Life on Mars

 _****½

After a traffic accident, DCI Sam Tyler finds himself demoted, thirty-three years in the past, and on the trail of a pattern of murders he recognizes from the present day. Forced to play along until he can find a way home, Sam helps the department come together to try and find the killer.

I was first introduced to this concept with the announcement of an American remake, and decided to research things further. The story appealed to me greatly, but I couldn't wait for the series to hit North American airwaves, and found myself watching the first episode of the original series. And then the second, third, and so forth. By the time the remake had started, I was already well-versed in the series, and, while my interest in the remake waned as time went on, I remain very much a fan of the work created in this original incarnation.

Sam Tyler, played by John Simm, is very by-the-book, and incredibly good at his job. Incredibly straight-laced and determined to uphold the law, he finds himself partnered with the polar opposite in Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt. Gene is passionate in getting criminals off the street, but believes that the ends justify the means, and will do anything he feels necessary in order to accomplish a task, making him far more dangerous than some of the suspects he stalks. The clash of cultures between the two is intense, as they battle over what is right and wrong, but in the end manage to find some kind of middle ground and work together to save the day. Their partnership is fascinating, infuriating to the both of them, and it will clearly have an enormous impact on both men the longer they stay together.

The music is a character on its own, becoming a huge part of the story as the episode progresses; the build up of David Bowie's Life on Mars as Sam grows ever more frustrated is very effective to get the audience into his state of mind, and to have an abrupt stop at the song's climax to coincide with the car accident was, however obvious, brilliantly written. This music is a huge part of Sam's life, of who he has become as a person, and it links him directly back to this period, where this same music was a huge part of these people's lives, their history, and it helps to create a good suspense as to whether Sam is imagining this world or whether he was always a part of it.

I'm well aware that there was a lot crammed into this premiere already, but I would have liked to see more clues leaning toward 1973 being the real scenario and 2006 being the dream; as the audience we're already fully certain that Sam is from the modern era, but I would have liked to have the script try to convince us that Sam was in an accident in 1973 and hallucinated the present day.

The depiction of 1970's police seems largely exaggerated for artistic purposes, but I imagine that, while Sam may have grown up with these kind of characters on television, he would at least have called some of them out on their behaviors.

The acting in this episode is great, without exception, and, while it's tempting to state that Simm carries this show, Glenister is easily just as important and just as good. While the spotlight remains on the two leads through most of the action, pushing the rest of the cast into the background, we do get to know Annie Cartwright (Liz White) who does a good job of keeping the characters, and the story, grounded in reality.

The world of 1973 is very vivid and refreshing, clearly dirtier and more dangerous than the scenes in the present day, and it all adds together to make the past seem far more real. Bharat Nalluri's direction has the opening scenes in the present in crisp definition, almost procedural for this genre of show, and it's a little bit boring. When he switches to the past there's an almost-detectable haze cast over the world making it seem somewhat surreal, but far more exciting and alluring than the modern-day world left behind.

Written by Matthew Graham, this is a strong story and sets a fantastic tone for this series. Graham has a good grasp on who these characters need to be, the world in which they live, and the distress that it causes to the protagonist. The clash of cultures between Sam and Gene is interesting to watch unfold, and the brief snippets of present-day filtering through the television, radio, and other wired devices is inspired.

This is an intelligent series with great charm and wit. The mystery as to what has truly happened to Sam is well-drawn but it's the characters in the series that truly keep you coming back. Watching the first episode you think it would be a shame for Sam to go back to his own time, as he's far more suited to the gritty reality of 1973.

Life on Mars is in the running to become the feature for Thursdays. The series ran from 2006 to 2007 on BBC with a total of 16 episodes.