These well-known science-fiction cops might not be the best at their job, but they’re certainly the most memorable.
About ‘Black Rain’
In a darkly warped near future, lucrative disease cures are brokered on Wall Street’s Genetic Stock Exchange. And the hottest consumer products are artificially synthesized humans that serve as everything from domestic slaves to combatants in savage gladiatorial games. For Jack Saxton, the young heir to genetic design powerhouse Genico Inc., these Synthates are just a fact of life…until the murder of a high-profile genetic scientist leads a pair of seasoned NYPD detectives to Genico’s door.
As a small band of Synthate rebels steps up its attack on the status quo, Jack encounters a pleasure-parlor girl who opens his eyes to their cause. When he dares to sympathize with the rebels, Jack is hunted down and arrested for the murder. Sentenced to die in the brutal games on Bloomberg Island, Jack will be forced to fight — for his life, for the future of all Synthates, and for a chance to uncover the mind-bending secret buried in his past.
Top 8 cops in sci-fi
In my 12 years in the New York City Police Department never once have I chased a Replicant down a crowded street, or traveled through time to make an arrest. Science fiction cops can do all the cool stuff us regular cops can’t. So in a salute to speculative policing, let’s look at some of the more memorable sci-fi cops from literature and film.
1. Judge Dredd, ‘Judge Dredd’
If the 14th Century was the Renaissance of art and culture, the 1990s was the Renaissance of Sylvester Stallone middling cop movies. The best thing about this stinker is that costume design was by Versace. No, really, Gianni Versace designed the costumes. And apparently, police officers in the future wear golden shoulder pads and metal cod pieces. I’ll drop that into the NYPD employee suggestion box. Stallone wears a helmet for most of the movie, leaving only the bottom half of his face visible, but his chin does some of the best acting in film history.
2. Sergeant John Spartan, ‘Demolition Man’
Stallone returns again as Sergeant John Spartan, a member of the LAPD who is cryogenically frozen, then thawed out in the future to do battle with master criminal Simon Phoenix. For such an outlandish plot, I found it odd that the writers took the time to specify Spartan’s rank. He’s not just John Spartan, unfrozen LAPD officer. He’s Sergeant John Spartan. As if this little bit of realism adds just enough believability to makes us overlook the insanity of the entire premise. Works for me. I love this movie.
3. Joe Bomowski, ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’
The third in the Stallone cop trilogy, and while not science fiction, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is worth mentioning in the way New Coke or Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo (yes, this is real) are worth mentioning. Iconic brands who made disastrous choices. Even Stallone admitted this movie was a mistake.
4. Max Walker, ‘Timecop’
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s epic Timecop has a 5.8 rating on IMDB.com, which is totally misleading as this movie is an amazing classic of American 1990s cinema. For those of you who don’t watch Spike television at 2 a.m. (the only time this film is ever on), this flick is worth a look just for Van Damme’s hair, which is a hybrid mix of a Canadian hockey player from 1983, and a drummer from a heavy metal glam band. Van Damme plays a time travelling police officer, but we rarely see him taking legitimate police action. He deals with most law enforcement situations by kicking people, which as we all know, never happens in the real world of policing. Incidentally, this movie was released in 1994, which in the film’s plot, is the same year time travel is invented. So…in this version of 1994, police officers can travel through time, but have to watch Timecop on VHS because the DVD hasn’t been invented yet.
5. John Anderton, ‘Minority Report’
I’m conflicted about this movie. Tom Cruise plays Police Officer John Anderton, who is able to harness the ultimate crime fighting technology, the ability to predict crimes before they occur. Of course, this means most cops are out of a job. It’s like being a baker and watching a movie about a delicious bread that bakes itself. Is society better off? Yes. Am I out of a job? Probably. Thankfully, Tom Cruise finds the flaw in the system that proves nothing beats good old fashioned police work. Phew, close one. If there’s no more crime, there’s no more Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy cop movies. And that’s a loss for everyone.
6. Elijah Baley, Robot Series
In Isaac Asimov’s Robot series, Elijah Baley is a homicide detective in the New York City Police Department 3,000 years in the future. Good to know the NYPD will be around for that long. That means I don’t have to worry about my pension checks bouncing. This is essentially a buddy cop series, with human Detective Baley being paired with a humanoid robot partner. Hilarity ensues. During my career I’ve worked with some tedious partners devoid of all emotion. After reading this series, I’m pretty sure they may have been humanoid robots.
7. T-1000, ‘Terminator 2’
In this iconic film, the T-1000 assumes the appearance of an LAPD officer while on the hunt for a young John Connor. The T-1000 has a great professional uniform presence. He shows a lot of initiative and solid detective case work skills in tracking down Connor. Overall this guy makes a pretty good cop. Some might say he was too good. Nobody likes an overachiever, and the T-1000 probably did struggle against workplace discrimination. Lot of angry, jealous looks in the precinct locker room. Bullying hurts, and beneath the uniform, cops are people, too. Good for you, advanced liquid metal Terminator prototype. Don’t let anyone keep you from your dreams.
8. Rick Deckard, ‘Blade Runner’/’Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’
When I was a rookie police officer, there was this intimidating senior detective in the squad who looked like Rick Deckard. He wore a long brown trench coat. Lived alone. Made a lot of arrests. He possibly failed a Voight-Kampff test, but if there were ever some off world Replicants loose in New York City, he would have been the guy to hunt them. As science fiction cops go, Deckard was the best. He epitomized the film noire antihero, the troubled, morally ambiguous cop prowling back alleys of urban decay looking for his target. If I had to partner with any sci-fi cop, it would be Deckard. So, fire up the off world spinner, let’s get a cup of coffee then go fight crime.
About the author
Matthew B.J. Delaney published his first novel, Jinn, in 2003. Winner of the International Horror Guild Award, the novel was optioned for film by Touchstone Pictures, was featured as People magazine’s Page-Turner of the Week, and received a Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Delaney received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and a master’s in public administration from Harvard.
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, he left a career in finance and moved from Boston to New York City to join the New York City Police Department. He has been a member of the NYPD for 12 years and has been assigned to precincts throughout Manhattan and the Bronx as well as within Police Headquarters and the Intelligence Division. He is currently a decorated special operations lieutenant serving in a Brooklyn violent crime suppression unit. He continues to write in his spare time.
Fan of our book coverage? Why not join our Hypable Books Facebook group!
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.