Space Precinct – 24. Deathwatch Conclusion

It’s a genuine pleasure for me to see Space Precinct end on such a high with Deathwatch Conclusion. Of course it’s not perfect – that’s the nature of Space Precinct. I think we’ve all come to accept that the show is fundamentally flawed for all the reasons I’ve banged on about for the past 24 weeks. But after a year in production on the stages at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios, it’s clear from this episode that the production team weren’t giving up without a fight. With the series achieving respectable viewing figures on Sky One and later BBC2, why would they throw in the towel now? In April 1995, renewing the show for a second series was a real possibility, although most agree that such a renewal would have come with heavy strings attached. Of course, we all know that no such renewal came, and Deathwatch Conclusion was therefore the end of the line – and that’s going to be our focus for today.

But not only was this episode tasked with wrapping up the series as a whole, Deathwatch Conclusion also serves as the second chapter of an adventure that was never originally conceived as a two-parter. Deathwatch started life as a single installment, penned by Michael Berlin & Eric Estrin. Their script featured an ambiguous ending concerning the ultimate fate of Altor in the hands of military intelligence and an unknown alien space rock. It was a strong episode overall, and the final mystery was so tantalising that the producers decided to give us a sequel. The only problem was that there wasn’t a lot of time left before production wrapped on the series. So, just six weeks after filming was completed on Deathwatch, the cameras were rolling on the impromptu Deathwatch Conclusion. The script was not written by the authors of the original episode, but by Arthur Sellers who had previously contributed Divided We Stand and Smelter Skelter. I don’t know whether Berlin & Estrin were actually approached to write Deathwatch Conclusion, but I can appreciate why the story team opted for Sellers as a safe pair of hands to get the script out in a hurry. His earlier contributions to the series may not have been stellar, but at least he knew the characters and the quirks of the show. In order to maintain consistency, Piers Haggard returned from Deathwatch to direct Deathwatch Conclusion. You don’t need me to tell you why that was a smart move.

Like the beginning of The Fire Within Part Two, today’s opening titles cut off abruptly and replace the typical ‘This Episode’ teaser with a short recap of Deathwatch. The funny thing is that because Deathwatch was originally planned as a self-contained story, very little of it actually needs to be recounted because the vast majority of plot threads from that episode have already been tied up. So, the recap skips over the story of Bertha Fluss and focuses instead on the arrival of the alien object, its possession of Randall Butler and his subsequent demise, and the friction between the DCPD and the MIA. Curiously, the recap skips what I would consider the most important moment that was tacked onto the end of Deathwatch – Captain Weldon and Major Graffa supervising the extraction of the alien object from the ruins of Roetem Towers.

Yes, they really did call it ‘Deathwatch Conclusion‘, with the word ‘Conclusion’ obviously slapped on there as an after thought. Still, it’s an improvement on The Fire Within which didn’t distinguish between its two episodes in the on-screen captions at all. Deathwatch had originally been titled ‘Graveyard’, and so the script for this episode was initially ‘Graveyard II’, before switching to ‘Deathwatch II’ during filming, and finally ‘Deathwatch Conclusion‘ – which just sounds ever so functional.

Back in their sweaty van, Captain Weldon, Major Graffa, and their staff, are transporting a caged, glowing object. Weldon reminds us that this is the thing that “destroyed Randall Butler.” Well… sort of. Falling down the stairs into a fire is probably what finished off Butler. But this is the smaller object that he touched just prior to getting taken over. It comes to the same thing I suppose but I’m just being pedantic. Graffa states that he’s “more worried about the big one,” referring to the much larger object that was pulled out from under the Roetem Towers block. We still don’t know how that thing got there… and we never will. It’s not addressed. Considering this is an episode all about wrapping up a mystery, there’s still a bit of stuff from Deathwatch that’s left untouched.

A commander pops up on the van’s little telly to let us all know this is serious business. With more eyes on Weldon and Graffa, it’s clear that this is now a big military operation compared to the covert surveillance they were carrying out in the first episode. The unnamed MIA commander is played by Canadian actor Burnell Tucker, who had previously made three small appearances for Gerry Anderson in the UFO episodes Ordeal, Sub-Smash, and The Sound of Silence. Tucker’s filmography is a wild string of minor roles in major movies such as Dr Strangelove (1964), The Omen (1976), Star Wars (1977), Superman (1978), and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) to name just a few.

Comparing this nighttime shot of Demeter to the opening scene of Double Duty is an interesting example of how the look established by the special effects team has slowly been refined over the course of the series. Steven Begg’s team have really perfected how to place the camera and the buildings to create a vast cityscape that’s foreboding and realistic. They were off to a decent enough start with Double Duty, but there’s been such an improvement since then.

Weldon and Graffa step out of their van and head to their modestly guarded secret hideout, nestled in one of Demeter’s many squalid back alleys.

The military uniforms aren’t much to shout about. They’re pretty generic and not remotely space-age. Ditto for their guns.

Locked up inside a biohazard container with a conveniently placed window, it’s the big alien object we saw them dig up at the end of Deathwatch. It pulsates with the appropriate level of menace. Weldon wants to “destroy that thing right now.” Well that wouldn’t make a very interesting episode, would it? Graffa explains that they need to find out “what makes it tick first,” with plans to transport the object to Site R for further analysis. I think we’re striking a good balance between furthering the plot and taking a moment to reacquaint ourselves with the situation, with the dual-purpose dialogue only sounding a teeny bit weird and unnatural as a result.

Cecilia Noble must have been quite surprised to get a phone call from her agent calling her back to the set of Space Precinct. Captain Tara Weldon was one of many moving parts in the first installment of Deathwatch, but this episode really puts her in the spotlight and gives Noble more to do with the character. She’s great at breathing extra life into what was previously a generic military archetype. That being said though, it’s clear that the Hackney-born Noble isn’t entirely comfortable wrestling with that fake American accent for prolonged stretches of dialogue. It’s passable for the most part, but some of those vowels don’t sound right.

Major Graffa is a bit of a different story. I didn’t even notice during my first watch-through, but a closer inspection of the cast list reveals that Graffa is now being played by a totally different actor! Obviously they are under a mask and being re-voiced so it’s not surprising that I missed it, but today the role of Major Graffa is now being played by Rob Thirtle. Andy Dawson, who played Graffa perfectly adequately in the first part of Deathwatch, has this week been demoted to several more junior roles. Why the need to sub in Rob Thirtle? My guess is that Rob had racked up more major roles in the series like Commissioner Tev in Takeover, Dag Jomore in Body & Soul, and Trask in Enforcer, and it was perhaps felt that as the senior member of the repertory cast he was better equipped to portray Graffa’s dramatic transformation throughout this episode. It’s also worth considering though that there may have been a more practical and boring reason for the change that we’re not privy to. It’s just one of Space Precinct’s many, many strange casting puzzles!

As Graffa hands Weldon one of only two keys to access Site R, the large object in the container seems to get the hump and flares at them. Weldon hides the smaller nugget like it’s a sweet little kitten being threatened by an angry dog.

Major Graffa loves to live dangerously – hence the eye-patch I imagine – and stands right next to the object while speculating about it doing something nasty.

Then, it does something nasty. Not much of a surprise considering a fair chunk of this episode so far has just been a lot of chatter and not much action. It’s about time things kicked off.

There’s a spot of really bad fake slow-mo as Weldon ducks out of the way. I thought my Blu-ray player was broken but it’s intentional, apparently.

Graffa gets to his feet in a slow and menacing manner. Just like that, his eye has gone purple in the exact same way as Butler’s, indicating possession by the alien object. That’s a bit of a problem.

Graffa snatches the smaller object. “It needs this!” he declares fairly bluntly. Yeah, some of this dialogue is quite clunky.

Weldon has a professional disagreement with her colleague and elects to knock the flip out of him to protect the smaller alien object from whatever the larger one needs it for. She uses further persuasive methods to disable the guards and hop back in the van outside before anyone can put a stop to it. Sure, Weldon could have just explained to the guards that something was wrong with Major Graffa and had him detained, but punching their lights out and fleeing was the quicker option.

The van gets a nasty scrape on the side of a building as Weldon makes a hurried departure while getting shot at. The laser blast sound effects are particularly satisfying here.

The two colleagues are now enemies. Oof, the betrayal. It’s enough to make you wave your fist at the sky.

Just in case it wasn’t crystal clear, Graffa now works for the alien lump. “I will get it for you! I will get it! I will…” Yeah, something tells me script writer Arthur Sellers didn’t have a lot of time to polish his dialogue before filming started. Some corny lines aside though, this has been a pretty effective opening to the episode. They’ve essentially started up a whole new plot out of what was left of the old one. Turning the two military characters against each other injects a great twist into the story and gives us a reason to stay invested. These are some solid gold stakes, even if we don’t fully understand them yet.

Over at Casa del Brogan, things are a little more relaxed. The family are enjoying a continental breakfast on the terrace before Patrick heads out to work. But there’s a light and fluffy subplot cooking. Matt and Liz are keen to remind their father that it’s his 15th wedding anniversary and he ought to do something nice for their mother. Sally is thoroughly amused by the kids’ total lack of faith in Patrick’s sense of romance. Papa Brogan plays off the concern with some delightful sarcasm. Are we straying into a generic “forgotten anniversary” sitcom plot? Well no, because obviously family man Brogan is totally on top of it. But one can hardly say this is a fresh and original idea either. We can all guess that this is just a means of introducing some stock standard personal stakes for our hero that are purely there to come back and tug on the audience’s heartstrings later. It’s thinly veiled, but hey, it serves the purpose and fits the character, so I’ll run with it.

Brogan jumps into his hopper, which is in the standard green livery as usual. Presumably this is the hopper that he was gifted at the end of The Forever Beetle – the fourth one of the series. Captain Weldon has smuggled herself in the back of the car and points a gun at Brogan. The script for this episode indicates that it’s been a week since the events of Deathwatch. Hence why Brogan is surprised to see Weldon, but not too surprised. If you’re a dedicated follower of the series’ production order, good luck trying to reason that all of The Fire Within and The Forever Beetle squeeze into that one-week gap. I think we can all agree that unless you’re a Security Hazard review writer, it’s best to watch Deathwatch and Deathwatch Conclusion back to back.

Brogan takes Weldon for a trip towards a nondescript tower in the city. Sergeant Fredo’s yellow apartment block from The Witness features alongside so many familiar buildings from the series. Alas, the edge of the sky backdrop is very visible in the top left corner of the frame.

I can’t say I know the geography of Manhattan, but I’m guessing ‘Nu ROME’ is a reference to Little Italy. The pillars are certainly giving Roman vibes. What are such old-fashioned pillars doing on top of a skyscraper? No idea. This whole set looks like the leftovers from a Pinewood Studios rummage sale. Weldon’s beige van certainly doesn’t look so impressive when viewed from this distance in broad daylight.

Weldon’s first order of business is to jam a king-sized hypodermic into Brogan’s neck.

He’s not best pleased when she refuses to tell him what was in the injector. Come on Brogan, it was pretty unlikely that she’d give you that information straight away. Have you never been kidnapped and drugged before?

Captain Weldon explains that Major Graffa has tagged her as ‘kill on sight’, which I think you’ll agree marks a real shift in the pair’s relationship.

The next bit of exposition is dumped in unceremoniously. Brogan wants to know what’s going on, and Weldon has a handy video presentation prepared. She shows footage taken two months ago from the planet Nayji, on the far side of the Ripley (Alien reference) galaxy. It’s a bustling, futuristic city, not unlike Demeter. Now, the live camera feed shows nothing but darkness and ruin. The red areas on the planet show eruptions from a space-born parasite, originally mistaken for meteorites. The parasite spread and wiped out all organic life on Nayji. You can probably see where this is going.

Weldon still doesn’t know exactly what this smaller space lump is for, but confirms that the larger object buried under the old apartment block was the same space parasite that wiped out Nayji. How did it land under there? We still don’t know. Suggesting the thing came from space and landed in the city only makes sense if Roetem Towers was built on top of it. But that isn’t what happened. We only saw a hefty chunk of it land at Butler’s farm. How it got under a building miles away in the city remains an unexplained mystery. But try not to think about that too hard because Weldon’s new mission is pretty simple – get to Site R where the parasite is being stashed, and destroy it before it bursts and spreads death across Altor. Why does Weldon need Brogan’s help to save the world? “You know so much already,” she explains vaguely. She may as well have said, “It’s your show, mate, of course you need to help.”

With some not-particularly-special effects, Weldon uses an innocent plant to demonstrate the effects of the drug she just injected into Brogan’s neck. It’s called TZ8 and it’s an enzyme that “unzips” DNA. In short, nasty juice make plant go bye-bye. We don’t need to be more scientific than that.

Bit harsh.

The understandably cheesed off Brogan slams Weldon against the hopper. She promises him a countdown of 52 hours before the enzyme takes effect on his guts, plus an antidote if he cooperates with her. Again, this script isn’t scoring points for originality, but we’re building up a standard-issue checklist of stakes for our heroes to battle and that’s better than nothing. Generic, off-the-shelf drama is better than no drama at all.

Meanwhile, Officer Haldane is curious why his partner hasn’t shown up for work yet. He calls up young Liz who suggests that her father is busy panic-buying an anniversary gift. Castle scoffs that even the good ones forget such things. Touched a nerve? Nah, she’s just goofing around.

Jack and Jane take it as a challenge to share all the tiny details that they can remember about one another. Favourite foods, pastimes, personality traits – that sort of thing. Yeah, it’s all pretty generic stuff but I think the dialogue is charming in its simplicity. They’re a couple of ordinary, good-looking people. It makes sense that the things they like about each other are pretty ordinary too. Castle’s remark, “You have a cute behind,” is just the right level of flirty mixed with modesty which you know suits the pair of them perfectly. Today, Haldane and Castle really do seem to like each other and they’re not hiding it anymore. Jack’s opening up, and Jane’s loosening up. We’ve seen hints of it across the series, but today, for whatever reason, it’s finally happening. Jane suggests that they go out this weekend, “for real.” It’s soft and gooey and I’m lapping it up.

Blissfully unaware that two of his officers have hit a major landmark for both their relationship and the series as a whole, Captain Podly is kicking back with the headlines. The Altor Enquirer has run with ‘POP STAR KOTI MARAH JILTS GILL AT ALTAR!’ as their front page scoop. Clearly, they don’t know anything about the imminent annihilation of all life on Altor.

A scrambled message from the MIA commander interrupts Podly’s quiet time. “Who the hell are you?!” he wails. I wonder if Podly says that every time he answers the phone. It doesn’t seem too unreasonable that a police captain would need to take a call every now and again, but apparently this particular police captain considers it the height of rudeness. The commander has called to catch Podly up on the plot…

And it’s well-timed because Weldon’s van is heading straight for the station house.

Brogan and Weldon pay a visit to Officer Carson. Who else would you go to with a vaguely scientific problem? They ask him for a qualitative analysis of the mysterious lump… which essentially means he just needs to look at it for a bit. I think he’s up to the task.

But now he’s been briefed by the military, Podly immediately has Weldon arrested. I’m not sure what else she thought would happen when waltzing into a police station with a target on her back.

Tough guy Haldane gets all pushy when he learns that Weldon’s drugged his bestest friend. She explains that TZ8 is an “anti-personnel enzyme.” Before you ask, no, that’s not a real science term.

In 1994, Joseph Mydell won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Perestroika at the Royal National Theatre. Now it’s 1995 and he’s struggling to make the line, “Oh no!” sound convincing on the set of Space Precinct. Even for an Olivier Award winning actor, it’s an impossible task. I don’t think Mydell’s work as Carson is representative of his wider talents as an actor. He was just handed a spectacularly rubbish part to play in this show.

Despite the abysmal failure to achieve anything significant, Weldon agrees that Brogan has been a good boy and hands over the antidote to save him. Yup, barely an hour into Brogan’s 52-hour life expectancy, we’re now abandoning that bit of drama. So much for a tense countdown towards death. But hey, maybe there’s still some potential tension left in this plot thread. Can Weldon and the antidote be trusted? It would be quite the dramatic twist if she’d tricked Brogan into taking another drug that was worse than the first one. Wouldn’t that be exciting? Well no, because Carson immediately does an analysis of the antidote and says it’s fine. So that’s that.

Brogan drinks the potion and quips that it tastes like Slomo’s coffee. Otherwise he’s fine. Talk about an anti-climax. It’s also worth mentioning that poor Slomo is the only series regular from the DCPD squad who doesn’t appear in this final episode. How sad that such a unique character doesn’t get a proper goodbye outside of Brogan insulting his beverages.

Upstairs, Podly, Haldane, and Brogan weigh up whether Weldon’s story is true or not. Captain Podly would rather leave the problem up to military intelligence, continuing his stance from Deathwatch that they are his superiors and must call the shots.

Major Graffa is waiting on the other side of the door, his suspiciously purple eye visible to us all. Now that I’m looking closely, I am noticing that the Graffa mask originally made for Andy Dawson doesn’t quite fit on Rob Thirtle’s head in the same way.

Carson is ready to start studying the lump. In addition to being a badass cop, Took is now a qualified lab assistant apparently, and helps Officer Science put on his protective suit.

The scientific study consists of taking the lid off for a few seconds and narrowly avoiding getting zapped. Carson’s always so thorough.

But Took has further insight to offer from her telepathic reading. “It’s alive!” she declares. Okay, insight might be too strong of a word.

In the meeting room, the lads are all enjoying refreshments and discussing the fate of Nayji. Graffa’s story differs from Weldon’s. He claims that the planet was wiped out in a senseless war, which Podly confirms was how Interplanetary reported the situation too. Trust me when I say this is an element of the plot that’s not worth unpicking. It’s all window-dressing to discredit Weldon when we already know Graffa’s the bad guy here.

Graffa is bored of small talk and wants to take Weldon and the so-called meteorite into military custody. Brogan offers to go and fetch them. It’s hard to tell whether he has a plan up his sleeve or not at this stage. He’s probably just being a good boy until there’s more information.

Brogan just happens to pass Carson as he comes stumbling out of the lab. Officer Science explains that the small object is in fact an “extra-galactic spore.” At last I can stop calling it the mysterious lump. To clarify for his slower colleague, Carson then says that, “It’s like pollen. The one that Weldon’s after is probably the female – the seed. And you sure as hell don’t want this one near it.” Unfortunately, this might be Carson’s worst bit of scientific garbage dialogue yet. The biological terms are all seriously mixed up. Spores are asexual and don’t fertilise seeds – they’re part of two completely separate reproductive processes. For the same reason, spores are also not the same thing as pollen. And even if they were, pollen doesn’t fertilise a seed either! Pollen fertilises an ovule which then becomes a seed. As a result, you also can’t describe a seed as female because it’s the combination of male and female gametes that produces it in the first place. Pick a lane, Carson! Is it a fungus, a plant, or an animal?! You don’t seem to have a good grasp on the reproductive processes for any of them!

Carson hands the spore/pollen/lump over to Brogan who initially plans to take it straight back to Major Graffa. But Brogan realises something. He says that Graffa lied about the object. I must have missed that because Graffa really hasn’t said anything specific about it to Brogan. I guess he did use the term ‘meteorite’ just now to describe it, so maybe that’s what Brogan is driving at. For the sake of simplicity, I’m just going to nod and agree with Brogan. None of this who’s-deceiving-who business adds up to anything anyway. More wisdom from Carson as he suggests that Graffa’s a liar and Weldon’s a loose cannon… a thoroughly useless pair of observations in this situation. And that is Carson’s final contribution to the series – a pretty unremarkable character who never made much of an impression on me.

After a spot of impatient hand-tapping, Major Graffa decides to join Officer Haldane and go looking for Brogan. He abandons a napkin full to the brim with cookies on the table.

Brogan’s made his choice between the liar and the loose cannon. He’s come to bust Weldon out of jail. It’s the obvious choice. Weldon has been trying to keep the spore (that isn’t a spore) away from the seed (that isn’t a seed), while Graffa is attempting to transport them to the same site. Anyone who can decipher Carson’s scientific nonsense should be able to figure out who has the right objective here.

Well, I didn’t have this guy on my bingo card for a return in the series finale! It’s that useless blonde Creon officer who’s been famously bad at his job in episodes such as Flash, Time To Kill, and Friends. Just this once, will he be able to keep a prisoner in their cell?

Nope. Not even a little bit. Weldon takes it upon herself to clobber the guy. The unnamed blonde Creon officer went out of the series exactly the same way he came in… with overwhelming ineptitude.

Brogan threatens to “drop” Weldon if she beats up another of his colleagues. He cares enough to get upset, but obviously didn’t care enough to actually intervene in the attack. I suppose even he concedes that the blonde guy is a glorified punching bag.

It turns into your standard-issue Space Precinct station house runaround as Brogan and Weldon narrowly dodge Haldane and Graffa emerging from the elevator. It’s the perfect way to pad out an episode that’s been written in a hurry.

While Brogan and Weldon enter an area that’s clearly marked as radioactive, Haldane and Graffa discover incompetent blonde guy passed out on the floor next to an empty jail cell. Jack does his best to look surprised, but we all know this is an average Wednesday for the 88th.

Ted Shackelford sure knows how to make strutting down a corridor with a purple rock in his hand look intense. Cecilia Noble takes a moderate jog to pile on the drama. And Crispin Merrell is giving it something special with the music too. After seeing way too much of these corridors in the episode Takeover, I never thought I’d find a sequence like this exciting again, but today I’m getting there.

One of Graffa’s goons pops out of the elevator to blast at Brogan and Weldon. Haldane’s not too pleased and tries to tackle the shooter. Hurrah!

Our escaping heroes make it all the way to the docking bay, and the military minds are thwarted by an airlock door. Sealing the docking bay probably would have been a good idea as soon as Haldane reported the jailbreak, but I guess everyone forgot to do that this time around.

As Fredo puts out the APB identifying Patrick Brogan as one of the escaping criminals, Captain Weldon simply says, “welcome to the club.” Yeah, it’s another cheesy line but it gets the point across as we head into the commercial break. Not for the first time, Brogan is a fugitive. How original. So far, I think you’ll agree that Deathwatch Conclusion isn’t exactly pushing the boat out. I promise things will pick up soon.

Brogan and Weldon head back to their rooftop hideout and have a bit of a chat about the situation. Weldon apologises for nearly trying to kill him, while Brogan admits that he now trusts his fellow outlaw. When Cecelia Noble utters the line, “I sure picked the right cop though, didn’t I?” I’m afraid the American accent slips a little too far away from authenticity and it hurts my ears.

Cops are seen patrolling the area, no doubt hunting for the fugitives. The columns and billboards around the top of the building probably offer some protection, but I have no idea how the rozzers failed to look over the top of those obstacles to see Brogan and Weldon standing in broad daylight.

The conversation turns back to the… Spore? Pollen? Look, I’m just going to keep calling it a lump for fear of offending the scientific community. Weldon doesn’t know how to destroy the lump safely, and they can’t get it off of Altor without being detected, so Brogan suggests destroying the seed at Site R… if we really have to call it a seed. That was Weldon’s plan all along so the last few minutes of the episode really haven’t counted for much.

Weldon apologises for dragging family man Brogan into this. Oh yeah, it’s Patrick’s anniversary so we should probably check in on that subplot.

Using quite a neat little communicator prop, the lieutenant calls up Sally and swears that he’s planning to come home and celebrate their anniversary as usual, despite all the drama involved. He can’t tell Sally what’s been going on because we really don’t need another plot recap right now, so she’s left perplexed by her husband’s secretive behaviour.

Major Graffa is a little smarter than the average cop and thinks to peer over the top of the billboards to find Brogan and Weldon. Laser blasts rain down from the military vehicle and force the outlaws to make a hurried departure.

Well, we couldn’t finish Space Precinct without a good old-fashioned chase through the city, could we? The van is unarmed but able to withstand a few shots from the military craft. Graffa’s vehicle looks suspiciously like a minivan with some bits stuck on it because gosh darn it the live action unit will not give up on using real cars to portray futuristic spaceships. Brogan deploys the cunning tactic of flying through a plume of smoke. Will the great military strategists be deceived by this fairly basic manoeuvre?

Apparently, yes. When the smoke clears and the van is nowhere to be seen, Graffa immediately has to admit defeat. He doesn’t think to go back and check the nearby tower where Brogan and Weldon are blatantly parked behind a satellite dish. It’s a nice move on Brogan’s part but I can’t believe it worked.

“Next time I shoot back,” Brogan vows. My, my, look at the ferocity of the man.

Night falls and the van is parked up in a… well… I’m not really sure where this place is supposed to be. It’s a bit of liminal wasteland, I guess. It looks moody enough with the addition of fog and low lighting, but it’s probably another set made up of whatever bits were left over. I’m not convinced there was much money left in the budget for Deathwatch Conclusion if I’m honest with you. Anyway, Brogan is naffing off for an hour or so. He’s only a part-time renegade.

The DCPD are patrolling the suburbs as Captain Podly is heard issuing a “24-hour alert.” Yes, a 24-hour alert. Not 26 hours as we’ve been repeatedly told is the length of an Altorian day. Either Podly’s giving everyone a spot of time off, or we have another example of Arthur Sellers’ script lacking a final polish from the editors.

I adore this shot of Sally mournfully waiting for her fugitive husband in the dark. There’s a proper touch of Hollywood magic about it.

The table is immaculately prepared, and Sally puts on a movie…

The script originally suggested that Sally’s movie of choice should be Casablanca (1942) if the production could afford the rights to use clips. Needless to say, they couldn’t, and I’m shocked that Sellers ever thought they could. So, the Space Precinct team have come up with their own little movie which I think is rather snazzy. It’s produced by “Haggard Bros. Pictures Inc.” in tribute to Warner Bros. and the episode’s director, Piers Haggard. One Night of Love is actually the name of a 1934 movie starring Grace Moore, but I can’t say whether that was an intentional reference. It may explain why one of the stars of this movie is named ‘Diana More’, while ‘Clint Noble’ is likely a reference to Captain Weldon actor, Cecilia Noble.

And just like that, Patrick appears. How could he possibly get in there without being seen? Frankly, I don’t care. It’s more of that Hollywood magic which prioritises romance above all else and I think it’s pure class.

Sally’s been told roughly what her husband’s been getting up to without Podly giving away too much. While Patrick advises that she and the kids flee Altor, Sally fears that her husband is not himself. She opens up the possibility that he is not in control of his own mind. It doesn’t seem very likely, but it’s an intriguing potential twist. Maybe the TZ8 had more of an effect on him than was first thought? Maybe the antidote did something to his mind?

Brogan is horrified to find the good, the bad, and the ugly standing in his apartment. Haldane, Orrin, and Romek have come to Brogan as friends rather than police officers, desperate to know what all the drama is about. Is it a trap? Did Sally rat out her own husband? Has Patrick’s mind been messed with?

Well, Haldane deduces that the only reason his partner would be stupid enough to come back to his own home during an all-out manhunt would be because he celebrates his wedding anniversary in the same way every single year – making out on the sofa watching a movie because it’s all they could afford when Patrick and Sally first got together. Therefore, they all concede that Brogan is indeed Brogan. Nobody else would manage to hit that perfect blend of romance and being such a stickler for routine.

Sure, we could all stand around and argue some more about whether that’s a good enough test of Brogan’s loyalty, but c’mon, we just need to get to the juicy part of the episode. And in a straightforward family show like Space Precinct, I think it’s far more entertaining to watch all the heroes banding together for the heck of it, rather than meticulously scrutinising whether that is or isn’t the most logical step forward. In an ideal world the script would be perfectly balanced for both forms of drama, but I think we’ve established that Deathwatch Conclusion isn’t a perfect script.

Down in the wasteland, Weldon is listening out for cops searching the area. We hear Took and Fredo chatting over the radio about searching in the “Sue-Rob” district – likely a reference to one of the series’ film editors, Sue Robinson.

With searchlights directly overhead, Weldon still thinks it’s a good idea to step out of the van and investigate a noise. It doesn’t go well. One of the soldiers hiding in the darkness shoots her in the arm. As you can imagine, it hurts quite a bit. But our Captain Weldon is tough as old boots and manages to run away without getting caught.

Major Graffa isn’t bothered about catching her. He’s just happy to have his hands on the special lump that’s going to make his big seed go all fizzy.

Site R, the military’s worst kept secret, is unveiled at last. The model team have been tasked with building something that doesn’t look too dissimilar to the backlot at Pinewood for reasons that will be obvious later on. We get a better look at the military jet as it comes in to land. Its design is based on the 1990 Mini MPV concept car used by the live action unit throughout the series.

Sure enough, that’s the very ordinary looking car door of the Mini MPV. With 24 episodes under their belt, the production still hasn’t figured out that making no effort to disguise the real cars they’re using just makes the whole thing look pants.

The sheer drama of Graffa marching up to the bunker with his lump and his special key is played for all its worth. Piers Haggard is really pushing to make this thing look like a movie and I think it’s ruddy well working.

I mean, look how elegant this shot is! With the lights turned right down, we’re able to see the seed reflected as we shoot through the glass, emphasising Graffa’s true priorities as he shoos away his staff.

More gorgeous cinematography as Graffa approaches the glowing seed, bathed in the purple light that controls his mind. The moment plays out nice and slow so we can enjoy every delicious moment of tension.

In exchange for handing over the role of Graffa to Rob Thirtle, Andy Dawson gets to appear in the episode without a mask on as a technician. It’s actually his third role in the episode, having also played Pawldo the soldier and the useless blonde Creon duty officer too. Swapping one role for three wasn’t such a bad trade. Let’s be honest, the money was probably the same either way.

Alas, Andy and his friend don’t last long. Graffa shoots them dead to defend his precious lump.

With nobody around to stop him, it’s time for the big moment when Graffa slots his lump into the perfectly sized hole on the seed. Screw whether the biology makes any sense, I’m invested now.

All the build-up pays off as tentacles shoot out of the seed and tear through the ground to reach the walls of the cave. An ominous orb of gooey light bursts through the rock…

And then another. And another. And more, and more, and more. It’s such a simple thing, but the power and reach and relentlessness of this unknowable alien organism is perfectly portrayed by having all these glowing blobs punching out of the walls. The nightmare that’s only been hinted at in the last one-and-a-half episodes is very well realised.

Is Graffa aware of what he’s unleashed? Only time will tell.

Now that they’re all friends again, Brogan takes his colleagues to the wasteland. The full-size live action police cruiser really is an impressive bit of kit. If only there had been room in the budget for the series to custom-build some more vehicles that weren’t based on regular mini vans.

Just as Brogan realises that something is amiss, laser blasts ring out and send the officers diving for cover. A wounded Weldon has misinterpreted the situation slightly, but she collapses into Brogan’s arms before the misunderstanding can be cleared up.

Just a short time later, Weldon has recovered and Brogan is patching up her arm. Haldane gets acquainted and Brogan tries to get his crew back on task. He comes out with this absolute gem of nonsense: “We have to assume that Graffa’s got the spore of the seed. How long before it blooms?” It’s like they’re deliberately trying to get angry letters written in from plant biologists. According to Weldon, “On Nayji the cycle started to repeat itself every 19 hours.” What cycle? There’s a cycle? Okay, fine. Haldane complains that they don’t know where to go next, but frankly I think 19 hours is plenty of time for them to figure out the next part of the plot.

Oh yeah, it’s about time we checked in with Castle. She’s at her desk, quietly getting on with some admin, when Podly comes over to learn the whereabouts of Officers Haldane, Orrin, and Romek. Castle actually isn’t a part of their scheme, and only guesses that they’ve gone to help Brogan. It’s a darn good guess. Podly has to assume the worst by suggesting that the officers might be traitors or hostages, and comes down hard on Castle in case she had any ideas about abandoning her post too. Ooh, a nice little bit of conflict for Jane that adds to the episode’s stakes.

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate this shot of the sun rising over Altor, accompanied by a foreboding tune from Crispin Merrell. His soundtrack for all of Space Precinct has been consistently excellent and it’s no surprise that Gerry Anderson employed Merrell again to provide music for his subsequent series, Lavender Castle and New Captain Scarlet.

With the sun coming up, we can take our first proper look at Site R and the most extensive example of outdoor filming that we’ve seen across the whole series. Of course, the production team hasn’t moved far to find a suitable location. We’re on the backlot at Pinewood yet again. It’s adequate for the purpose, but it’s a shame a more alien landscape couldn’t be found. Altor looking so relentlessly like the planet Earth can be a bit distracting at times.

I appreciate Richard James splashing water all over his rubber mask to give the impression of washing up after a rough night in the junkyard.

Demeter City News has heard from farmers and gardeners in the Tri-Valley area that crops have been infected with a mysterious disease. While the others predict certain doom, Brogan is more optimistic because now they know where to start looking for Site R. The Tri-Valley area is rather unimaginatively named after the Tri-Valley area in California… which is at odds with the established notion that Demeter City is just New York in space. Maybe ‘tri-state’ is what they should have been aiming for?

And so, the gang leave their grotty wasteland and head for the much more picturesque green hills beyond the city. Demeter really is a dump by comparison.

This time Romek is behind the wheel of the van while Captain Weldon is in the back doing something vaguely scientific with her control panel. She’s using an infrared scanner to detect heat from the rotting crops to therefore find the epicentre of the outbreak. That actually sounds reasonably clever.

Graffa’s been up all night admiring his handiwork and his face is turning to jam. Sure, why not?

Radar detects Brogan and the gang approaching the base and Graffa scrambles his forces to attack. Now the episode is really kicking into gear.

You’ll notice that the model version of Site R is surrounded by quite a bit more barren nothingness than the live action unit were able to portray on the Pinewood backlot. Otherwise they’ve really tried their best to match the set save for some differences in lighting.

Weldon’s scanner confirms that this is indeed Site R where the seed is being stashed. I’d have thought it was obvious but nice to be sure I suppose. For no real reason, Brogan and Haldane check the land registry to find out who owns the place. Not sure why that matters but it tickles Brogan no end to learn that this is Randall Butler’s farm. Well duh. Perhaps more interestingly we can see that the area is called ‘Tornnem’, which is an anagram of the company Mentorn who produced the series with Gerry Anderson. The list of random properties shown has the flavour of an address book from the Buckinghamshire area rather than a space-age New York City.

Brogan’s gang are soon met with resistance as a military cruiser opens fire on them. We can barely go 5 minutes in this episode without someone shooting at somebody else!

It’s rare for us to get a good look at the control yoke for a police cruiser so here you go. It’s just a little bit too cheap and plastic-looking for my tastes.

With non-verbal prompting from his bloodthirsty colleague, Haldane arms the cruiser’s cannons. Stop motion footage from Takeover is recycled to show the little machine guns protruding from underneath the cruiser.

The lads make quick work of blasting their attacker out of the sky. I still question whether it’s right for a police vehicle to be quite so heavily armed, but in this case you’ve gotta say fair enough really.

It looks like the special effects team stepped outside to film the descent of the wreckage against real sky.

Lovely satisfying kaboom as the ship splats into the model set.

Tough guy Brogan reminds us that he did indeed say that next time he’d shoot back. So it’s nice to know that he’s consulted his sense of fair play before deciding whether to kill some soldiers or not.

Meanwhile, Took and Castle have been dispatched to find Brogan and the others. They’re basically the only reliable officers that Podly has left. But Castle’s conscience is struggling with the prospect of apprehending her friends, colleagues, and in one case, nearly-almost-pretty-much-lover. Took, as always, is more practical about the situation and plans to arrest them all. Simple as that.

Brogan’s gang have parked up out of the way. For an area infected with a devastating plant disease, there sure is a lot of healthy greenery around…

It is so very bizarre to see Space Precinct filmed outside in broad daylight on a pleasant April morning… particularly when they’re surrounded by trees in springtime that are supposed to be dead. As much as outdoor filming is a fun novelty and something special for the series finale, I can’t help but wonder whether the atmosphere would have been better achieved inside on a studio set. I’ve complained across the series about the exterior sets filmed indoors looking fake, but for some reason filming on the Pinewood backlot feels even more fake in this unique case. I’m just not buying that this lush environment is riddled with disease.

All that being said, Piers Haggard does take full advantage of having lots of extra space and sets up some pretty epic shots of troops running into position. It’s just a shame the lighting isn’t more atmospheric.

But oh when that gunfight starts and the gang are running around zapping at each other, I can’t help but love it. Cheap and cheerful as it looks, I can imagine a 9-year-old seeing this in 1995 would absolutely lap it up. With all the cover afforded by the not-so-dead trees, Orrin, Romek, Haldane, and Weldon manage to dodge the military’s firepower and land a few good shots while Brogan sneaks in from the back and gets to the door.

Using Weldon’s key, the lieutenant is able to crack open the door to the bunker. Haldane has some fun kicking a soldier in the face when they try to wake up and shoot Brogan. That’ll teach ’em.

“Look out, Rob! Gerry’s coming with a contract for series two! Hide in a bush before he makes you sign it!”

I like the small detail of giving the military weapons a yellow laser blast to contrast with the blue from the cops’ guns. It makes the gunfight that little bit easier to follow.

While all this action is unfolding, Captain Podly is solving a little problem of his own. He’s figured out how to unscramble the military code and contacts the MIA commander directly, still sore about being interrupted from his newspaper yesterday. Podly points out how ruddy odd it is that four of his officers have broken rank to help the fugitive Weldon, rather than taking Major Graffa’s side along with the rest of the military. The commander is thoroughly flapped and doesn’t feel like collaborating today…

Instead he decides that sending a bomber to blow the whole area up is the best course of action. It’s unintentionally hilarious because Burnell Tucker plays the commander like a disgruntled supermarket manager. He utters the very serious, “Time is the enemy now. They have to kill ’em all. Let history sort ’em out,” line with comical flippancy.

Brogan steps into the bunker and finds the seed glowing at the height of its power, and Graffa skulking around in the shadows.

Graffa warns Brogan off of shooting the seed in case it spreads everywhere. Well, I say seed, but Graffa gets us all confused again by saying “it’s like a fungus.” Whatever it is, the concern now is whether they can kill it before it bursts and infects everything. Even if the biology of the situation is all over the place, the actual drama is crystal clear and the stakes are ramped right up. Can Brogan save the world in time without sacrificing himself? Quite the setup for a big finale.

Our hero has a bright idea and goes back outside to fetch Weldon and her TZ8 enzyme from earlier in the episode. Yeah, that whole subplot might have gone nowhere originally, but now it’s back to save the day.

The plan is very straightforward – Brogan’s going to inject the seed/fungus/whatever with the cell-munching enzyme in the hope that it’ll wipe out the simple organism quickly.

But Major Graffa is concerned that the seed will zap Brogan like it did him when getting close. He’s regained some sense of himself and volunteers to personally shield Brogan from getting fried. Weldon even indicates that she’d be willing to sacrifice herself if Brogan doesn’t allow Graffa the privilege. I love the character arc that Weldon and Graffa have taken over the course of Deathwatch and Deathwatch Conclusion. They’re definitely some of Space Precinct’s strongest guest characters.

This scene was shot on the very last day of filming for Space Precinct and it feels appropriate that Ted Shackelford got to go out doing what he does best – taking ruddy heroic action and looking cool while he’s doing it. Brogan injects the TZ8 with great bravado. The effect of all the energy bursting out and consuming Graffa looks fantastic. I think it’s a very satisfying demise for the alien menace.

As Brogan drags the major’s body away, the organism is heard screaming as lightning bolts rip through its core for dramatic effect. Then, all the light inside the being just fades away until the mass becomes a lifeless husk. Is that it? Well, we just don’t know for sure yet…

Outside, more tension shows up on the doorstep as a police cruiser arrives with unclear intentions.

Castle and Took have arrived and by thunder do they mean business. The morning sunlight has faded on the set so these moments carry a bit more of a serious tone in my eyes.

While Took has the relatively easy job of apprehending Orrin and Romek (sorry boys, but you’re not much of a threat), Castle is left to confront Haldane. Oh blimey.

An absolute miracle occurs. Haldane and Castle say “I love you.” And maybe I’m a massive softy but I think it’s pretty perfect. I don’t think it feels contrived or forced for the benefit of the series finale. Keep the stakes in mind – Jack still believes the world is about to end, and Jane is being driven to choose between duty and her own feelings. The extraordinary circumstances really make me believe that when these two confess their love for one another, they genuinely mean it. And with the benefit of all those missed opportunities from prior episodes, Rob Youngblood and Simone Bendix bring all that emotional weight to the forefront. I couldn’t be more pleased with how this plays out.

Romek brilliantly cuts around all the mushy stuff to suggest that everyone shooting each other right now probably wouldn’t be the smartest move. I couldn’t think of a more apt and Space Precinct way of dissipating the tension than with a lighthearted bit of Orrin and Romek banter.

And so, that’s No-Hassle-Castle, finally lowering herself to going out with an overgrown man-child. Lord help her.

But the lovers won’t be able to celebrate for long. Flying in from orbit we have this terrific, striking Scorpion Bomber ready to blow up Site R. The cockpit is a very impressive set by Space Precinct’s standards and absolutely laced with detail considering it’s only on-screen for a few seconds. The reason it’s so good is that it was built by the special effects team at Shepperton rather than the live action set design department at Pinewood.

Down in the bunker, the team have gone to assess just how dead the alien organism is…

Well, it is a Gerry Anderson show, isn’t it?

The husk might have exploded itself out of existence once and for all, but wait, there’s more action to come! Before the dust has time to settle, Weldon spots the Scorpion approaching on radar and knows immediately that they are the bomber’s intended target.

Well, Haldane and Castle have other ideas! There’s no way these two are going to die before they’ve made out in the back of a police cruiser.

The bomber approaches the area. Seriously, this stuff has no right looking as good as it does!

Yup, Jack and Jane are going to be flying this mission together. As much as I adore Haldane and Castle pairing up, I feel a little bit sad that the regular partnership of Brogan and Haldane has been split up for this last police cruiser flight of the series. In normal circumstances there’s no question that Patrick and Jack would be the ones to race off and save the day as partners and buddies. But hey, for the benefit of some extra drama, I’ll buy that the two lovebirds want to face certain death together.

The Scorpion gets ready to unload some whacking great missiles from its rear. I’d have thought it would be more sensible for a bomber to deploy its payload from underneath, but I’ll admit this looks cooler.

Something about seeing a police cruiser flying into a patch of real sky works for me.

The officers are getting ready to open fire, but the bomber launches its missile first! It’s like watching a real movie!

Steven Begg is spoiling us with every single one of these special effects shots.

Let’s hope Castle’s got good aim!

Who knew that those things on the side of the police cruiser were missiles?! What business does a police vehicle have carrying missiles around all day long?! Are the DCPD toasting shoplifters with warheads??!!

Just in case a bomb does drop on their bonces, Brogan advises everyone to at least try and clear the area. Weldon points out that scooching a few metres to the left probably isn’t going to save their lives in this scenario.

The sky explodes spectacularly, and Brogan immediately calls up his best friend to find out whether he survived…

Oh my flippin’ goodness, yes, hook this high angle crane shot to my veins. THE DRAMA!!

Don’t worry, Jack and Jane live on to go and make beautiful babies together.

“What a girl won’t do for an evening out,” Castle quips. I think I’ve just built up an immunity to the thick layer of cheese that’s slathered across all of Space Precinct.

It’s the end of the series so you’d better believe we start wrapping up with a soppy scene in the station house as Podly, Orrin, Romek, and Fredo end their night with a toast. No Slomo, and no Carson – they’re having their own party. Appropriately enough, Richard James remembers this as his last day of filming for Space Precinct. Between this cheeky drink, and everything else we’re about to see, I really do get the sense that as far as the writers were concerned, this was it. There’s no reason a second series couldn’t have picked up from this point, but I definitely interpret these scenes as more of a “goodbye” than a “see you soon.”

My oh my. What do we have here?

I can’t think of a more fitting wrap-up for the Haldane and Castle love story than the two of them going at it like rabbits all night long. Faultless.

But, of course, the final scene of the final episode has to go to the Brogan family. Matt and Liz interrupt their parents celebrating their anniversary in the usual manner. Something about that seed exploding has made everyone a bit randy. The kids compare their elders to dinosaurs. Ungrateful brats.

Sally sums it up perfectly. Patrick Brogan is just a good cop who happens to have the tenacity to save the world from an evil alien meteorite/spore/seed/lump/whatever. He’s a regular guy doing a regular job in extraordinary circumstances. What a hero.

We all knew that Patrick and Sally smooching would be the final shot of the whole show. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I must be mad.

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Deathwatch Conclusion is a mess but it made me smile. I think the writers and producers got incredibly lucky when the ambiguous ending of Deathwatch presented them with some big, juicy stakes that were ripe for a spectacular series finale. I also think they made the right call to take advantage of what they had and produce a sequel. And while the polish is definitely lacking in the finer details of the script, I think the overall concept for what the meteorite turned out to be and how our heroes came to defeat it was all very solid. The story was well-paced, everything paid off, and I wasn’t left wanting. Those final 10 minutes are some of Space Precinct’s finest moments because the plot and characterisation meshed beautifully with the all-out action and special effects. The cast and crew managed to take an imperfect script and turn it into a mini feature film that could dazzle audiences of all ages. And surely that’s what Space Precinct has been trying to do all along, right?

So, that was that. 24 episodes packed with dizzying highs and unimaginable lows. Nothing else I’ve reviewed on Security Hazard has been so varied and downright messy. Space Precinct wears its mistakes like open wounds that bleed out across so many episodes. “How did this ever get made?” I would squeal as yet another cardboard set or scantily clad prostitute crossed the screen. Then, the opposite would happen. Every time the show astonished me with something utterly brilliant, like a heartfelt performance from Ted Shackelford or a rip-roaring action sequence from Steven Begg’s team, I would question why Gerry Anderson fans and the wider world don’t adore the series as one of the greatest achievements of 90s television. Space Precinct is both a hidden gem and an absolute dumpster fire. Who has the patience to stomach that level of equivocation for 24 weeks? I do, apparently. And you must do as well if you’ve made it this far.

On that note, I have to say thank you for joining me on this odyssey. If you’re a veteran Space Precinct fan, I hope this newbie hasn’t spoiled your fun too much. If you’re new to the series, I hope I’ve held your hand as we’ve wandered down this treacherous path together. I’m very grateful to everyone who has left comments, sent messages, or shared these blog posts on social media. And, of course, I have so much appreciation for the Security Hazard Patreon supporters who have been generous enough to help keep the lights on.

Special thanks to Anderson Entertainment for offering me a copy of the Space Precinct: 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition Blu-ray Set to review. I think you’ll agree I’ve given it a thorough test drive. This set is, quite simply, the best way to experience Space Precinct. The enhanced picture quality and extensive special features were a huge factor in making this show accessible to me. More physical media releases with this level of care and attention to detail please!

Two books have stayed open on my desk for the last six months. Chris Bentley’s The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide is a tome I have thumbed well over the years, and digging into the Space Precinct section properly for the first time did not disappoint. It’s an essential resource for any Anderson fan. Meanwhile, Richard James’ Space Precinct Unmasked is the definitive book on the series. The blend of personal anecdotes and hard truths about the production of Space Precinct made it a joy to read. Richard is a great ambassador for the series but also a fair critic. The tidbits I included in these reviews barely scratch the surface of what’s in the book, so pick up a copy if you haven’t already!

Finally, my friend and podcast co-host Ben Wolf Page has gone above and beyond in his service to the Security Hazard blog by proofreading these posts for me every single week. He’s corrected many a spelling mistake, patched up garbled sentences, and genuinely handed out gold stars every time I managed to tell a good joke. Beyond those editorial duties, Ben has offered a sympathetic ear during all those moments when Space Precinct tried to defeat me, and he motivated me to just keep on writing. I urge you to buy the man a coffee and check out all the amazing things he does.

Speaking of which, Ben and I are going to be hosting a big Space Precinct extravaganza on our podcast, The Security Hazard Show, premiering live on Wednesday 26th November 2025. We’ll be diving deeper into the experience of reviewing the whole series, ranking every single episode, and discussing the second series that might have been! Come and join in the fun on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And there’s one more treat in store if you’re not ready to leave Lieutenant Brogan behind just yet. In a few weeks time, we’ll be transferring to another precinct…