Series 1: Episode 1 (Life on Mars)

"Episode 1"
Life on Mars episode
DCI Sam Tyler wakes up in 1973 after being run over in 2006.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1
Directed by	Bharat Nalluri
Written by	Matthew Graham
Original air date	January 9, 2006
Episode chronology
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List of Life on Mars (UK TV series) episodes

The first episode of the first series of the British time travel police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was first broadcast on 9 January 2006. The episode, known erroneously as "The Crash", was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One.

Synopsis

After a road accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler awakens to find himself in 1973. Apparently a DI and assigned to work under rough-around-the-edges DCI Gene Hunt, Tyler follows a series of murders which have been committed with the same modus operandi in both 2006 and 1973. The clash-of-cultures between Tyler and others relates mainly to the lack of importance placed on forensic science in 1973. WPC Annie Cartwright stops Sam jumping off the top of a building after he convinces himself that suicide will take him back to 2006.

Plot

In 2006 while investigating suspected serial killer Colin Raimes, DCI Sam Tyler's girlfriend and colleague Maya is abducted leaving a bloody item of clothing behind. Sam, stricken with grief, isn't paying attention as he is driving, he stops and gets out of his Cherokee jeep in frustration and is hit by a speeding car. When he wakes up he's now living in the Manchester of 1973. He is now a detective inspector transferred from C division in Hyde and his new boss DCI Gene Hunt is a living representation of everything the police force has tried to stop itself being in 2006. Gene is a sexist, pompous and arrogant man who uses his weight in the station to great effect. He takes the attitude of "shoot first, then ask questions." The rest of Sam's colleagues including DC Chris Skelton and DS Ray Carling are of the same vein. They all think the new boy is a little strange because of his frequent outbursts and what appears to them as erratic behaviour. Only one person reaches out to Sam, the young female police officer Annie Cartwright. She listens to his tale and though unbelieving she befriends him hopeing to help rid him of his delusion. Sam notices a connection between the murder case he is tasked with solving in 1973 and the one he left behind in 2006. The case is of a young girl Susie Tripper garroted with a shoelace, it is found that she went without food for 24 hours before being killed and synthetic fibres are found by Sam under her finger nails, the strange thing is she wasn't gagged, Annie using her knowledge of psychology deduces that the perpetrator wants to see the girls ruby red lips, lips he is too afraid to kiss. When another young girl Dora Keens goes missing Sam believes he can find the serial killer, discovering the synthetic fibres are from a pipe lagging material also used for sound proofing and a forgotten complaint DC Skelton unearths from records made by a Mrs Beryl Raimes about a noisy neighbour. Re-questioning Mrs Raimes they find that after her official complaint the noise stopped, Gene and Sam put two and two together and race to the neighbours address. At the house they find inside that it is blanketted with the lagging material and a record is playing at high volume. They find Dora Keens tied to a chair and arrest the long haired neighbour as he returns to the room. Sam believes that catching the perpetrator in 1973 may save Maya in 2006, he disposes of the doctors report on the mental health of the serial killer which will lead to him serving a life sentence and Gene Hunt welcomes him to the team. However, a second meeting with Annie's ex-boyfriend Neil, in which he claims to be a doctor speaking directly to Sam's subconscious mind who tells Sam he is in a coma leads him to believe that the whole thing is just a dream — a fantasy. Sam is ready to wake up and so stands atop the high roof of the police station, thinking that when he hits the floor he will wake up back in 2006. Annie stops him, telling him that Neil was just playing a cruel joke, looking down he sees Neil begging him not to jump. Sam is left none the wiser as to whether what's happening to him is real or just a delusion. Annie convinces him to stay — at least for the time being — in 1973.

Cast

• Sam Tyler — John Simm
• Gene Hunt — Philip Glenister
• Chris Skelton — Marshall Lancaster
• Ray Carling — Dean Andrews
• Annie Cartwright — Liz White
• Nelson — Tony Marshall
• Maya Roy — Archie Panjabi
• Colin Raimes — Sam Hazeldine
• Young lad - Henry Cox
• Raime's Lawyer - Caroline Harding
• Raime's Psychiatrist - Parvez Qadir
• Raime's Social Worker - Orla Cottingham
• Police Officer - Tom Charnock
• Neil, Annie's ex-boyfriend - Christopher Harper
• Open University Lecturer - Richard Sinnott
• Dora Keens - Jane Riley
• Sid, records officer - Andy Abrahams
• Mrs Beryl Raimes, Colin's Grandma - Mags Gannon
• June, a cleaner in CID - Rae Kelly
• Edward Kramer (uncredited)
• Susie Tripper (uncredited)

Cultural references

• The shot after Sam runs away from the policeman and sees a billboard that mentions Manchester's "Highway in the Sky", where he was when he was hit by the car, is lifted straight from Back to the Future. In that film, Marty McFly sees a billboard of the Lyons Estate, where he will live in 1985.
• In the scene where Sam and Gene realize the room where the victim is kept is soundproof, they take a slow-motion leap onto and over a desk, side-by-side. This is a play on a device frequently used in Starsky and Hutch, the seminal buddy-cop drama of the mid 1970s. Frequently, Starsky and Hutch would be seen leaping over furniture, cars, or any other obstruction in a similar manner to get to the bad guys or the victim.
• The title of the show is a reference to the David Bowie song of the same name, which is also playing on an iPod when Sam is hit by the car. The song continues playing when he arrives in 1973, now on an eight-track tape player.

Production

• The initial geographical setting of the series was to be London; this was then changed to Leeds, and finally to Manchester, as part of a BBC initiative to make more programmes in the city.^[1]
• This episode's script was very closely adapted for the U.S. version's first episode, "Out Here in the Fields".

Music

• "Life on Mars?" - David Bowie
• "Stairway to the Stars" - Blue Öyster Cult
• "I'm So Free" - Lou Reed
• "Baba O'Riley" - The Who
• "Rat Bat Blue" - Deep Purple
• "Fireball" - Deep Purple
• "White Room" by Cream
• "Easy Livin'" - Uriah Heep
• "Look at Yourself" - Uriah Heep

References

1. ^ Smith, David (2007-04-08). "£1,500 in a carrier bag? What planet are you on?". The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2052460,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 

External links

• Episode 1 at bbc.co.uk
• Episode 1 at the Internet Movie Database
• Episode 1 at TV.com