OVERVIEW

Space Cops first appeared March 11, 1977 as a pilot movie. After a positive public reaction, the series itself premiered January 22, 1978 on ABC as a mid-season replacement and immediately changed the American television landscape by challenging stereotypes, tackling difficult subject matter, and mixing genres.

The series follows a pair of detectives in the Interplanetary Police Squadron: Jonny Ritz (Gene Paul Bundy), the dark-haired bad boy who will do whatever it takes to get his man... and his ladies; and Don Geronimo (Jackie Franklin) who spent his entire childhood in a Martian orphanage and uses his job to fill the vacuous hole inside him. After interfering with galactic diplomacy, Don and Jonny are busted down to Earth duty (the worst beat in the solar system). They struggle to restart their careers on a world they are completely unfamiliar with, in a town that shows no mercy (Old Swampton). While Ritz didn't have time for procedure and Geronimo seemed to be a stickler for paperwork, it was actually Don that was always on the verge of exploding due to his unresolved emotional issues.

Of course, the driving force of the show was “The Chief” (Reginald Cockswayne); a hardline boss who went to any means to make sure Geronimo and Ritz learned old-school police work... Earth style. Space Cops' producers used the Chief to turn the traditional cop show formula on its head. While he often accused his detectives of being "loose cannons," it became clear that the Chief was actually the most unpredictable and dangerous component of the trio.

The detectives' main informant was the ethically ambiguous priest Father José (Dino Rivera), whose dedication to needy children was in constant conflict with his insatiable appetite for hardcore narcotics. Space Cops was considered ground breaking for portraying a Hispanic American in a mildly positive light. Jose's immense popularity with viewers caused producers to consider giving Rivera his own TV series. The second-season episode "Crying On the Inside" was actually a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin off titled Holy Smokes. The concept was for Jose to go on the road with a traveling circus and, with the help of his new friend “Tiny” Tommy Tucco (Chas Barrine), help someone in need or solve a mystery in each new town they arrive in. However, “Crying on the Inside” proved to be one of the lowest rated Space Cops episodes in the entire series and the notion of a spinoff was quickly shelved.

Space Cops’ rogues gallery included Zanthar, a Venutian whose motives and relationship with the Chief were always baffling at best. The Glitter Gang, Nips and Flarch were common adversaries and served as muscle for other villains. The machinations of the Moon Mafia complicated a number of episodes. And, of course, Ned Niederlander—who began the series in an administrative role at IPS. However, after being radicalized by the Chief’s penchant for pranks, Big Ned ends up as the Space Cops’ ultimate nemesis and Mayor for Life of Old Swampton.

THE CAST

Reginald Cockswayne was a character actor who had done significant film work during the early years of his career. He had a passion for motorsports and famously became great friends with Paul Newman after Reggie ran him into a ditch and nearly killed him in 1979 at Le Mans.

Producer Stanley Shallets spotted Gene Paul Bundy on the construction crew of his new Malibu home. Shallets was looking for a "man's man" to fill the role of Ritz and ordered Gene Paul to stop by his office and audition for a "little police show" he was putting together. Gene Paul was never completely comfortable with the immense fame and sex symbol status he received from the show and retired to a life of shoe cobbling after Space Cops' final season.

Jackie Franklin was a classically trained Shakespearean actor and took the role of Don Geronimo after his stage career stalled out. Franklin told his closest friends, of which there were few, he would leave "that dog crap show" the instant Broadway called. The call never came. As the years passed, Franklin became harder and harder to deal with and may have harbored more inner demons than the character he played.

CANCELLATION

Space Cops' final episode, "Play That 'Ol Squeezebox," aired May 7, 1982.  A contract dispute with Bundy and Franklin in 1980 led to their replacement (with Officers Lance and Roy) in the first three episodes of Season 4. Ratings fell drastically and never fully recovered after Don and Jonny returned. The fans who stayed were notoriously passionate but not enough to save the show. The show never received re-run syndication due to further dwindling ratings in 1981 (often attributed to an obsession with “Satan worshippers” in the writing room and Jackie Franklin’s insistence on finding more and more opportunities to sing on the show - sometimes multiple times in a single episode). Space Cops was also saddled with outrageous residual contracts negotiated by Gene Paul Bundy which made syndication prohibitive. Executive Producer Stanley Shallets tried to broker a deal for the Space Cops Christmas Special to be aired annually, but to no avail. The tales of Don, Jonny, and the Chief would only continue through a handful of Space Cops: The Animated Series episodes in 1985.

restorATION

Space Cops proper sat dormant on 110 reels of 35mm film (Eastman 5247) in a San Diego County salt mine for 30 years. Walk Softly Films acquired the rights to all episodes and materials of the series in 2011. Partial restoration of Season 1 was completed in 2017 and is currently available on the Space Cops YouTube Channel. Restoration efforts have since slowed but, with advancements in artificial intelligence, it’s hoped that more episodes can be saved and returned to the fans that loved them.