“Space Precinct,” arguably one of Gerry Anderson’s more controversial series, mainly due to the $1.5 million per episode cost, which made it the most expensive show in Britain at the time.  Yet, despite all the money spent, the ratings were only average, which I suspect had more than a little to do with the terrible time slots the show was stuck in, as opposed to the series itself.

I witnessed this personally.  It was one of my favorite shows growing up, and I recall trying to force myself to stay up till it aired, which was usually around 12:30 on Friday morning.

Besides the issue of times slots, the show’s greatest problem is that it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be, which gave it an oddly schizophrenic tone.  For instance, an episode would sometimes start off with hardcore scifi, then somehow end as a family drama.

Other times, the series was oddly violent, which is best shown in the two-part episode, “The Fire Within,”  in which someone is incinerated.

With the series not being renewed for another season, and Gerry Anderson’s death earlier this year, I assumed that I had heard the last of “Space Precinct.”

Though that’s not the case because a new documentary, “Space Precinct Legacy,” has come out that explores the series and its creator.  And while that’s interesting, what really caught my attention is that the director of the documentary, Paul Cotrulia, said that a decision will soon be made about whether or not there will be a Space Precinct movie, based upon the success of his documentary.

I am not too sure how true that is, if only because it sounds a bit self-serving.

Then there’s the fact that feature films based upon Anderson properties (Space: 1999, UFO, The Terrahawks, Joe 90, The Secret Service, etc) are rare, and those that have been made, such as Jonathan Frakes’ 2004 film “Thunderbirds,” weren’t very good or loyal to Gerry Anderson’s ideas.

Whether or not “Space Precinct Legacy” is successful or not, I suspect that there will not any time soon be a feature based upon the property, if only because too few people have ever heard of it for it to be a viable prospect.

That being said, if they could keep costs down, unlike in the case of the series it would be based upon, who knows?

For a little more information on the subject,check out “So It Goes–A John Fleming Blog” .