Life On Mars (TV series)

Life on Mars is a British television series that first broadcast in 2006 on BBC One. The show combines elements of science fiction, police procedural, and drama.

It follows the story of Sam Tyler, a modern-day detective in the Greater Manchester Police Force. After a car accident, Tyler mysteriously finds himself transported back in time to 1973. The David Bowie song Life On Mars?, a hit from that year, is playing on the radio when the accident happens.

Sam continues his police work in 1973 but must adjust to the different policing methods, cultural norms, and technology of the period. Throughout the show, he struggles with the question of whether he is in a coma, insane, or has genuinely travelled back in time.

The character dynamics are a key aspect of the series, as Sam Tyler clashes with his colleagues, particularly DCI Gene Hunt, a tough and unorthodox police officer with a disdain for modern policing methods. The show explores themes of morality, justice, and the evolving nature of law enforcement.

It ran for two seasons, with a total of 16 episodes, concluding in 2007. A sequel series titled Ashes to Ashes (also named after a Bowie song) followed, picking up the story with a new character and set in the 1980s.