Life on Mars is a British science fiction/police procedural drama television series. It was first broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007, lasting for two series in total.
An American version of the series was produced by ABC, and ran for one season from October 2008 to April 2009. Also, a Spanish version of the show was broadcast from April to June 2009.
After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler (Simm) wakes up to find himself in 1973, the era of ‘Sweeney’ type policing, Mark III Cortinas, and flared trousers.
Life on Mars tells the fictional story of Sam Tyler (John Simm), a police officer in service with the Greater Manchester Police. After being hit by a car in 2006, Tyler awakes in 1973 and finds himself working for the predecessor of the GMP, the Manchester and Salford Police at the same station and location as in 2006. Early on in the series, it becomes apparent to Tyler that he awakes as a Detective Inspector, one rank lower than his 2006 rank of Detective Chief Inspector. As part of the CID, Tyler finds himself working under the command of Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister).
The methodology and techniques of modern policing that Sam Tyler employs during Life on Mars leads him to frequently clash with other characters. Gene Hunt and the rest of the CID are displayed to favour brutality and corruption in order to secure convictions, shown by their willingness to physically coerce confessions and fabricate evidence. Throughout both series, Tyler clashes with Hunt the most frequently, usually because Tyler values forensic evidence whereas Hunt often resorts to traditional methods and in one episode where doubt is cast over a number of people goes on the assumption of “the first to speak is guilty”.
Sam describes Hunt as an: “overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding”. Hunt is supported by his fiercely loyal subordinates, Chris Skelton and Ray Carling, with the latter displayed to be a similar character to Hunt. Ray and Sam are often seen to disagree with each other, as well as Sam and Gene’s love-hate relationship.[26] Chris, in contrast, becomes friendly with Sam and respects his modern methods, finding his loyalty torn between both Gene and Sam.[27]
Due to Sam’s predicament, he avoids revealing how he thinks he may have travelled back in time for fear of others thinking him to be insane. The only person in 1973 who Sam fully reveals his story to is Annie Cartwright, who it is revealed later married him during the time between Life on Mars set in 1973 and Ashes to Ashes in 1981. According to Liz White, the actress who played Cartwright, “She gets very tired of his constant talk about how this situation is not real, that they are all figments of his imagination — she can only explain it as psychological trauma from his car crash.”
Throughout the two series, the central plot centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler’s predicament of it being unclear to both the audience and the character whether he has died, gone mad, is in a coma or has actually travelled back in time.It has been rated as the best cop show on TV since the 70′s.
you can watch the Episodes here:
