science

Space Precinct

Space Precinct is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Space Precinct rather than just read about it. In short: Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast by syndication in the United States between 1994 and 1995. In the UK, it was first shown on channel Sky One between March and August 1995, and later BBC Two from September 1995 to March 1996.

Key takeaways

Space Precinct belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Space Precinct to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Space Precinct from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast by syndication in the United States between 1994 and 1995. In the UK, it was first shown on channel Sky One between March and August 1995, and later BBC Two from September 1995 to March 1996. Many US stations scheduled the show in late night time periods, which resulted in low ratings and contributed to its cancellation. The series was based on an unbroadcast 1986 pilot movie titled Space Police, featuring Shane Rimmer. The series was created by Gerry Anderson and was a combination of science fiction and police procedural.

Premise The series features American actor Ted Shackelford as former NYPD detective Patrick Brogan, now a lieutenant with the Demeter City police force on the planet Altor in the star system Epsilon Eridani. Brogan and his partner Jack Haldane (played by Rob Youngblood) must adjust to living in another star system, and investigating crimes being committed by aliens as well as humans. Also featuring was Danish actress Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle, Haldane's love interest (Brogan was happily married with a wife, daughter and son who relocated to Demeter City with him). All other major characters were played by actors wearing complex make-up that also included elements of puppetry to depict the different alien races. Brogan's badge, number 2040, was used in the opening credits, resulting in the common misconception that the show is set in 2040.

Characters

Brogan family Ted Shackelford as Lieutenant Patrick Brogan Nancy Paul as Sally Brogan Nick Klein as Matthew Brogan Megan Olive as Elizabeth Brogan

Demeter City Police Rob Youngblood as Officer Jack Haldane Simone Bendix as Officer Jane Castle Joseph Mydell as Officer Lionel Carson Gary Martin as the voice of Slomo – Station 88's robot computer

Creons Jerome Willis as Captain Rexton Podly Lou Hirsch as Officer Silas Romek Richard James as Officer Hubble Orrin Kieron Jecchinis as the voice of Officer Hubble Orrin Tom Watt as Officer Beezle (four episodes) Gary Martin as the voice of Officer Beezle (four episodes)

Tarns Mary Woodvine as Officer Aurelia Took Colette Hiller as the voice of Officer Aurelia Took David Quilter as Sergeant Thorald Fredo

Other characters Appearing as various guest aliens: Rob Thirtle, Leigh Tinkler, Andy Dawson, Joanna Berns, Wayne Forester, Alexa Rosewood, Ken Whitfield, and Will Barton. Idris Elba makes a brief appearance in one episode as a pizza delivery man, with his voice dubbed by David Healy.

Episodes The dates of broadcast shown are the US first syndication dates.

Production The series was filmed between May 1994 and April 1995 at Pinewood Studios. The special effects were filmed at Shepperton Studios. The series was one of the highest-budgeted shows Anderson produced, and was relatively popular in Europe. However, in a repeat of the situation that UFO encountered 25 years earlier, American broadcasters were uncertain what to make of the series that seemed to be intended for young viewers, yet featured adult-oriented storylines and was usually played straight despite the bizarre storylines and make-up. As a result, Space Precinct was often scheduled in late-night or early-morning time slots. The subsequent low ratings resulted in its cancellation after just one series.

Pilot The idea for Space Precinct predated the series by nearly a decade. In 1986, Anderson and his then business partner Christopher Burr produced Space Police, a 53-minute pilot film featuring Anderson regular Shane Rimmer as Lieutenant Chuck Brogan. The pilot, which is more comedic in nature than the somewhat serious series that followed, combined live action, full-size prosthetics, puppetry, and Supermacromation techniques. It features many differences from the later series. Brogan is a much older character than that played by Shackelford, and is a bachelor. His partner – and the only other apparently human character in the pilot – is Sergeant Cathy Costello, who is revealed to be a gynoid capable of shifting between human appearance and a more robotic appearance for dangerous missions. The aliens featured in the pilot are cat-like rather than the more exotic aliens in Space Precinct. The only character other than Brogan to transfer from the pilot to the series is the robot Slo-Mo. Production was based at Bray Film Studios and ran for 15 weeks, including eight weeks of special effects shooting. The completed film, subtitled "Star Laws", was screened at the 45th World Science Fiction Convention in 1987. In 1989, Anderson made a condensed 24-minute version in collaboration with the Moving Picture Company. Although it has never been shown on television, the pilot has been available in DVD format since 2002. By the end of 1987, Anderson and Burr had made a deal with Harmony Gold USA to produce a series based on the pilot, but it was never developed. Jim Henson had been impressed by the pilot and offered to finance a series through his company Henson International Television (HIT), but negotiations between Anderson and Henson broke down following a management buyout of HIT in 1989. No further progress on a sale was made until 1991, when Mentorn Films took on the project and secured funding from American company Grove Television Enterprises. The BBC ordered a series of 13 episodes, but later withdrew its commission due to a reduction in its drama programming budget. "Space Police" was kept as the title until shortly before filming began in 1994, when the production companies learnt of the trademark on Lego's "Space Police" and renamed the series "Space Precinct".

Space Police (1986)

Home media Space Precinct was released on DVD in the UK, but as of 2015, is out of print. It was released on DVD in North America on 23 November 2010. In 2017, the series was made available for streaming in the US on Amazon Prime. In November 2018, it was re-released as a DVD box set in Region 2, by Network DVD. In 2023, the series became available to watch on BritBox in the UK. In February 2024, it was released on Peacock. In November 2024, Anderson Entertainment announced the release of a limited-edition, HD remastered Blu-ray box set for February 2025.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Space Precinct

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Space Precinct claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Space Precinct before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Space Precinct ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Space Precinct

In research: Space Precinct appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Space Precinct in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Space Precinct is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990s British police procedural television series, 1990s British science fiction television series, 1994 British television series debuts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Space Precinct outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Space Precinct in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Space Precinct means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Space Precinct out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Space Precinct in simple terms?

Why does Space Precinct matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Space Precinct?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Space Precinct.