Review STAR COPS: LITTLE GREEN MEN AND OTHER MARTIANS - Episode 09

Cloister56

Member: Rank 3
I always feel quite down when I reach the last episode of a tv series. The last time you hear the intro song, what will happen to the characters, what potential for future episodes has now been lost.

Unusual for a show with so few episodes to have a devoted fan base after 30 years, but that says a lot about its quality. A new 8 episode series for audio will be released this year, with Calder , Linda Newton and Trevor Cooper reprising their roles.
This has been a great thing for many shows including Doctor Who. When I listen to them I imagine Colin Baker as he was back then, the old structure (episodes with cliffhangers) can be kept. It allows a show to live on and evolve slowly as it might if it had continue on screen.

Anyway will I want to enlist with the Star Cops for their future adventures? Will the final episode convince me?

Have a built up my review enough? I think so.

So Humans have got their ass to Mars. The opening scenes with the buggy are very nice, I think the model work has generally been a great strength of the series. The red filter is quite nice, the CSO (I assume) sky not so much so until the sun explodes over the horizon, that was impressive.

An object found on Mars confirming life. It looks very Mayan, but then things get interesting when another identical object is found trying to be smuggled to Mars.

Larwood the journalist looks likes a wino when he arrives in his mac (although it is clean). Initially it seems like it's part of his act but was it to try and smuggle in his bottle of booze? I would have thought anything travelling up to space would be scanned and inspected within an inch of it's life.
He seems to be having no luck at first with both his contacts meeting sticky ends very soon after contact with him. The first was a freighter hopper pilot in what was a very grizzly death sequence. Then a mysterious man in a cargo hold with "merchandise".
Very intriguing.

The two were both pilots and were sharing the same quarters. I thought at first they had found another statue and wondered why Devis didn't mention the one he found but it seems it's the same one.

The death of Nathan was surprising. The reaction from everyone was well played. Usually I would have been expecting his return but the fact this is the last episode did make me consider the possibility but I think the series might have struggled without him if it had continued.
The show doesn't string (heh) it out too long and Kenzy's reaction to his survival is brilliant.

The final fight to prevent the curator detonating the bomb is very exciting with Kenzy desperately defusing the bomb while the curator reaches out.

I am still a little confused. They smuggle the Mayan statue onto Mars to be found. So what was the second statue being smuggled to Mars that Devis found. Were they hoping to generate more artifacts?

I've been very impressed with Kenzy during this series. She can be serious, bitchy, funny and is very capable.
Apart from Calder she is probably the stand out of the Star Cops.
She gets a great line this week.

Nathan: I just don’t want to see things fall apart here while I’m on my way to Mars.
Kenzy: That’s not a problem. There’s no video link between here and Mars.
I would hope she is the next in line to be the deputy.

And I agree with Gavin's thoughts:

I liked that too - I wasn't keen on her character at first but she's grown on me and I think, if the show had continued, she'd have developed into a good third in command (and based on what they'd done with David Theroux's character so far - probably a better second in command than him).
Theroux is absent from this episode and I'm sad to say I don't really miss him. He is my least favourite and his character hasn't seemed to grow over the series. He never seems to trust Nathan's instinct despite multiple episodes and he never seems that pleasant to the others having a short fuse.
Shoun could have been interesting, maybe with another series but what we saw past her intro episode didn't really impress.
Devis is great, his stories of previous wives, he does seem to have great respect for Nathan and is a great addition to the team.
Of course Nathan is excellent. A great lead to build the show around, flawed but with great investigatory ability and generally is quite likeable.
He handles Miss Caxton the reporter very well. Though the whole thing could have been avoided with a lock on the Star Cops office. His quips about he is the man to ask for directions and if you need the time, too a while to sink in but were amusing.
Looking at that my 3 favourites are all coming back for the Big Finish stuff, a tick in that column then.

And the final line of dialogue is “Anyone for Mars?”
I thought it was a great way to end. Extending the Star Cops reach, it does seem to be a little quick and I'm not sure what different stories they could set on Mars but it's a nice way to end.

Overall a really enjoyed this last episode and I will miss this show. I came to enjoy the theme tune despite feeling it was very out of place at the beginning.

9 ripples sending a message to the shore, out of 10.
 

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
Theroux is absent from this episode and I'm sad to say I don't really miss him. He is my least favourite and his character hasn't seemed to grow over the series.
I thought the character had a lot of potential, but he was very inconsistently written even within individual episodes. There were signs of growth, only to have him revert a few scenes later.
 

Mad-Pac

Member: Rank 5
I'm with @Mad-Pac on this though - I can see why the show didn't last. The pacing wasn't right for the stories (I'm not suggesting it needed to be non-stop action) but you could have cut at least 10 minutes from each episode without losing any story.
Indeed, that argument is often brought up in the defense of very slow-paced productions: "So you want non-stop action? Go watch a Michael Bay movie! I bet all you care about is explosion and car chases." In other words, the argument is made viewing only the extremes: (no action = "brainy" and "artsy", deep, slow-burning, thought-provoking) X (all action = no reflection, noise, excessive movement, no character development, superficial story-telling). When, in fact, I'd be equally unhappy with the latter, as I believe there must be a balance for story elements. And, sure, depending on the show something will prevail, as some shows are more action-oriented, while others are more philosophical. But there has to be a balnace of some sort.
 

Cloister56

Member: Rank 3
I thought the character had a lot of potential, but he was very inconsistently written even within individual episodes. There were signs of growth, only to have him revert a few scenes later.
Yes that's exactly it. I kept thinking "ah now he see's where Nathan is coming from" only for him to push against him in the next episode or scene. I know someones character wouldn't change completely but he seemed to be making the same assumptions and mistakes again and again.
 

Brimfin

Member: Rank 3
Star Cops - By the Numbers


I'm glad I waited a little longer before posting this. I not only got Clositer56's rating for the last episode, but Gavin also completed his rankings on the remainder of the episodes. So now, without further ado:

Fellow Sages of the Single Season here are the rankings for Star Cops:


Overall ranking for show (by averaging all episode rankings)
MichaelLevenson – 8.778
Ant-mac* - 8.000
Brimfin – 7.944
Simian Jack** – 7.833
Cloister56 – 7.556
Gavin – 6.778
Mad-pac – 6.556
(* Stopped reviewing after episode 5.)
(**Stopped reviewing after episode 4.)

Highest–ranked episodes by individuals
MichaelLevenson Conversations with the Dead, In Warm Blood (10)
Brimfin – In Warm Blood (10)
Cloister56 – Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits (9)
Mad-pac – In Warm Blood (9)
Simian Jack – Conversations with the Dead (9)
Gavin – A Double Life (9)

Highest-ranked episodes by overall ranking
In Warm Blood (8.60)
A Double Life (8.00)
Conversations with the Dead (7.86)

Lowest-ranked episodes by individuals
Mad-pac – Other People’s Secrets (4)
Gavin – This Case to be Opened in a Million Years (4)
Cloister56 – A Double Life, Other People’s Secrets (6)
Brimfin – Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits (6)
Simian Jack – An Instinct for Murder (6.5)
MichaelLevenson – Other People’s Secrets (7)

Lowest-ranked episodes by overall ratings
Other People’s Secrets (6.40)
This Case to be Opened in a Million Years (6.83)
An Instinct for Murder (7.43)

Most consistently-ranked episodes
Intelligent Listening for Beginners (9,8,8.8,8,7,6)
Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits (9,8,8,8,7,6)

Least consistently-ranked episodes
This Case to be Opened in a Million Years (9,8,8,7,5,4)
Other People’s Secrets (8,7,7,6,4)
Little Green Men and Other Martians (9,9,9,6,6)

Average episode ranking overall: 7.585, The highest ranked show since I’ve been doing these calculations.

  1. Star Cops 7.585
  2. Total Recall 2070 7.281
  3. Brimstone 7.280
  4. Caprica 7.238
  5. The Middleman 6.992
  6. UFO 6.812
  7. The Prisoner (1967) 6.800
  8. The Prisoner (2005) 6.771
  9. Twin Peaks 6.638
  10. Kolchak: The Night Stalker 6.597
  11. Planet of the Apes 6.546
  12. Invasion: Earth 6.375
  13. Earth 2 6.256
 
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Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
I imagine different people have different rating systems so some shows could be more generously rated than others. And some may rate quite harshly.
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
Also of course The Sages aren't a stable group. New members come , others go from show to show. All we can say is that the particular Sages at this particular time for this particular show had a higher satisfaction rate than any previous Sages for a previous show.
I like Star Cops , but I wouldn't rate it above The Prisoner or UFO.
 

Mad-Pac

Member: Rank 5
All we can say is that the particular Sages at this particular time for this particular show had a higher satisfaction rate than any previous Sages for a previous show.
Well, I'd say that this particular Sage, and by that I mean you, had a very high satisfaction with Star Cops, so the grades soared to the skies like Apollo 11.

I like Star Cops , but I wouldn't rate it above The Prisoner or UFO.
Is that so? Sorry, but I couldn't let this one pass. I got curious so I checked. Here are your grades as far as I could retrieve them:

The Prisoner (eps 10 to 17)
3, 7, 10, 1, 10, 6, 9, 9 - Average: 6.875

UFO (eps 2 + 4 through 7 + 10 through 26)
9, 7, 9, 5, 9, 9, 5, 10, 9, 8, 9, 6.5, 10, 9, 4 - Average: 7.9

Star Cops (eps 1 through 9)
9, 10, 9, 8, 9, 10, 8, 7, 9 - Average: 8.77

So, yes, if you give a nine-episode show two tens and four nines, a show goes all the way up. And that convinces me Star Cops not only rewrote the rules of television as a means of communication, but also redefined British culture itself.
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
Well, I'd say that this particular Sage, and by that I mean you, had a very high satisfaction with Star Cops, so the grades soared to the skies like Apollo 11.


Is that so? Sorry, but I couldn't let this one pass. I got curious so I checked. Here are your grades as far as I could retrieve them:

The Prisoner (eps 10 to 17)
3, 7, 10, 1, 10, 6, 9, 9 - Average: 6.875

UFO (eps 2 + 4 through 7 + 10 through 26)
9, 7, 9, 5, 9, 9, 5, 10, 9, 8, 9, 6.5, 10, 9, 4 - Average: 7.9

Star Cops (eps 1 through 9)
9, 10, 9, 8, 9, 10, 8, 7, 9 - Average: 8.77

So, yes, if you give a nine-episode show two tens and four nines, a show goes all the way up. And that convinces me Star Cops not only rewrote the rules of television as a means of communication, but also redefined British culture itself.
Well three of my favourite Prisoner episodes are in the first 6 eps, so that would shoot up the average.
But if I had a choice , that being I could only ever see two of the three shows again, it would be goodbye Star Cops, two totally inventive and unique shows like The Prisoner and UFO I couldn't never watch again. Also the greater number of episodes in UFO means more good marks, poor marks and average ones, so 4x9 marks in SC has a greater impact than the 7x9 I can see I gave for UFO.
Anyway flattered my old ratings fascinate you.
 
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Mad-Pac

Member: Rank 5
Well three of my favourite Prisoner episodes are in the first 6 eps, so that would shoot up the average.
What can I do? You simply didn't grade them. But I doubt that would make a difference, since 67% of your Star Cops grades were nines and tens. No show can possibly compete with that.
But if I had a choice , that being I could only ever see two of the three shows again, it would be goodbye Star Cops, two totally inventive and unique shows like The Prisoner and UFO I couldn't never watch again.
At some point you'll have to admit your Star Cops grades were inflated, since even you can't explain this discrepancy.
Also the greater number of episodes in UFO means more good marks, poor marks and average ones, so 4x9 marks in SC has a greater impact than the 7x9 I can see I gave for UFO.
Few episodes don't necessarily mean all good episodes, and that if more episodes are made, then you'll start having average and bad ones. If anything, for a show in which the writers were still deciding the direction of the show and its characters, and nothing was concluded in terms of general storytelling as the writers probably thought they would have more time to develop things,the likelihood of bad episodes increase, and had the show continued then we'd have seen some improvement.
Anyway flattered my old ratings fascinate you.
They do. They remind me of a happier time when you thought more critically and out of your comfort zone and didn't speak only as a fanboy.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
Also of course The Sages aren't a stable group. New members come , others go from show to show. All we can say is that the particular Sages at this particular time for this particular show had a higher satisfaction rate than any previous Sages for a previous show.
I like Star Cops , but I wouldn't rate it above The Prisoner or UFO.
I would rate UFO above STAR COPS - and both of them well above the majority of THE PRISONER (1967).
 

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
What can I do? You simply didn't grade them. But I doubt that would make a difference, since 67% of your Star Cops grades were nines and tens. No show can possibly compete with that.

At some point you'll have to admit your Star Cops grades were inflated, since even you can't explain this discrepancy.

Few episodes don't necessarily mean all good episodes, and that if more episodes are made, then you'll start having average and bad ones. If anything, for a show in which the writers were still deciding the direction of the show and its characters, and nothing was concluded in terms of general storytelling as the writers probably thought they would have more time to develop things,the likelihood of bad episodes increase, and had the show continued then we'd have seen some improvement.

They do. They remind me of a happier time when you thought more critically and out of your comfort zone and didn't speak only as a fanboy.
Well, I remember well you enjoyed Kolchak, obviously we had some duffers there among the episodes, so I went onto TMDb to check your overall rating. It was 6.4 that's LESS THAN STAR COPS!!!
Please explain this discrepancy, if you can.
As for comfort zones, I will be more critical of a show outside of my CZ then inside, but that's human nature.
But no one can realistically rate a show thinking how it compares with other shows and rate it accordingly.
Perhaps I should have said to myself;
" now Michael, you like UFO more than this, so make sure the average ends up being less" I'm not a robot mechanically churning out perfectly logical ratings to co ordinate perfectly into a grand scheme. Anyway if Catweazle wins the vote, I like the show more than Star Cops, but less than Blakes7. If my ratings veer from this middle ground please let me know.
To borrow from Monty Python - all I said was I liked UFO better than Star Cops, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!
 
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Mad-Pac

Member: Rank 5
Well, I remember well you enjoyed Kolchak, obviously we had some duffers there among the episodes, so I went onto TMDb to check your overall rating. It was 6.4 that's LESS THAN STAR COPS!!!
Point taken. But I didn't really like Kolchak. In fact I think Kolchak is the kind of show because of the iconic character it created and the use of character elements surrounding the vintage reporter schtick. The show itself was weak.

Please explain this discrepancy, if you can.
I think either you love Star Cops much more than you admit to yourself, even though it's a mediocre show especially compared to masterpieces like UFO and The Prisoner, or you got miffed because we (the previous group iteration) dissed and kind of mocked Star Cops the times you nominated it. You didn't have to convince anybody about The Prisoner and UFO; these shows are well established and speak for themselves, but you did fight an upstream battle trying to sell us Star Cops, "back in the day" (and Catweazle, by the way - serves me right. Who's laughing now?...). So I was left with the feeling you wanted to make sure the show appeared to do well.

As for comfort zones, I will be more critical of a show outside of my CZ then inside, but that's human nature.
That's true. It's up up to each of us to fight that, or at least try something new and swim against the current at times.

But no one can realistically rate a show thinking how it compares with other shows and rate it accordingly.
Well, there have never been objective criteria as to how we grade things. It's more of a feeling we have at the moment, so I guess even our mood would affect it. I'm just surprised you were so generous distributing nines and tens to a show which,a s I said, is mediocre at best, and has clear limitations when compared to more professional and better funded enterprises. Like we say here, it's like "going from water to wine." And honestly I doubt you love it so much. Not that this is important anymore.

" now Michael, you like UFO more than this, so make sure the average ends up being less" I'm not a robot mechanically churning out perfectly logical ratings to co ordinate perfectly into a grand scheme.
No, you are not a robot. You see, you have something I highly admire, which is passion. There's no art without passion and you are very passionate about when it comes to your childhood shows. You'll absolutely defend them to death.So, it's not your passion I'm questioning, it's your objectivity and how it reflects to how "the group" had satisfaction with this or that show.
To borrow from Monty Python - all I said was I liked UFO better than Star Cops, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!
Well, apparently you didn't. And it's the Brazilian inquisition. Hardy-har-har! :emoji_grin:
 
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