As the Conflict series draws to a close there are explosive times ahead for the Star Cops.
The Star Cops: Conflict series concludes with another two-part finale from the writing team of Roland Moore and Andrew Smith. The pair brought us the finale of 2024’s Blood Moon but here they swap roles; Moore writes this penultimate episode while Smith tackles November’s ‘Final Gambit’.
Tick Tock
Throughout the series, the international threats have been carefully laid out. We’ve seen the installation of a new Moonbase commander, with Alexandra Myres (Jessica Martin) more politically minded than her predecessors. We’ve also learned about the purportedly defensive Guardian Platform, various corporate shenanigans and the divisive American Psyche Mission to mine an asteroid for scarce resources. The ISPF have also tragically lost one of their own, and we’ve followed Pal Kenzy’s romance with Howard Lesser (Ben Miles), who works for the Hobbs Astral corporation, running one of their lunar water reclamation centres.
In ‘Tick Tock’ those political tensions spill onto Moonbase as we find Inspectors Paul Bailey and “Dead Shot” Devis out drone hunting. While you have to assume it’s a self-chosen moniker, the drone antics come as a rare moment of fun as the tension ratchets up between the Americans, the Europeans and the Eastern Bloc.
However, the story begins with Kenzy’s paramour Howard and Vanessa (Gaby French), an engineer who works for him, who appears to have a panic attack on the Moon’s surface. When she’s then pulled in to assess potential sabotage, her anxiety leads her into trouble when Moonbase receives an anonymous threat and implements Amber alert. With non-essential travel restricted and the spectre of food rationing within a week, we’re on the clock as the crew consider the threat and its implications…
In Summary
Due to the nature of the story, this review will remain incredibly spoiler light. It contains a terrific moment of jeopardy with a twist or two on the way but, as ever, the strength of Star Cops is how it matches those twists and turns with character interactions. While Nathan (David Calder) and Kenzy (Linda Newton) lead the investigation, it’s the unlikely bromance between Devis (Trevor Cooper) and Paul Bailey (Philip Olivier) that particularly shines for us.
We’ll pass on giving this a star rating but suffice to say that ‘Tick Tock’ is another top tier episode for the Star Cops – and it sets the bar jaw-droppingly high for the series finale!
Star Cops – Conflict: Tick Tock is available now on download to own from Big Finish.
Catch up with our reviews of Conflict ahead of the series finale ‘Final Gambit’ in November 2026. For more Star Cops, check out our coverage of previous audio releases – as well as Paul Watts’ terrific book on series ‘Above the Law‘.