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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.
- Origins
- Production and Transmission
- Overseas Sales
- Music
- Characters
- Themes and Storyline
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The programme was originally conceived in 1998, when writers Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah were sent on a break to the seaside resort of Blackpool by Kudos Film & Television, later best known as the makers of Spooks and Hustle, to come up with new programme ideas. Originally titled Ford Granada, after the popular car of the 1970s, ...
The eight one-hour episodes of the first series were broadcast on BBC One on Monday nights at 9:00 pm. The series was mostly written by its creators, Jordan, Graham and Pharoah. The fourth writer on the first series was Chris Chibnall. For the second series, Graham, Pharoah and Chibnall returned to write episodes, joined by Julie Rutterford, Guy Je...
The first season of Life on Marswas broadcast in the US on BBC America, to favourable critical reviews, from July 2006 to August 2007. The second season aired from December 2007 to January 2008. It also aired in Canada on BBC Canada from September 2006 to April 2007, on Télé-Québec from 8 January 2008 to 23 April 2008 (French version), and on Showc...
The programme's soundtrack features many early 1970s songs, as well as an original score composed by Edmund Butt. The show's title is taken from the David Bowie song "Life on Mars?", which features prominently; it is playing on the iPod in Sam's Jeep Grand Cherokee when his accident occurs and on an 8-track tape in a Rover P6 when he awakes in 1973...
Life on Mars revolves around the experiences of Sam Tyler, a Detective Chief Inspector of Manchester police in 2006 who, after being hit by a car, wakes to find himself in 1973. Unsure whether he is mad, in a coma, or if he has actually gone back in time, he finds he is a Detective Inspector in the contemporary police force, and has just been trans...
Each episode begins with a monologue from Sam, in which he says "My name is Sam Tyler, I had an accident and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home." Subsequent events convince Sam he is in a coma, and as he co...
Critical reaction
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 up t...
Viewing figures
Life on Mars was also a success in terms of viewing figures. The first series achieved an average audience figure of 6.8 million viewers and regularly won its timeslot, despite competition from ITV1's comedy-drama series Northern Lights. The first series' finale gained 7.1 million viewers and a bvvv 28% audience share. Viewing figures for the second series disappointed at first, with the first episode only attracting 5.7 million viewers, slumping to 4.8 million viewers by episode three, despi...
Awards
In November 2006, the first series of Life on Mars won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series. In January 2007 it won the Best New Programme category at the Broadcast Magazineawards. Series one 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 programme won the audience-voted Pioneer Award. In October 2007, series two was nominated as the Most Popular Drama at the...
Jul 26, 2013 · But what would the first human on the Red Planet try to say, to encapsulate the thoughts of a watching globe as they watch our first visit to another planet? The BBC has asked readers for their...
- 3 min
- Neil Bowdler
Life on Mars: Created by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah. With Jason O'Mara, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, Jonathan Murphy. A present day car accident mysteriously sends a detective back to the 1970s.
- (11K)
- 2008-10-09
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- 60
Jan 9, 2006 · The first episode of the first series of the British time travel/police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was originally broadcast on 9 January 2006. The episode, known erroneously as "The Crash", was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One. After a road accident in 2006, DCI...
- 9 January 2006
- Bharat Nalluri
- Edward KramerColin Raimes
- 4 min
Aug 21, 2006 · Episode 5: Directed by S.J. Clarkson. With John Simm, Philip Glenister, Liz White, Dean Andrews. The death of a Manchester United fan may send the city into a riot when a City fan is suspected, so Sam, Gene and Annie go undercover at a pub to get clues as to the murderer.
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Jul 7, 2014 · Wolf Vishniac — decades before any initiatives to put humans on Mars had begun — was the first human to “walk on Mars.” A crater on Mars now bears his name, a fitting tribute to this pioneering explorer.
