle is able to blow the bulkhead and let Brogan in. Needless to say, the effects department achieve all this beautifully.

Brogan’s crawling around in the ventilation shafts quicker than you can say Die Hard.

Poor worn out Podly makes a feeble attempt to grab Trask by the legs and do… something. Whatever it is, it doesn’t work.

You can just tell Ted is having a lot of fun being an action hero in the studio today. I’m just glad the cheap set can stand up to him hanging from the ceiling like that.

Surprise! Blimey – they didn’t even attempt to hide the edge of the set once that door opened.

The station house’s destruction begins to feel quite imminent, and all Haldane, Castle and the others can do is watch Brogan attempt to defuse the situation. The tension is fantastic, and it’s great that such a character-driven story has successfully culminated in a standoff of this magnitude.

It all hinges around Vala. Will she continue following Trask in the hope of reaching her parents, or trust in Brogan?

Fortunately, Brogan has one great big, fat, chunky ace up his sleeve. Haldane plays in footage from the interrogation (which is quite obviously just footage from the scene itself rather than something out of a surveillance camera). It’s the moment when Trask lets slip that he doesn’t know anything about Vala’s parents at all and has never contacted them. Jade Punt portrays her character’s quiet rage absolutely perfectly – she no longer looks like a lost little girl, but a powerful, vengeful being ready to use her newly acquired knowledge against her enemy. But there’s also great sadness in her eyes as the last hope she had of seeing her family again vanishes in an instant.

Podly tries to have the last laugh against Trask, which might be a bit cruel since getting to this point required Vala’s hopes and dreams smashing to pieces, but also feels earned because Podly’s been through quite a rough ordeal as well. Needless to say, Trask has reached the pinnacle of hopelessness too, now that any control he might have had over Vala has completely slipped once and for all.

Trask’s demise at Vala’s hand is tackled swiftly. I’m glad he doesn’t make any grand speeches or die in a particularly spectacular way. The script trusts that the audience is keeping up, and that they know full well Trask has nowhere else to go. He dies quickly and with very few words needed to demonstrate that, ultimately, he had no real power. That’s a brave way to finish off your big villain for the episode, but it’s absolutely the right call for this character.

We all think that’s the end of it. The villain is gone so the drama must be over, right? No – because Vala, the true source of power in the episode, finally has agency of her own. To end the episode before she has her moment would deny the character any sense of a completed journey – it would make her nothing but a weapon whose function became void as soon as Trask died. But Vala now has the chance to explore her own feelings, her own power, and her own rage. Vala is free to make her own decisions, and the first thing she wants to address is how badly life has treated her up to this point. Trask promised to keep her safe and let her down. Brogan promised the same, so he must be the next person to suffer.

Haldane and Castle can do nothing but watch in horror… to be fair they haven’t been able to do much else for a good deal of the show. There really hasn’t been much room in this episode for extraneous cast members so it’s a miracle they’ve had anything to do at all.

Podly begs, and Brogan is down on his knees.

Vala stands tall in the scene, looking down on others, no longer a little child. She has all the power. But her eyes tell a different story. She is still lost, and still afraid, and deep down still needs someone to take care of her. She just can’t trust anyone to do that for her except for the family she yearns to see again. It’s an absolute crime that her revoiced dialogue fails to capture any of the nuance that’s present on Jade Punt’s face because it’s such a carefully pitched performance otherwise.

With not a single person left that she can trust, and holding complete control over her fate for the first time, Vala chooses to die in the terrible disaster that Trask has created.

Since actually blowing up the station house model would have been a bit of a fool’s errand for the special effects crew, they use a double exposure to get across that bits of the structure are breaking up in Altor’s atmosphere.

Brogan’s plea for his life is simple. Trask lied, but not everyone is like Trask. The key line of dialogue here is really, really subtle but very important to understanding what Vala does next. Brogan says: “Honey, please don’t let him do this to me.” I think Ted Shackelford missed a trick by not emphasising the word “him” more in his delivery of the line. By doing so it would spell out the fact that really, Vala is still carrying out Trask’s wishes by killing Brogan and wiping out the police station – meaning she’s still under his control and therefore doing the opposite of what she really wants. Not only that, but with that line of dialogue, Brogan clearly recognises that Vala has a mind of her own by delineating between Trask’s choices and what she can choose to do now. Brogan’s asking her to save their lives, but he’s also gifting Vala the opportunity to choose something for herself for the first time in a long time – which is the most honest glimmer of care she’s been shown for the whole episode.

So, she not only releases him from her power, but Vala launches into a hug to symbolise her ability to trust Brogan, and her ultimate need to be cared for properly.

Vala’s expression is one of peace, safety, and real hope.

Emergency thrusters fire… somehow. Vala and Brogan are still hugging, and Podly is still slumped on the floor, so I’m not sure who pressed the right buttons to restore the station’s systems. Anyway, Simone Bendix does some more top class “leaning-on-a-spaceship-until-it’s-leaning-in-the-right-direction-again” acting while the camera moves accordingly, and it seems that all is well. Haldane rushes out to Brogan’s aid because he’s the series’ second lead and should probably do something.

As the station house rises back into orbit, the gang come to pick Podly up off the floor, and to confirm that Trask isn’t actually dead. Yup – turns out he’ll be spending the rest of his life in jail.

In terms of justice and what not, that was probably the right call. Vala looks down, probably contemplating whether she really wanted Trask dead or not. Ultimately, I’d like to think she realises murder was very much a Trask solution to problems, and that she used her own decision-making and her own power in a more just and honorable way.

The next scene begins on this photograph of the Brogan family, which would have been taken by the lake in Black Park just a stone’s throw away from Pinewood Studios, recognisable to UFO and Space: 1999 location-spotters. It’s a beautiful area, and I’d like to think that the cast had a “family day out” taking a walk and having a grand old time. Given the way the photo is posed, it’s possible that this was taken on some sort of press day with multiple photographers present.

The photo becomes a video call with Captain Podly. Brogan explains that IDMP (whoever they are) tracked down Vala’s parents and so she’ll be going home. Meanwhile Podly’s arc for the episode is wrapped up neatly with the news that Skall Street is settling down, and that he’s going to take the family for a shindig in the old neighbourhood. Very nice touch.

Sally comes in with the news that Vala is leaving. They can’t quite move away from the stereotypical mother thing with her. Sally complains about packing too many sandwiches for Vala’s trip, but at least it’s played at a slightly different angle to the norm. The Brogan couple share a quick moment, basically concluding that they did good.

Now, there’s an argument to be made that this goodbye scene is a bit too sickly sweet – but I think most of that comes from the fact a middle-aged woman is delivering all of Vala’s dialogue in a horribly flat tone, so the whole thing becomes jarring.

Vala says her goodbyes, but doesn’t lose the touch of alienness about her when she waves farewell in an aloof manner I would equate to either royalty, or Glinda the Good Witch.

But she has one final choice to make, regifting Skeevan’s celestial music box to Brogan so he doesn’t get scared of storms. Okay, yes, this is all a bit yucky and sentimental, but it does serve to solidify that earlier scene between Brogan and Vala when they became equals – she saved his life, he took care of her. And so they go on taking care of each other, even if it’s only in trivial little ways like this. It’s also a moment which rewards Brogan for exposing his sensitive side and for discussing his weaknesses – something which makes him a more well-rounded character in a profession (and indeed a television series) that demands he always be a tough action hero.

And with that, the episode is tied up in a neat bow. Very neat indeed.

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I think it goes without saying that this is my favourite episode of the three we’ve watched so far. Marc Scott Zicree’s script and Sidney Hayers’ direction are both super duper tight and they know exactly what they want to achieve. The scope is simplified right down and any extraneous flab from the show’s format is left out entirely. The tone, for once, is just right with character-driven drama coming to the forefront, the action and excitement that we’ve come to expect falling into place naturally as a result, and the lighter comedy moments fitting in only when they’re needed.

For the most part, acting performances are measured and consistent. Nobody’s hamming it up on purpose, because the actors understand the journey their characters are on and play it out naturally. Rob Thirtle’s Trask, Jerome Willis’ Podly, Jade Punt’s Vala, and Andy Dawson’s Skeevan all prove that actors in heavy prosthetics and animatronics absolutely can carry a story – hitting upon what can make Space Precinct such a unique and exciting television series: the presentation of alien characters with realistic thoughts, feelings, and motivations which make for compelling drama. With such a clear mission statement from the script, the rest of the production falls into line with cinematography and special effects stepping up to deliver. My only complaints about Enforcer are that the live action set design is still far from ideal (though showing some signs of improvement), costume and make-up for the human background artists could do with some refinement, and some of the revoicing of characters that goes on remains completely misjudged.

Nevertheless, I’m now coming to Space Precinct with a renewed sense of hope that with clear direction and a focused writing style, this series can produce some absolute gems. Enforcer gets rid of subplots for the sake of subplots, comedy for the sake of comedy, and gore for the sake of gore, and instead just gets down to using only the elements it needs to tell a really, really, good story.