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Life on Mars follows Sam Tyler (John Simm), a policeman in service with the Greater Manchester Police (GMP). After being hit by a car in 2006, Sam mysteriously awakens in 1973; he finds himself working for the predecessor of the GMP, the Manchester and Salford Police, at the same location as in 2006. Early on in the series, it becomes apparent ...
- Plot
- Production
- Transmission
- Remakes and Derived Shows
- Music
- Characters
- Themes and Storyline
- Reception
- Home Media
- Books
Life on Mars follows Sam Tyler (John Simm), a policeman in service with the Greater Manchester Police (GMP). After being hit by a car in 2006, Sam mysteriously awakens in 1973; he finds himself working for the predecessor of the GMP, the Manchester and Salford Police, at the same location as in 2006. Early on in the series, it becomes apparent to S...
The programme was conceived in 1998, when screenwriters Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah were sent on a break to Blackpool by Kudos to think of show ideas. Originally titled Ford Granada after the 1970s car, the series was rejected by the BBC. In response, Graham stated, "Back then, broadcasters just weren't comfortable with something like that, s...
Eight one-hour episodes of Life on Mars were broadcast weekly on Monday nights at 9:00 pm by the BBC. The series episodes were mostly written by its creators Jordan, Graham and, later joined by Chris Chibnall as the fourth writer for the first series. For the second series, Graham, and Chibnall returned to write episodes, joined by Julie Rutterford...
David E. Kelley produced the pilot for an American version of the series for the ABCnetwork, though he handed duties over to others for the series production. It premiered in October 2008, and was broadcast to minor critical and public acclaim where declining numbers led to cancellation in April 2009 after 17 episodes, though with sufficient lead t...
The programme's soundtrack features mainly early 1970s songs which were played as part of Life on Mars, as well as an original score of the theme music as part of the title sequence composed by Edmund Butt. The show's title is in reference to the David Bowie song, "Life on Mars?", which plays on an iPod in Sam's car while he is run over, and on an ...
See main article: List of Life on Mars characters. The methodology and techniques of modern policing that Sam Tyler employs during Life on Mars lead him into clashes with other characters. Gene Hunt and the rest of the CID appear to favour brutality and corruption to secure convictions, as shown by their willingness to physically coerce confessions...
See also: List of Life on Mars (British TV series) episodes. After the premiere, each of the remaining fifteen episodes begins with a short teaser before a monologuein which Sam repeats, as part of the moving imagery of the title sequence: This questioning is a central plot device throughout the series, displaying both the character's and the audie...
Critical reception
Critical reaction to the first series of Life on Mars was extremely positive. Steve O'Brien, writing for SFX, declared, "It looks like BBC One has ... a monster hit on its hands ... It's funny ... and dramatic and exciting, and we're really not getting paid for saying this". Alison Graham, television editor for the Radio Times, described the series as "a genuinely innovative and imaginative take on an old genre". James Walton of The Daily Telegraph commented, "Theoretically, this should add u...
Ratings
Life on Mars was a ratings success. The first series achieved an average audience figure of 6.8 million viewers and regularly won its timeslot, despite competition from ITV1's popular comedy-drama series Northern Lights. The first series' finale gained 7.1 million viewers and a 28% audience share. Viewing figures for the second series were initially low, with the first episode only attracting 5.7 million viewers, slumping to 4.8 million viewers by episode three, despite being heavily trailed...
Accolades
The series twice won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2006 and 2008. In January 2007, it won the Best New Programme category as part of the Broadcast Magazine awards. In March 2007 it won two categories, Best Drama Series and the Writers' Award, at the Broadcasting Press GuildAwards. The first series was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) in the Best Drama Series category. John Simm was also nominated as Best Actor for his work on the show.The progra...
Blu-ray
1. Note: Due to the popularity of the show, Blu-ray editions of both series were released on 27 October 2008. However, since the show's various effects were originally edited and mastered in standard definition, a true HD version would require a near-total overhaul. The Blu-ray editions therefore contained studio-upscaled footage of the original SD content, providing some improvement. This pseudo-HD version is not known to have been broadcast on television.
Companion books
There have been 2 official tie-in books to accompany the series featuring episode summaries, cast and character profiles, music listings to each show, script extracts, plus behind-the-scenes content and never before seen photos. 1. Book: Thompson, Lee . 2006. Life on Mars: The Official Companion. Pocket Books Publishers . 978-1-84739-005-9 . 2. Book: Adams . Guy . Thompson . Lee. 2007. Life on Mars: The Official Companion Volume Two. Pocket Books Publishers . 978-1-84739-039-4 .
Humour
1. The Rules of Modern Policing (1973 Edition) by "DCI Gene Hunt" (Bantam Press) [8 October 2007] A parody of a police manual that made fun of the conventions of 1970s British police procedurals like The Sweeney. It also contained a glossary of British 1970s slang terms. The actual author of the text is Guy Adams. 1. The Wit and Wisdom of Gene Huntby "DC Chris Skelton and DS Ray Carling" (again, Guy Adams) (Bantam Press) A book detailing the philosophy of Gene Hunt as told by his disciples.
Novels
On 12 March 2012, Kate Bradley, Commissioning Editor at HarperCollins, secured a deal with Kudos Film and Television to publish four brand new Life on Mars novels. The Life on Mars books were published exclusively as eBooks at roughly three-month intervals, but were successful enough to generate the release of hard copy, trade paperbacks in August 2013. The author of the series is Tom Graham, Matthew Graham's brother. (Despite earlier speculation that the brother identity was a pseudonym for...
Oct 26, 2024 · BBC show Life on Mars was one of British TV show's biggest series in the last 20 years and its cast have gone on to achieve TV and film stardom. The strange, science fiction drama blended elements ...
Jun 3, 2016 · Life On Mars: revisiting a terrific UK crime drama. Ten years after it aired, we look back at what made the excellent Life On Mars such arresting, special TV: its characters...
Oct 26, 2024 · Tony Marshall, known for his role as pub landlord Nelson in Life on Mars, was one of the few regulars not portraying a police officer. He also made a cameo in the thrilling finale of Ashes to ...
Apr 4, 2020 · Life On Mars will return for a final series, its co-creator has revealed. The BBC drama aired for two seasons between 2006 and 2007 before a three-series spinoff Ashes To Ashes. It tells the...
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Oct 26, 2024 · Life on Mars was a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 2006 and 2007 and was created by Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharaoh By Mike Taylor 07:30, Sat, Oct 26, 2024
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