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Howard Linskey

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**Preorder the new psychological thriller from Howard Linskey now!** Someone knows where the bodies...

Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Cops in TV

Jul 12, 2020 (Updated Jul 12, 2020)

Star Cops

1987 | Crime, Sci-Fi

6.0

(2 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

Underrated attempt at a proper science fiction series from the BBC. In the far-off year of 2027, British copper Nathan Spring takes command of the International Space Police Force, responsible for law and order on the Moon and aboard the various space stations. Psychological and political issues prove to be as tricky as the actual crimes, though...

Clearly made on a punishingly low budget, and the vision of the future is occasionally a bit wonky from a modern perspective, but the five episodes written by series creator Chris Boucher are some of the best, most intelligent, wittiest and most cynical SF ever broadcast by the BBC. The other episodes not so much: everything gets a bit campy and there are a lot of national stereotypes on display. (Plus, the theme tune has been called the worst in TV history, and most of the incidental music is rubbish too.) Even when it's not particularly good, it's always trying to do something a bit different, and David Calder is consistently excellent as Spring. Not the first nor the last SF or fantasy show to be cut loose by the BBC before it had a chance to realise its potential.

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Awix (3310 KP) rated A Wrinkle in the Skin in Books

Sep 13, 2019

A Wrinkle in the Skin

John Christopher | 1965 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Almost relentlessly bleak SF-disaster novel. An immense series of global earthquakes destroys civilisation overnight, leaving only a handful of survivors. The protagonist has previously been emotionally self-sufficient, but can he maintain this attitude in the face of the horror and desolation around him?

Worlds away from the 'cosy catastrophe' label which this kind of book is occasionally lumbered with, this anticipates The Road in many ways: the central image is of a man and a boy making their way across the devastated landscape, scavenging to survive and trying to avoid lawless mobs of other survivors. Christopher's ideas about human nature are crushingly cynical but unpleasantly compelling; the psychological depth of this book makes most similar works of fiction look frivolous and lightweight. Still, for all the skill with which it is written, this story is both tragic and depressing (the book does a good job of making you realise the difference between the two). It's telling that while it concludes on the promise of hope, it's only a promise: an actual happy ending would feel grotesquely inappropriate. Not without its strengths, but a tough read in many ways - other apocalypses are much more fun.