An Instinct for Murder

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Star Cops Episode
Episode Title	An Instinct for Murder
Episode Number	One
Staring	David Calder and Jonathan Adams
Guest Starring	Linda Newton, Moray Watson, Keith Varnier, Gennie Nevison, Andrew Secombe, Frederik de Groot, Luke Hanson and Katsa Kersten
Director	Chris Baker
Producer	Evgeny Gridneff
Writer	Chris Boucher
Designer	Dick Coles
Network	BBC
First Aired	6 July 1987
Next	Conversations with the Dead
Previous	N/A

An Instinct for Murder is the first episode of the science fiction mystery television series Star Cops. It premiered on BBC 2 on 6 July 1987 and was written by renowned script writer Chris Boucher.

When the body of a dead man, who appears drowned, turns up on the desk of Detective Nathan Spring he wants to find out if the death was accidental, as the computers say, or whether he was really killed. However, just as he begins to take control of the situation, he is summoned to take on the vacancy of the Commander of the "Star Cops", so branded for their ineffectiveness and inefficiency. During the selection process, Spring is tested by having the assignment to find out why so many space suit failures are occurring. Unknown to Spring is that there is a traitor on board the space station Charles de Gaulle.

[edit] Plot Synopsis

A man during his daily swim is murdered as is a man using a space suit around the Space Station Charles De Gaulle. The computers all confirm the deaths as "accidental". However a detective called Nathan Spring refuses to believe this as the right verdict. While everyone else including his assistant, Bryan, is sceptical of his verdict actually referring Spring to the computer's verdict. Spring replies by making Bryan go investigating the scene of the death.

On the Space Station Charles De Gaulle the situation is slightly different. The space suit failures are seemingly commonplace events, and this time the victim was an Italian. The Italian man was well respected and the suit failure worries David Theroux, the part-time Star Cop on the Station. He is engaged in conversation with the Controller who appears not to be really concerned with the death of another former colleague.

In fact, Theroux seems so worried that he contacts Pal Kenzy to ask her as to what are the statistics for death by suit failure. She replies by saying that the Moon Base's number of fatalities by suit failure has decreased and also states that the death rate is constant on the Moon Base and its satellites. Theroux tells her that the death rate on the Charles De Gaulle is increasing. Pal Kenzy at this point sums up the Star Cops by saying, "I don't do Star Cops for love. I do it for money." This demonstrates the corruptness of the force and perhaps its only motivation.

On Earth, Spring is finding it hard as his Commander is resisting Spring's attempts to persuade him that the Computers are wrong. The Commander interrupts his argument by telling Spring he is on the short list for becoming the Commander of the Star Cops. Spring is not pleased and the Commander also says that he is the only British person on the short list and "pulling out" would look bad on both himself and the country.

Bryan, under Spring's orders, continues the investigation into the death of the swimmer. He reveals that the wife of the murdered man was not grief stricken but surprised because police made a house call as they rarely perform such actions. (Bryan is also embarrassed.) The man had a stringent routine which he never varied as well as informing Spring that the murdered man was an antique collector.

The Controller meanwhile is covering for Theroux while he is inspecting the space suits. The Controller shows how cynical he is of the Russians by calling them "comrades" something they "hate".

In the meantime Spring takes his girlfriend, Lee Jones, to the Lotus Flower, a Chinese restaurant, and they are discussing the future of their relationship. Jones has turned down a promotion and prompts Spring to say whether he has turned down a promotion, in the Star Cops, which he has not. She is upset by this news and feels that they will not get an adequate opportunity to start a family. Both feel slightly upset with each other.

Spring, still determined to not get the promotion to the Head of Star Cops, goes into his interview in a style he hopes will make him undesirable to the interviewers. The interviewers are both European with Russians and Americans declining to be present. In the interview one of the interviewers expresses disdain towards The Development Programme and states that the programme is not "argeeable". The other interviewer, representing Germany, suggests that The Development Programme is an excellent programme designed to explore "The Last Great Adventure". Spring agrees more with the other interviewer and expresses his distaste of actually being selected by being sarcastic about the entire process. The German interviewer says Spring should undertake training in order for him to cope. Spring is certainly not pleased.

Spring takes a trip to the training centre where he is first tested for the amount of time it could take to make him vomit. And after that he is taken to an underwater simulation of what space might be like. He finds the whole experience very stressful. While Spring is being tested for the amount of vomit he vomits, Bryan is briefing him on the progress he has made. It appears as if someone has lent the antique collector's wife some money, all in cash.

Spring joins Theroux and The Controller on board the Station Charles De Gaulle.