Review STAR COPS: A DOUBLE LIFE - Episode 07

[Doctor Omega]

Your thoughts on this episode.....

Mystery surrounds a world-famous pianist accused of kidnapping and ransoming embryos from Moonbase. Anna Shoun and Colin Devis investigate and ultimately confront what turns out to be the clone of the accused pianist.

On to the next episode.....

OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/other-peoples-secrets-episode-8.3534/


Back to the previous episode....

IN WARM BLOOD

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/this-case-to-be-opened-in-a-million-years-episode-5.3523/

 

[michaellevenson]

This episode was okay, but not really special for me. If made today the clone revelation wouldn't be that much of a surprise, assuming a surprise back then. The best bits were the Devis/Shoun byplay.
Devis really is an unreconstructed chauvinist though by the end he showed a bit of tenderness.
Best line was when Anna told him she'd rather not use her gun as it conflicts with her Buddhist beliefs,
" Have you a religion Colin?"
" No Anna, I've never felt the need for one.......until now"
The Arabs weren't portrayed well here, Madam Asadi, too gung ho with the retribution and cutting off Krevenko when he was trying to tell her that Bannerman might not be the culprit was idiotic.
The final jokey scene on the shuttle was too silly for me and did spoil it somewhat, it was totally unnecessary as well.
The previous scene with Devis and Shoun returning with the embryo in the moonrover to Bannerman's piano accompaniment would have been a better ending, and usually when I watch this episode that's where I turn off.
A 7/10 episode, no more.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Yes, I agree. Okay, with some good scenes, but that last visual joke involving Nathan was really out of step with the whole show. The implications of a second Nathan were actually enormous and using the idea as a sight gag was, while a light way to end the episode, actually unworthy of a show that was trying so hard to be a realistic depiction of life in space at most other times.

Again, the person they are trying to help is not particularly likeable, so lots of the usual unpleasant disagreement and shouting.

The best aspect of the episode for me was Anna's dilemma with the gun at the end - and the fact that her tough decision actually helps her to bond to Devis, who had previously been giving her a hard time, which makes his character more likeable too as a result.

 

[michaellevenson]

Some points raised by our resident Brazilian, answered by the " Britisher" which I guess is me.
Firstly extremely interesting point you raised about Devis maybe acting juvenile because of the environment, closed claustrophobic etc. People may go nuts confined to the Moon. Remember that when you review the next episode, which i admit is a bit dull, a sort of bottle episode about the effects of this lunar life on the characters.
Back to this one; I'm not sure talk of abortion is appropriate.
Were the embryos aborted or kept in storage for future use? The latter I think.
It is alluded that Madam Asadi couldn't conceive on Earth, but in one sixth gravity the chances improved, so the ova were removed from her, impregnated artificially from a donor and stored in a refrigerator. It wasn't stated but presumably she was on the Moon to have the embryos re-implanted. Anyway I found Asadi so unlikeable that I'm sorry all her embryos weren't destroyed. The destruction of them by Albi Teal was as climactic as it could have been frankly. As Colin said, they were just tadpoles, you dip them in acid ,job done. The casualness of it made Asadi realise that he was serious about destroying them without a seconds remorse.
Albi motive of course was revenge for Madam Asadi assassinating his father, Cyrus Teal, who tried to run off with her money she gave him for cell replication research.
Bannerman knew nothing of Albi, but the reverse certainty wasn't true, perhaps Cyrus Teal had poisoned Albi's mind when a youngster, about his deserting mother and brother.
Chris Boucher, the show's creator apparently disapproved of Anna Shoun being a regular character, but I thought she was a nice addition. June this year, 31 years after the series, a second series , on audio, produced by Big Finish productions, who've done about 200, yes 200!!, Dr Who audio dramas, will be released. Nathan, Kenzy and Devis all return played by the original actors, sadly Erik Ray Evans died, so no Theroux, and no Anna Shoun either, Boucher is sticking to his guns about the character.
I'll give this one, 8/10

 

[Brimfin]

Another outstanding episode with all the elements I’m growing to love:

Futuristic plot – Theft and ransom of baby embryos. It actually is possible in current times; may have even been a plotline in some show. (I think there was such a theft in a police drama a few years ago.) Small critique: embryos can currently be kept viable for years, but it must be in sub-freezing temperatures. It was a little too simple to smuggle them out without some specialized way to store them – even with the extra 10 years in technology over ours that’s not very likely to change. Still I can forgive that point for dramatic effect. I appreciate that they refer to the embryos as “her children”, acknowledging a future where all life is valued, even that of the unborn. I hope that’s what our country is working toward eventually.

Predictions of the future – “chromosomal fingerprint” was the term they used, but it was predicting DNA analysis rather than fingerprints. At one point, Theroux used the phrase “Deena marker.” He clearing was using DNA as if it had evolved into a word rather than remaining an acronym. Had they gone with the acronym, he would have said, “DNA marker” and sounded exactly like any one of dozens of forensic-based TV shows on the air since 1999. Wow.

And the clone plot was plausible. He had been cloned soon after birth and thus was the same age and looks. Many clone plots involve artificially aging someone to match the person begin cloned, which is still quite implausible if not impossible. This show got it right.

Team camaraderie – Some tension this week between Colin Devin and the new recruit Anna Shoun. There was also a slight bit of cultural warfare as Anna’s Eastern ways were a little different. I’m surprised we haven’t seen a little more examples of country vs. country challenges on the show – conflicts have been more based on personalities so far. And some of Colin vs. Anna was still that – he thought of her as being a woman and too soft or fragile for the job. Fortunately, she demonstrates some diplomatic skills early on. She also reveals that since she is a Buddhist, she values life and hesitates to use a gun. Unfortunately, she had to kill someone at the end of the show. I was hoping she could shoot him someplace painful but not fatal using her medical knowledge, but the situation was too quick and deadly to allow that. We’ll see if that affects her in future shows, as past events have sometimes returned to haunt people so far.

Lines – Some great dialogue in this one. I’ll paraphrase a couple to the best of my memory:

Colin: Why did she want to store her embryos on the moon in the first place?
Pal: Doing the procedure on the moon increases her chances, due to the low gravity.
Colin: I’m surprised you’d know something like that.
Pal: Considering your one-track mind, I’m surprised you didn’t!


Colin: Why did he take Pal with him?
Anna: I guess he felt the situation needs a woman’s touch.
Colin: Theroux’s coming back to you with an injured hand. I guess he needs a woman’s touch too.
Anna: No, he needs the services of a doctor.
Colin: If you understood my sense of humor, you’d know that was a joke.
Anna: If I had your level of sophistication, I might have found it funny.

Good casting – Nitka Shaul does an excellent job as Chamsya, the strong dominating Arab leader. I liked how she wouldn’t respond to Nathan’s diplomacy, but did go for Pal’s tough straight talk. I think she saw enough of a kindred spirit in Kenzy; Spring was smart to bring her along. Brian Gwaspari does a solid job as James the angry, confused concert pianist and Albi, his confident, cold-hearted clone. How cruel that he almost faces the ultimate thief’s punishment of having his hands cut off – a horrible fate for anyone, even more so for a concert pianist.

An all around great episode. I give it 9 barcode style markers on the futuristic Moonbase security system.

 

[Brimfin]

Oh, and let's not forget that a viable human clone, according to the show, would've been possible not in 2027, but, if the pianist was, say, 35 years old, in 1992. Well, Dolly came to this world in 1996, so it seems the writers thought from sheep to humans would be a short step. Now, in hindsight, we can see how weird that sounds.

I hadn't thought about that angle on it. Perhaps I should have said, "They got it righter than most."

The reason I brought that up is because abortion, freezing and discarding, dissolving a little plastic box in acid and calling embryos tadpoles all depersonalize the (potential) individual there. Some couples freeze their embryos, end using one or two and discard the rest, for instance, so the end result is the same. I think the way the show approached this was clever but weird.

Reminds me of an irony about that police drama I mentioned. The police team worked so hard to find the embryos, as they were the last ones produced by a couple whose husband had since died. When they found the freezing device, it was too late - the embryos had thawed out and died. They treated it like a death. Yet the same police team think nothing about someone having an abortion, and earlier this season approved of killing a ten-month old sickly baby because he had no "quality of life." (We've since stopped watching the show.)

 

[Cloister56]

This time we start out with a nice little piano concert.
Then the Star Cops are investigating what appears to be a robbery but interestingly it is embryo's that have been stolen.
I did find it odd that Nathan springs into action not when he hears what has been stolen but who they belong to. He makes it clear that Assadi is very powerful but a crime should be a crime, he should take the same steps regardless of who the crime is directed against.

Assadi and the way the crime is dealt with create a very dark image of the future, where the rich and powerful can seize people from another country and intact their laws against them without any seeming political fallout. It is difficult to root for Assadi.

Finally, the episode also approaches a controversial issue and I'm not sure what to think of it: abortion. The case was often described as one of "kidnapping," although one can only kidnap a person and embryos aren't people, at least legally. But the writer often tried to make it seem they were talking about real children, which in a way, they were... Or not? Again, as I said, that's controversial...

It does raise some interesting moral questions. Generally in this country (UK) we consider the mother first. This is primarily due to the fact that embryos are developing inside the mother. So her views override the concerns for the embryo, this allows for things like abortion and clarifies medical decisions where saving the mother takes precedent. The laws on embryos currently are murky with those used for experiments not being allowed beyond 2 weeks as before this they are considered just a collection of cells and beyond this something more. I don't know where this would put the idea of it being kidnapping or theft and as murder or destruction of property.
Regardless the way the embryos are casual destroyed by Teil is very chilling even if it is just how much they mean to Assadi.

The search device Shoun uses makes an interesting noise. It reminds me of something from another tv show which I can't place. Its that sound but pulsing off and on, I think should images of an alien or enemy attack ending in a "dun dun der" at the end. Please help.
In a nice bit of continuity there is the name "Chandri" on the door lock from the episode "Intelligent Listening from Beginnners" hope it was scrubbed for his program.

The photofit also looks very familiar but this time I remember where from:

Go to 4:32

The cloning plot initially does create some intrigue but I didn't find this episode very engaging for some reason.

6 Nathans on a flight out of 10.

 

[Cloister56]

Ah I remembered where I had heard that sound

 

[Cloister56]

Oh.... Ha, ha! So, you mean THIS one? (1967 Ironside theme by Quincy Jones)

Yes I knew I remembered someone being targeted.

 

[Gavin]

I have to say, I think this is my favourite episode yet. Great interaction from the main cast. An interesting (if stretching the realistic plausibility of the show) crime. And the plot moved relatively quickly. I wasn't too keen on the addition of Anna Shoun to the team in the last episode, but she got some great one liners in this episode, revealing a great comedic sense.

Devis: I make the jokes around here Shoun: do you also make the coffee? Milk and no sugar.

She definitely got the better of him in their interaction. All of the main cast were integral in solving this case.

This episode definitely got my attention back after a couple of episodes where I struggled to keep my interest.

9 out of 10 for this one.