When the idea for this series was first presented to the BBC brass in 1998, they rejected it out of fear that the concept might be too silly. A decade later the show nevertheless materialized on BBC One and creators Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham showed how it was possible to keep it tongue-in-cheek without screwing up the serious ingredients.
Getting hit by a car
Life on Mars was set in Manchester and started with DCI Sam Tyler (John Simm) getting hit by a car in the middle of a hunt for a serial killer. He was critically injured and slipped into a coma. Somehow he was transported back in time to 1973 where he found himself wearing clothes typical for the time and assigned to DCI Gene Hunt’s (Philip Glenister) department as a DI. The other cops found the new guy to be very weird indeed, but that was nothing compared to how Sam was feeling. He had no idea how this had happened, and the frustrating thing was that he kept hearing voices from 2006 through TV sets and radios, voices that belonged to his loved ones who kept talking to his comatose body in the hospital.
Sam was determined to get back to the future, but as he was trying to figure out how to solve that problem he had no choice but to familiarize himself with Gene and his squad and solve cases together with them. Sam’s new boss was thoroughly old school, a hard-drinking, no-nonsense guy who solved cases by bringing in the usual suspects and beating the truth out of them. He was assisted by the proudly racist and sexist DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and the less-than-brilliant DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster). WPC Annie Cartwright (Liz White) was also on the force; she was subsequently promoted to WDC and cheerfully put up with the never-ending sexist remarks. As Sam struggled with the differences 30 years make, he also bonded with the irascible Gene, flirted with Annie and desperately tried to solve his fundamentally depressing and lonely situation.
Recreating Manchester in 1973
The series often shared the same tone as the kind of tongue-in-cheek action shows that were made in the ‘70s, with gorgeous women, tough guys and screeching car tires. Gene Hunt was a walking cliché, always insulting every minority he could think of, always pouring himself another whisky at work, always driving his Ford like he just stole it; Glenister took Hunt seriously and was outstanding. The crew meticulously recreated Manchester the way it looked and felt in 1973, down to the smallest detail. These ingredients made Life on Mars worth watching, even when the cases the cops were working turned out to be less than thrilling (which happened a little too often).
The emotional content of the show remained reasonably intriguing, although it seemed about time that things were finally resolved after two seasons. Or were they? The final episode ended on a high note, but the series remains an enigma. We don’t really know what happened, and perhaps it’s for the best.
Life on Mars can be interpreted as a story about mental illness, a time-travel fantasy or whatever. In the end though, what it represents is a desire among its creators to enjoy an era from a safe distance where everything seemed to be less complicated and a hell of a lot more fun.Â
Life on Mars 2006-2007:Britain. Made for TV. 16 episodes. Color. Created by Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah, Matthew Graham. Theme: Edmund Butt. Cast: John Simm (Sam Tyler), Philip Glenister (Gene Hunt), Liz White (Annie Cartwright), Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster.
Trivia: Followed by a spin-off, Ashes to Ashes (2008-2010), and adapted for American audiences as Life on Mars (2008-2009).
Last word: “‘Life on Mars’ came about for one simple reason: we wanted to write for ‘The Sweeney’, but it wasn’t on anymore. We thought we could never sell a ‘70s cop show, so we thought ‘let’s put a spin on it’. Doing a time-travel cop show wasn’t done because we saw a gap in the market, it wasn’t ground-breaking, it was three pissed writers who wanted to write for ‘The Sweeney’.” (Jordan, London, Hollywood)
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