Ordinarily, I’m no fan of TV dramas, tending to aim for the comedies more. Now and then, there’s something that crops up that catches my attention, and I find myself watching intently. Life On Mars is a new BBC drama about a Manchester policeman, only with a twist. The lead character Sam Tyler (played by John Simm) is your average Detective Inspector. His ex-girlfriend and colleague is snatched by a muderer he’s trying to track down. Hearing that she’s been taken, he takes an emotional drive, which leads to him being run down after getting out of his car. Next thing we know, he’s lying in the middle of a disused factory, soon to be the site of the new bypass he was just run over on. The year is now 1973, and Sam finds himself confused, and lost. Is he in a coma and dreaming? Has he somehow travelled back in time? Or is it something else? He doesn’t know, but finds his way to the same police station he left earlier, albeit thirty years previous. Sam finds himself fighting against his superior, Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), and somewhat old-fashioned policing methods. His only support comes from WPC Annie Cartright (Liz White), and he’s left trying to work out what exactly is going on.
This series is truly great, on levels of drama, comedy, and the mystery surrounding the overal storyline. It’s not immediately obvious if Sam actually is in a coma or not; after his accident we’re taken back to 1973 with him, and don’t go back into 2006 at all. Various things happen which could suggest he’s hearing the outside world, such as doctors talking about a patient being in a coma, but Sam will sometimes turn and find a radio playing a radio play which happens to be about the same thing.
It’s an intrigueing storyline, something which keeps you enthralled, whilst Same and Gene find themselves warring over how best to apprehend various criminals. I wonder what direction the show will go in later on, whether we will find out the reason for his time jump. I certainly hope so! I know I’m going to be glued to the rest of this series for sure though.