Life on Mars: The Complete Collection (2006–07)

Life on Mars: The Complete Collection (2006–07)

Dirs: Various | Seasons: 2 (16 episodes, approx 60 mins each)

While it does fit comfortably into the wider science fiction genre, Life on Mars isn't set on the red planet. It's set in Manchester, North West England in the years 2006 and 1973.

Present in both times is DCI Sam Tyler (John Simm). Sam gets injured in the line of duty, knocked unconscious while chasing a suspect in 2006, he wakes up in 1973, discombobulated and dressed in period clothes, but with his instincts intact - he's still a detective.

There's a level of ambiguity, so we're never really sure if Sam has jumped back in time thirty-three years or if his consciousness is inventing the scenario, perhaps as a means to work though some personal issues or trauma while his real self lies unconscious in 2006.

There's some audible and occasional visual bleed though from the future (present?) time, suggesting that his physical body is indeed there, but the mind can convince itself of many things that aren't true. Is Sam like Zhūangzi's dreamer, but aware of both states? Or is he simply a man who sees and hears things that aren't physically there? Are his colleagues real officers, or unpredictable facets of his subconscious personified?

- Left to Right (foreground): Gene Hunt, Sam Tyler, and Annie Cartwright -

Alongside its sci-fi element Life on Mars is both a modern police procedural and a loving homage to 1970s British cop shows. It does a tremendous job at channelling the latter, colouring the world with big-collared shirts and flared trousers, 8 tracks and vinyl records, custard creams and bourbon biscuits. The less favourable side of the 70s is present, too, including sexism and racism in the workplace and a heavy-handed legal system that's too flexible with the notion of 'legal'.

With the concept established in Ep 01, it then falls to characters to keep it engaging. It's a small group but they're wonderfully written. Due to the era's abrasive attitudes toward minorities, Sam clashes often with his peers, including his outspoken boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister).

Hunt is a c—... less principled individual than Sam. He oversees office life with a stern hand and a blind eye, granting his officers a kind of honour among thieves grace when it suits him.

He's a man for whom insults and sexist/racist remarks are second nature. The outbursts can be scathingly funny, if you're able to see the humour in such things and recognise that the attitude serves to characterise both him and the era. On the flip side, his macho bullshit is sometimes instrumental in getting the job done in time and functions as a reinforcing incentive for Sam.

The writing is clever enough that it doesn't excuse Hunt's outrageous behaviour, but instead paints a picture of how someone in his role might feel that seeing the world how he does could be beneficial — or even necessary — to obtaining results. But he does cross the line often.

The most sympathetic member of the team is WPC Annie Cartwright (Liz White). Ordinarily she'd be the leading man's love interest, but Sam's not sure if she's real or not, so he dithers.

Annie has academic skills that the other 70s staff lack, so is the most useful team member to Sam when rational thinking is needed. Her tough outer shell protects her from the sexist jibes during work hours, but if she feels her emotions are being toyed with she closes up.

At various times the stories lend credence to one or more of Sam's theories that he's either gone clinically insane, is lying comatose in a hospital bed in the year 2006, or has actually travelled backwards through time. Series Two deepens the connection between the two eras, with events in one greatly influencing events in the other, suggesting that things are either converging as he recovers or worsens, or that the level of self-delusion is spiralling out of all control.

I won't detail the other characters, but I'll name them because I feel they deserve the credit. I loved or hated (in a good way) each one for their strengths and flaws: DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews); DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster); WPC Phyllis Dobbs (Noreen Kershaw).

It feels all too brief at just two series, but there's no duff episodes and the concept had a limited lifespan, so stopping when it did meant it finished on a high. And if you want more of the format, there's the subsequent Ashes to Ashes (2008-10) offshoot, which ran for longer.

The title of the series is taken from a track of the same name on David Bowie's Hunky Dory (1971) album. In addition to Bowie there's a lot of great 70s music used throughout, including Deep Purple, The Who, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Cream, and Wings, to name (slightly more than) a few. Their inclusion really does help make the setting feel more authentic. It would cost other stations a small fortune to licence all of that, but for reasons that I don't understand (mayhaps something to do with Radio?) the BBC has free access to a huge library of copyrighted music. In all likelihood the tracks featured are on that list.

It's a British series with British actors, but Wiki reports that the concept proved to be popular in other territories, being remade by America, Spain, Russia, Czechoslovakia, South Korea, and China, each of whom most likely made it more relevant to their respective locales by adding their own cultural and historical references. To date, however, I've not seen any of the others.