studioAT When John Simms opted to leave 'Life on Mars' after two series the BBC were left in a pickle. They had a show with ratings on the rise and in Gene Hunt a character who the public seemed to be falling in love with.The answer was simple - lets do the exact same thing, only in the eighties but with a woman cop going back in time instead. Lets go really mad and have Hunt and his crew move down to London too, for no apparent reason.All this leads to a similar, if indeed clever, spin-off that follows the ground already well trodden by the show it was spun-off from. If anything Hunt is more cartoonish than ever, and the show is bigger and bolder because of this.Throw in some good music, and a decent performance from Keeley Hawes, and you've got a show that ran for three series. For me though it lacked the originality of 'Life on Mars' - probably because the premise wasn't original second time around.

gabiiadriana I loved this show for a long time and I started watching it again on Netflix. I forgotten how much I loved this show! I never finished the last season so I never knew how it really ended. It's such a twist and the symbolism is great. I love how they all complete one last job and then Gene takes them to Nelson's pub! The kiss shared between Alex and Gene is the best because their relationship has always been there but nothing ever physical which made it so great and they part ways with a kiss. Some people say that Gene has become an 'angel' for his job in helping officers pass over and beating the devilish Keats who represents the 'devil' I've heard. Overall it's a complete twist that I wouldn't have expected ever. The lines between the characters are funny, the plots in the episodes are exciting and I am and always will love this show! Recommend this to anyone who loves a bit of serious comedy, arguments like old married couples and a mix of fantasy!

Michael Thompson Ashes to Ashes, was no Life on Mars.The simple premise of Life on Mars, if the Radio Times for example and at that time had their facts right, kept the nation guessing.Because the simple premise of Life on mars was that of a modern high tech cop, being thrown back in time to the early 70's, and the nation was asking questions like,- Why was he there ? When is he going back ? How was he going to get back ? Life on Mars was a brilliantly executed original concept, and that's the bottom line.Ashes to Ashes was not an original, it was a follow up, there was none of the mystery, we were not asking the same questions.This in my opinion was what made Life on Mars compulsive viewing.The writers had tried to capture the atmosphere of Life on Mars, but they failed as far as I was concerned.I haven't mentioned the actors in either Series, because I truly believe what I have written in my review, was the hub of what made Life on Mars brilliant, compared to Ashes to Ashes being mediocre.

ShadeGrenade 'Life On Mars' was a popular drama series which ran for two seasons on B.B.C.-1 from 2006-7. Created by Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, it starred John Simm as 'D.I. Sam Tyler', a detective who wakes up in 1973 following a car accident, where he joins forces with the hard-as-nails 'D.C.I. Gene Hunt', and his cohorts 'D.C. Ray Carling' ( Dean Andrews ) and 'D.C. Chris Skelton ' ( Marshall Lancaster ). Liz White provided Tyler's romantic interest as policewoman 'Annie Cartwright'. Hard drinking, no-nonsense Hunt became a kind of symbol for the era. The show's blend of nostalgia, fantasy and fast moving police action secured it a big audience, and it could have continued, but Simm was keen to move on.The only way forward seemed to be to make a spin-off. 'Ashes To Ashes' unfortunately suffered from having to boldly go where 'Mars' had gone first; it begins with 'D.I. Alex Drake' ( Keeley Hawes ) being shot at close range by a maniac, blasting her back to 1981, where Hunt and the boys have relocated to London from Manchester. The show initially drew criticism, many fans were upset by Hawes' performance and the changing of the time period. Britain in the early '80's was a horrible place to be; unemployment had risen to three million, industry was on its knees with factory after factory closing down, race riots took place in Toxteth and Brixton, war with Argentina was around the corner, the general feeling of despair was best summed up by 'The Specials' with their No.1 hit 'Ghost Town'.Whereas 'Mars' looked and felt like it had been shot in the '70's, 'Ashes', on the other hand, initially failed to convince as an '80's show. It seemed that the production team had no clear idea how to evoke the era other than replaying its music or referring to events such as The Falklands War. If 'The Sweeney' was the template for 'Mars', 'Ashes To Ashes' must have been looking in the direction of 'The Gentle Touch', an altogether less violent I.T.V. police drama of the early '80's which starred Jill Gascoigne as 'D.C.I. Maggie Forbes'. 'Ashes' tried to replicate that earlier show's fiery combination of woman detective with a social conscience and uncouth male colleague. Drake came across as a right know-it-all in the early episodes; sneeringly addressing Hunt and co. as 'imaginary constructs' and even laughing at a dog's death, but over time she grew on viewers. Replacing 'Annie' was the charmingly-named Monserrat Lombard as policewoman 'Shaz' Granger, Chris' girlfriend.'Ashes To Ashes' featured superb story lines such as the one where Chris took a bribe in order to be able to buy an engagement ring, and a Falklands War veteran turning into an arsonist ( which ended with Ray giving Margaret Thatcher the one-handed clap when she next appeared on television ). It finally overcame viewer hostility to run to three seasons, concluding in 2010 with a stunning final episode in which it was revealed that Hunt's world was, in fact, a purgatory for dead cops. Drake had been killed, and unlike Tyler in the closing episode of 'Mars', there was to be no going home for her. It ended where 'Mars' had begun, with another detective arriving from the future, and Hunt saying to him: "A word in your shell-like...".If nothing else, both 'Mars' and 'Ashes' prove it is still possible, even in the 21st century, to make good television.