Over the past few weeks whilst I’ve been battling one illness or another (I’m on the mend now though! phew!!) I’ve been rewatching a lot of films and shows that I haven’t seen for years (or in some cases decades) and enjoying taking trips down memory lane. One of the shows that I realised I hadn’t seen for years is the web series Cops and Monsters, a Scottish produced series that started its run in 2014 and aired its final episode in 2018. Described as “Buffy meets Taggart” and totalling eleven episodes (that includes a Scifi Wales special and another special episode or two) this most definitely indie produced series (more on that later) took the viewing into the world of the P.I.T.S.( Paranormal Investigation Team Scotland) as they face a world which is inhabited by vampires, werewolves and zombies.  Featuring a great cast of genre actors over the season including Simon Wier (Trainspotting 2), Rachel Teate (WolfBlood), Sarah Louise Madison (Doctor Who), Katrina Bryan (Nina and the Neurons:Get Sporty),Kirsty Strain (Anna and The Apocalypse), Chris Bain (Redcon-1), Sophie Aldred (Doctor Who), James Payton (Captain America:The First Avenger) and Caitlin Blackwood (Doctor Who) 

Cops and Monsters may have had a plan for the full season but due to the lack of support from the organising bodies that are there to support indie productions, the team behind Cops and Monsters battled the world of crowdfunding to bring the show to life, again and again and for the most, they won every battle due to their perseverance and also of course to the generosity of those who donated to the various Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that were needed to raise funding for the cast, crew, locations, effects, music etc.  The team behind Cops and Monsters worked hard and crafted a really entertaining show. Yes it does show in some ways that each episode was its own thing due to the nature in how it was funded but a round of applause does need to go to all who helped this show become a thing. (that kinda includes me I guess as I do remember tweeting, retweeting, sharing links etc for several of their crowdfunding campaigns. I also hosted a total of three Q & A panels for the team, Nottingham (Em-Con), London (MCM) and Llandudno (Scifi Wales) and those were so much fun. So yes I do have a soft spot for the world of Cops and Monsters, but its still a show that I haven’t revisited for many years. Until now. Now that the show is on Amazon Video. I thought id take a trip back. First to 2014 and the shows first episode “The New Recruit”

Season 1 comprises of 8 official episodes. All of which you can find HERE

Two and a half hours have passed since I wrote the last sentence of the previous paragraph and I have now completed a rewatch of not just the first episode of Cops and Monsters, but all 8 episodes and I had a blast. As id mentioned its been years since I saw some of these and watching them now, I see them through slightly different eyes than I did the first time. The first time I saw them was through the eyes of ‘will this be the last episode’ will there be another Kickstarter or Indiegogo around the corner. Will the shows creator Fraser Coull get to finish his vision and is he happy with the vision he has so far with the show (that last question is one I shall ask him when we podcast next) But did I enjoy revisiting Cops and Monsters, very much so. Some of those early episodes are a little short, but I get why and that’s okay. The first couple of episodes run for around 7 minutes or thereabouts and give you a nice taster of whats to come, and does with further episodes hitting the 15 minute and some even longer around the 25 minute mark, Cops and Monsters does deliver. Yes you can see on occasion the fact the filmmakers didn’t have enough budget, but that isn’t something I would mark them down for. Quite the opposite. Around 2014 crowdfunding wasn’t as streamline a thing as it is now, people were wary of it and to get a successful campaign going it took a lot of work, and a lot of work went into the Cops and Monsters campaigns. The fact that the team behind Cops and Monsters created as many episodes as they did using only crowdfunding campaigns is a huge thing. More round of applause for them. 

Will Cops and Monsters return? That is the question and its a question the shows creator Fraser Coull might also find himself asked by me next time I chat with him. I hope it does, Id like to revisit the world of vampires, werewolves and zombies again set in Scotland. Id like it to perhaps not be short episodes though as just when it starts, it nears its end. Is there a feature length Cops and Monsters in Fraser’s head somewhere? I dont know the answer to that one (yet) I hope it does. Cops and Monsters works on many levels, its story, its world building, its performances from so many people we have seen on other shows or films (I love the mix of cast) and Cops and Monsters works as a great document of independent filmmaking and why indie filmmakers would benefit so much if there were organisations who are in place to help indie filmmakers, actually helped indie filmmakers. Ah now theres a dream!