I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN... LIFE ON MARS

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A detective in the Greater Manchester Police is hit by a car in 2006, and wakes up back in 1973. Now a DI, Sam Tyler finds himself reporting to Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt. Is Sam really in a hospital bed, in his own timeline, and hallucinating his time-travel adventure? Or has he really – somehow – gone back 33 years? And, either way, can he make his way back? He and we are kept guessing throughout, and while there is an explanation in the final episode, it’s only at the end of the sequel – Ashes To Ashes, set in the 1980s and starring Keeley Hawes – that we find out.

WHO STARS IN IT?

John Simm plays Tyler, with Philip Glenister an unlikely heartthrob as Hunt (above left, with Tyler). Liz White, Dean Andrews and Marshall Lancaster co-star as Tyler’s new colleagues, Annie Cartwright (below), Ray Carling and Chris Skelton; the latter two remain under the command of DCI Hunt for the three series of Ashes To Ashes, in which Hunt and his team have moved to

the Met Police in London.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT?

Nostalgia is key to the show’s appeal, from the fashion and cars (Hunt drives a Ford Cortina, replaced by an Audi Quattro in Ashes To Ashes) to the 1970s hitfilled soundtrack. The attitudes of Hunt and his colleagues are very much of the time, clashing wildly with the modern sensibilities of Tyler – this provides personal drama within the cop drama. While not historically accurate, it offers a snapshot of life in a time of change, when officers like Hunt would soon be seen as dinosaurs.

HOW MANY SERIES ARE THERE?

There are two series of Life On Mars, and three of Ashes To Ashes. A series three of Life On Mars has been mooted, with Simm and Glenister reprising their roles.

WHAT THEY SAID...

Glenister quite enjoyed driving the Cortina: ‘It was great fun, quite a flash motor for the time. I was putting my foot down, slamming on the brakes… I’d hate to get back into my car on the weekends because I’d be driving with my missus and she’d say, “You’re driving awfully fast, dear, can you slow down – you can do it at work, but this is Richmond...”’

DID YOU KNOW?

The show was instantly popular, and spawned several international adaptations – the US version, starring Harvey Keitel, lasted just one series, though, and its ending proved too far-fetched even for devoted fans. The concept of ‘life on Mars’ is taken rather too literally.