# Life on Mars - it's back!



## mrsfran (Feb 13, 2007)

Tonight! Anyone else as excited as I am?

I think Philip Glenister is the best thing since sliced bread.


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## madzone (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm disproportionately excited about this  

Hope I'm not dsappointed.


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## marty21 (Feb 13, 2007)

love it!!!

looking forward to this


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## Maggot (Feb 13, 2007)

Looking forward to this, but not as excited as Missfran and Madz!

It's enjoyable but each episode followed a formula.


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## Cerberus (Feb 13, 2007)

Looking forward to it too

Ain`t watched telly in weeks and rarely set aside anytime for specific programmes.....hope its worth it


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## sojourner (Feb 13, 2007)

Fucking nice one for the heads up!!!


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## danny la rouge (Feb 13, 2007)

It was a great programme, but actually starting to show signs of wear towards the end of the last run; I think they're right to stop after this series.


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## sojourner (Feb 13, 2007)

danny la rouge said:
			
		

> It was a great programme, but actually starting to show signs of wear towards the end of the last run; I think they're right to stop after this series.


I was of the mind to just run one series, I thought it had enough in it for that..was most miffed when I didn't get denouement


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## scifisam (Feb 13, 2007)

Which season is it? I'm on the last two eps of season 1 on DVD.


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## Balbi (Feb 13, 2007)

back and good


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## Sigmund Fraud (Feb 13, 2007)

back and wierd....er.

the stinger was a class touch


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## mrsfran (Feb 13, 2007)

scifisam said:
			
		

> Which season is it? I'm on the last two eps of season 1 on DVD.



First episode of the second season.

It was wicked 

SPOILERS

So what was that bit about him needing to do a job at the end? He can communicate with the future now? And this was the first time his actions had a tangible effect on the future (or at least, that we knew about).

I saw WDC Cartright's promotion a mile off, I expect we all did.


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## mrsfran (Feb 13, 2007)

Incidentally, I used work with the black bloke who runs the pub. He's a nice chap. Brummie.


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## Sigmund Fraud (Feb 13, 2007)

missfran said:
			
		

> SPOILERS
> 
> So what was that bit about him needing to do a job at the end? He can communicate with the future now? And this was the first time his actions had a tangible effect on the future (or at least, that we knew about).



Dunno but I expect 'green telephone man' will feature heavily in the next 7 episodes.  Anyone else think that was a very Philip K Dick episode?  It smacked of Ubik.


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## Balbi (Feb 13, 2007)

Yeah, definitely a lot of interest there. The flashes of the 'future' were well up to scratch. Hunt was outstanding as always


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## scifisam (Feb 13, 2007)

Well then, I'd better check if it's being shown again soon, and get the last two eps of S1 watched.


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## marty21 (Feb 13, 2007)

enjoyed that, watched a double episode, bbc 4


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## editor (Feb 13, 2007)

It was definitely darker, but it's great to watch a program where you really don't know how the plot is going to turn.

Superlative, smart TV.


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## clandestino (Feb 13, 2007)

Pretty good episode. It started a little clunkily - they were trying too hard to establish the combative relationship between Sam and Gene for people who'd never seen the show before - but it soon settled back into business as usual. That's my Tuesday nights sorted for the foreseeable then.


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## editor (Feb 13, 2007)

It was clever the way that Sam turned into a version of Gene and was prepared to break the rules and plant evidence to get results. Both thought they were right and justified in their actions except that Sam wasn't using instinct but his knowledge of the future to go around cracking heads. I like TV that makes me think.


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## Mab (Feb 14, 2007)

I watch it here in Canada and have love John Simm's acting since I first saw him on Cracker.


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## LDR (Feb 14, 2007)

marty21 said:
			
		

> enjoyed that, watched a double episode, bbc 4


Me too.


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## Kanda (Feb 14, 2007)

missfran said:
			
		

> Anyone else as excited as I am?



Some random woman a few doors up from me is, she was banging on our door and all the neighbours doors asking if we had a VCR and would we record it for her....


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## danny la rouge (Feb 14, 2007)

And i'd forgotten how much in love with Annie I am.


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## Rollem (Feb 14, 2007)

ace ace ace ace ace


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## Griff (Feb 14, 2007)

Great stuff.


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## El Sueno (Feb 14, 2007)

I loved the new episode, there seems to be a little more urgency in the storytelling now than the way the last series tailed off. I heard this is it, no series 3 - so it's all heading to a conclusion, which is fucking great news - I'd be well disappointed if I heard they're gonna just keep churning out episodes like a regular cop show. It's like 24 - once they'd made a second season I wasn't interested anymore. I like a story with a beginning, middle and end, not a bunch of tangents extending the middle just while the ratings are up.

Hunt was on top form - called Sam 'Glenys' and 'Daphne', then hit that line (something like) "boffing your mother up the 'arris while eating a cream horn"


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Feb 14, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> I like TV that makes me think.



You should check out countdown and Johnny Balls think of a number.


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## bigbry (Feb 14, 2007)

danny la rouge said:
			
		

> And i'd forgotten how much in love with Annie I am.


I'm with you on that - I don't know what it is exactly but she does something for me.


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## diond (Feb 14, 2007)

scifisam said:
			
		

> Which season is it? I'm on the last two eps of season 1 on DVD.



It's a fucking *series*, you Yanky pufta!! *said in  a DCI Gene Hunt voice.

Yes, great programme. I actually got butterflies every time the phone rang, and even more so when Sam was actually able to speak back. Very exciting stuff.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Feb 14, 2007)

Good episode.  Better than the last series I though, much more structured rather than, as someone else said above, endless meandering.  Am now downloading episode 2, can't wait to see it


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## Allan (Feb 15, 2007)

The telephone call wasn't from the future as he was able to trace it to an actual number. It was from someone in 1973.


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## bigbry (Feb 16, 2007)

Recorded this ('cos I'm working lates this week) and just watched it - I liked the time loop idea were he got the gangsta sent to a psychiatric unit so he couldn't be a real evil bastard in the future only to find that's how he was interfering with his life support machine in the future. Good twist.

Looking forward to next week's now.


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## colbhoy (Feb 16, 2007)

I watched the BBC4 one as well, 2nd episode even better than the first - great to have it back. One of the few shows that has dramatic tension but can also make you laugh out loud.


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## Balbi (Feb 20, 2007)

Argh! My housemate is watching the cocking football so i'm trying to tap a mates telly for the evening! 

e2a: found telly, tapped it


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## Balbi (Feb 20, 2007)

Right. Theory time.

His boss in the future mentioned Hyde, and that Sam had done something that he couldn't remember. The number Sam dialed was from Hyde also. I reckon that 1973 Sam is into something, internal affairs or summat. Either that or he's with Harry Wolf and it's all a proper wrongun setup tonight.

Anyone else feel similar?


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## Sunspots (Feb 20, 2007)

*Sam Tyler:* _'Guv, I think he's suffering from P.T.S.D.'_

*Gene Hunt:* _'-The man's a bloody hero, but all you can do is accuse him of having a sexually-transmitted disease!?!?!'_

*boom-tish!*


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## Ranu (Feb 21, 2007)

Why isn't it on next week?

Edit:  Ah, Reading v ManU


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## editor (Feb 21, 2007)

I loved the bit of a dialogue when they were transporting the sheep shagging bloke. One of the cops pointed out of the window at a field and said something like, "look lambs for you" and he responded, "I'm not a nonce."


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## Bomber (Feb 22, 2007)

"Just go & detect me a packet of Garabaldi will you love !"


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## FabricLiveBaby! (Feb 22, 2007)

Ranu said:
			
		

> Why isn't it on next week?
> 
> Edit:  Ah, Reading v ManU




Sport ruins all good TV:  Fact.


Why do they always cancel the good stuff but leave shite like eastenders on?


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## Balbi (Mar 6, 2007)

It's Back Tonight


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## moose (Mar 6, 2007)

Doh! a mistake 
They mentioned Rotters' Nightclub, which didn't open till at least 1974. 
[/anorak]


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## madzone (Mar 6, 2007)

Last episode next week?


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## Balbi (Mar 6, 2007)

can't be? i'm sure we're only three in?

First one back.
Episode with his boss dying in the future.
This episode.

Five left! 

Remember we had a break last week.


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## madzone (Mar 7, 2007)

Balbi said:
			
		

> can't be? i'm sure we're only three in?
> 
> First one back.
> Episode with his boss dying in the future.
> ...


Hopefully I misheard the blokey who (I thought) said  'For the last episode of Life on Mars tune into BBC 4 (or 3?  )


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## MikeMcc (Mar 7, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> Hopefully I misheard the blokey who (I thought) said  'For the last episode of Life on Mars tune into BBC 4 (or 3?  )


Next weeks episode is shown on BBC4(?) straight after the showing on BBC1.  Does anybody know if it's repeated during the week, ! missed last nights!?


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## Griff (Mar 7, 2007)

MikeMcc said:
			
		

> Next weeks episode is shown on BBC4(?) straight after the showing on BBC1.  Does anybody know if it's repeated during the week, ! missed last nights!?



It wasn't last night, last night they showed the second episode on BBC4.


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## madzone (Mar 7, 2007)

Griff said:
			
		

> It wasn't last night, last night they showed the second episode on BBC4.


Aha! So he might have been saying last weeks as opposed to last? Hurrah!! I'd be disproportionately bereft if I couldn't watch a few more episodes


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## Sunspots (Mar 13, 2007)

*bump*

They're posing as swingers called Tony & Cherie Blair...


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## Groucho (Mar 13, 2007)

This is good TV. Innovative and fun.


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## Sunspots (Mar 13, 2007)

Sunspots said:
			
		

> *bump*
> 
> They're posing as swingers called Tony & Cherie Blair...



...and DCI Gene Hunt posing as 'Gordon Brown'.


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## marty21 (Mar 13, 2007)

Sunspots said:
			
		

> ...and DCI Gene Hunt posing as 'Gordon Brown'.



with his wife


.....suki


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## diond (Mar 13, 2007)

I just had to download The Strawbs - Lay Down track from Limewire. The very second I had downloaded it, I had 3 or more other people latching on to my connection downloading it off me too. Guess who else was watching Life On Mars!!


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## hassan (Mar 14, 2007)

lol, liking it so far. how many episodes this season?


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## BadlyDrawnGirl (Mar 14, 2007)

Sunspots said:
			
		

> ...and DCI Gene Hunt posing as 'Gordon Brown'.


Hilarious!  

A certain aesthetic resemblance there, maybe...?


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## BadlyDrawnGirl (Mar 14, 2007)

hassan said:
			
		

> lol, liking it so far. how many episodes this season?


Eight, apparently. And then it's all over - John Simm has confirmed that he won't be making any more, as the workload is so intense for his character...plus they've auctioned off the car for Comic Relief.  

I nominate this as best UK drama of the '00s so far - I don't know how they can justify the existence of tepid, formulaic toss like 'New Street Law' and 'Hotel Babylon' when this pisses over them like a Tyrannosaurus Rex over molluscs in the schedules.


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## marty21 (Mar 14, 2007)

aren't the planning a sequel with gene hunt in it?, he's the real star afterall


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## Dan U (Mar 14, 2007)

TorchSong said:
			
		

> I nominate this as best UK drama of the '00s so far - I don't know how they can justify the existence of tepid, formulaic toss like 'New Street Law' and 'Hotel Babylon' when this pisses over them like a Tyrannosaurus Rex over molluscs in the schedules.



i think that might be over-egging it slightly. I can think of two off my head which have been better Shameless and State of Play.

Life on Mars is really rather good fun though  and in my top 5 good UK made things on TV in the last few years. 

re sequels - Phillip Glenister said on Jonathon Ross's radio show a few weeks back there *may* be an 80s spin off show with Gene Hunt as the lead.


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 14, 2007)

Dan U said:
			
		

> re sequels - Phillip Glenister said on Jonathon Ross's radio show a few weeks back there *may* be an 80s spin off show with Gene Hunt as the lead.



Working title is 'Ashes to Ashes'.


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## Jenerys (Mar 14, 2007)

TorchSong said:
			
		

> Eight, apparently. And then it's all over - John Simm has confirmed that he won't be making any more, as the workload is so intense for his character...plus they've auctioned off the car for Comic Relief.


I hope they tie it all up nicely at the end of this series then. I *really* want Sam to meet up with Gene and the girl when he's back in our time


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## moose (Mar 14, 2007)

'I once hit a man for speaking French'


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## hassan (Mar 14, 2007)

TorchSong said:
			
		

> Eight, apparently. And then it's all over - John Simm has confirmed that he won't be making any more, as the workload is so intense for his character...plus they've auctioned off the car for Comic Relief.
> 
> I nominate this as best UK drama of the '00s so far - I don't know how they can justify the existence of tepid, formulaic toss like 'New Street Law' and 'Hotel Babylon' when this pisses over them like a Tyrannosaurus Rex over molluscs in the schedules.



who thinks british actors are slightly lazy. American actors work for about 20 or so episodes per season, here in britain we can only manage 8...

before people say why don't you try it, I would, but I can't act and I'm butt ugly


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## marty21 (Mar 14, 2007)

hassan said:
			
		

> who thinks british actors are slightly lazy. American actors work for about 20 or so episodes per season, here in britain we can only manage 8...
> 
> before people say why don't you try it, I would, but I can't act and I'm butt ugly



they're expensive to make, american tv producers have more money to play with, so make long long series, which tbh i lose interest in, "lost" lost me after about 6 episodes, couldn't be arsed with that prison break one, only ones that have grabbed me have been 24, and murder one (from years ago)


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 14, 2007)

hassan said:
			
		

> who thinks british actors are slightly lazy. American actors work for about 20 or so episodes per season, here in britain we can only manage 8...



Simm is in almost every scene.  I can't think of any other dramas off hand where the main character is in every scene - that must make the shooting schedule hell and rest days few and far between.  I think its a bit unfair to label British actors as lazy.


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## Azrael (Mar 14, 2007)

American network series have 20+ episodes per season to run up enough for syndication rights (around 100 epps). Cable shows in the US run for 13 episodes, which is much closer to our runs.


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## Ranu (Mar 14, 2007)

"What have you been eating?  Pedigree Chum?!!"


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## BadlyDrawnGirl (Mar 14, 2007)

Dan U said:
			
		

> i think that might be over-egging it slightly. I can think of two off my head which have been better Shameless and State of Play.


Both are/were consistently brilliant respectively, agreed. But I reckon we'll see more of their like, whereas I get the impression that 'LOM' is unique enough to remain the only genuine example of its kind. That said, the genre will of course be milked to dry distinction once it's over...

Another (underrated) contender I feel was 'No Angels'.


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## sojourner (Mar 20, 2007)

TorchSong said:
			
		

> Eight, apparently


Does anyone know the confirmed date of the last episode (this series)?


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## andy2002 (Mar 20, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Does anyone know the confirmed date of the last episode (this series)?



Final one (episode 8) should air on Tuesday April 10, I think. Unless they move it for football again in the meantime.


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## sojourner (Mar 20, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Final one (episode 8) should air on Tuesday April 10, I think. Unless they move it for football again in the meantime.


Do you understand the meaning of confirmed?


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## andy2002 (Mar 20, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Do you understand the meaning of confirmed?



Unfortunately, nothing's ever 100% confirmed, is it? Doctor Who series three was originally confirmed as March 24, then moved back a week because of the Israel vs England game. Something similar happened with LOM last month because of the United vs Reading replay.


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## Groucho (Mar 20, 2007)

I enjoyed the start tonight 

eta: 

You've become innert

No I 'aven't...What's a nert?

Something like a nonce?


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## Balbi (Mar 20, 2007)

I know his blood type, A Rhesus Smug


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## agricola (Mar 20, 2007)

best episode of both series so far IMHO, almost _Rashomon_-esque


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## marty21 (Mar 20, 2007)

very good episode


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## Balbi (Mar 20, 2007)

Next weeks looks like it's going to be a cracker as well.

"I think we should be considering if this is a hate crime"

"What, as opposed to those I really really like you crimes?"


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 20, 2007)

That was the best written episode of a British TV drama for the last five years.  

Stunning.


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## moose (Mar 20, 2007)

And spot on with the detail this time... Roxy Music played the Free Trade Hall on November 3rd 1973 
[/anorak]


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## diond (Mar 20, 2007)

I never EVER stay in for any television, and I normally only watch documentaries ,if anything, but I have been totally and utterly gripped by this programme.

If you think about the idea and its main running theme, it should be treated as a laughable joke, but the writing and acting is so exquisite it makes it so believable.

The hairs on the back of my neck actually stood on end as the episode finished, I thought it was that good.


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## marty21 (Mar 20, 2007)

moose said:
			
		

> And spot on with the detail this time... Roxy Music played the Free Trade Hall on November 3rd 1973
> [/anorak]


 did you go?


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## diond (Mar 20, 2007)

What was the Roxy Music that played 2nd to last?

Also, what was the last track? Was it ELO?

Ta muchly.


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## clandestino (Mar 20, 2007)

Absolutely superb. The Camberwick Green start was astonishing.


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## clandestino (Mar 20, 2007)

Reading back over the last page of posts...

I can't believe that John Simm's workload is heavier than Keifer Sutherland's in 24. He's in the lion's share of 24 hours of TV per season rather than 8 (OK, with ad breaks, it's probably more like 20, but even so...) But I'm glad they're ending it with this series. Don't string it out too long, end it while it's fresh, create a modern classic. 

But I will miss it. It's the best thing on TV by miles. 

Shameless? It's not even in the same league.


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## DexterTCN (Mar 20, 2007)

"Stay out of Camberwick Green!"

Best line ever.


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## diond (Mar 20, 2007)

The songs from episode 5 were: 

* You Shouldn't Do That by Hawkwind
* Just Like You by Roxy Music
* 10538 Overture by ELO


There, I've answered my own question.


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## rollinder (Mar 20, 2007)

kicks self for not bothering to watch it


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## gosub (Mar 21, 2007)

rollinder said:
			
		

> kicks self for not bothering to watch it




What you need sunshine is your very own Gene Hunt to make sure you don't step out of line again http://www.bbc.co.uk/lifeonmars/backstage/downloads.shtml#desktop


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## mhwfc (Mar 21, 2007)

*"Is he kicking in a nonce?"*


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## moose (Mar 21, 2007)

marty21 said:
			
		

> did you go?


Sadly no - I was only 9, and my mum thought they were kinky


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## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> That was the best written episode of a British TV drama for the last five years.
> 
> Stunning.



Steady on! There are some good lines and some nice performances but LOM isn't a patch on State Of Play, Low Winter Sun or even the first series of Shameless. IMHO of course...


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## passenger (Mar 21, 2007)

its pub a clock time


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

moose said:
			
		

> And spot on with the detail this time... Roxy Music played the Free Trade Hall on November 3rd 1973
> [/anorak]


Do you sit there with a clipboard and biro every episode or something?


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

ianw said:
			
		

> Absolutely superb. The Camberwick Green start was astonishing.


Aye, certainly was - an excellent touch

I'm a tad pissed off at myself for falling asleep for the middle bit though


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## moose (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Do you sit there with a clipboard and biro every episode or something?


No, but after their astonishing gaffe last week, which had me leaping off the settee shouting at the telly, I like to keep an eye on them


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## Dubversion (Mar 21, 2007)

i think I'm missing something. I watched it for the first time last night and thought it was pretty poor, to be honest. The 'authentic' details seem too conspicous, which defeats the object - you shouldn't notice it. The script was pretty lame. The plot really obvious

ah well


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Steady on! There are some good lines and some nice performances but LOM isn't a patch on State Of Play, Low Winter Sun or even the first series of Shameless. IMHO of course...



I'm talking about the single episode last night - combined all the elements we've come to expect from LOM with a few new ones.  I posted a bit back how Simm was in every scene...well the workload obviously told and they devised an episode in which he had a less central role.  The multiple flashabcks and first person narratives from Hunt and Annie with the multiple views of the same events, combined with a plot that twisted all over the place and the halucinogenic way Sam saw events unfold on TV was mesmerising.  And then there was the false ending and final twist of the knife.  And Reese Dinsdale was actually acting well.

Well I thought it was incredible anyway.


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Dubversion said:
			
		

> i think I'm missing something. I watched it for the first time last night and thought it was pretty poor, to be honest. The 'authentic' details seem too conspicous, which defeats the object - you shouldn't notice it. The script was pretty lame. The plot really obvious
> 
> ah well


Yes, you're missing the entire first series


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## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> I'm talking about the single episode last night - combined all the elements we've come to expect from LOM with a few new ones.  I posted a bit back how Simm was in every scene...well the workload obviously told and they devised an episode in which he had a less central role.  The multiple flashabcks and first person narratives from Hunt and Annie with the multiple views of the same events, combined with a plot that twisted all over the place and the halucinogenic way Sam saw events unfold on TV was mesmerising.  And then there was the false ending and final twist of the knife.  And Reese Dinsdale was actually acting well.
> 
> Well I thought it was incredible anyway.



Fair enough – but wasn't "the twist ending" just a bit obvious. I'd worked it out after about five minutes (not because I'm dead clever mind you, because I've just watched an awful lot of cop shows!)


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## Dubversion (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Yes, you're missing the entire first series




but wouldn't i still have the same criticisms? is a weak plot more tolerable because you've seen lots of other episodes?

not being an arse, i just honestly can't see what people are so excited about - especially Mr Fraud, who's taste I usually have a lot of time for.


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## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Dubversion said:
			
		

> i think I'm missing something. I watched it for the first time last night and thought it was pretty poor, to be honest. The 'authentic' details seem too conspicous, which defeats the object - you shouldn't notice it. The script was pretty lame. The plot really obvious
> 
> ah well



One thing they do rather too much of is shoehorn references to 70s TV shows, celebrities and other ephemera into the script. There are times when you feel like shouting at the telly: "It's okay, we know it's set in the 70s, you don't need to mention Morecambe & Wise, Spangles or Slade any more!"


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Fair enough – but wasn't "the twist ending" just a bit obvious. I'd worked it out after about five minutes (not because I'm dead clever mind you, because I've just watched an awful lot of cop shows!)



True to form the bigger name actors have been the baddies - yes I knew Dinsdale was the killer but I didn't know _how_.  And it was the unravelling of that, coupled with strange moments like him actually admitting to the crime to get his family back in the nick that made it so watchable.


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Dubversion said:
			
		

> but wouldn't i still have the same criticisms? is a weak plot more tolerable because you've seen lots of other episodes?


  I knew you'd say that

It's not your thing, is all.  I can see where you say it's clunky, but it's the whole thing in its entirety that does it for me.  A massive nostalgia-fest in many ways.  But having said that - and people may not agree with me - I did think the first series was tighter, script-wise


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> But having said that - and people may not agree with me - I did think the first series was tighter, script-wise



I agree - perhaps should have had 2 x 6 ep series instead of 2 x 8 - and written all episodes back to back.


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## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> True to form the bigger name actors have been the baddies - yes I knew Dinsdale was the killer but I didn't know _how_.



It had nothing to do with Reece Dinsdale's appearance though, mainly because I wouldn't have known him from Adam until last night. It was a weakness in the script – it was obvious there would be a twist and that the twist would be that kind of "bait and switch". It's a hardy perennial of TV writers everywhere and has been for decades.


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> I agree - perhaps should have had 2 x 6 ep series instead of 2 x 8 - and written all episodes back to back.


Yep, that would have been good.  But to be absolutely perfect (in my world) it would have been one series only.  A small portion of genius in an ever-shittier TV world


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## Dubversion (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> A small portion of genius in an ever-shittier TV world



i've never watched much TV - music shows, comedy, films, that's about it (and the news) but at the moment there's so much good TV i can't keep up. 

 However, it's all American and shown on clever telly


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> It had nothing to do with Reece Dinsdale's appearance though, mainly because I wouldn't have known him from Adam until last night. It was a weakness in the script – it was obvious there would be a twist and that the twist would be that kind of "bait and switch". It's a hardy perennial of TV writers everywhere and has been for decades.



Er, yeah mate but thats true of just about every cop tv show / movie I've ever seen.  Sure LOM isn't Raymond Chandler but its still a very watchable cop show thats tapped into this weird fantasy/trippy/alternate reality angle that no other show has.  

Are you able to guess how the series is wrapped up as well then?


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## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Dubversion said:
			
		

> i've never watched much TV - music shows, comedy, films, that's about it (and the news) but at the moment there's so much good TV i can't keep up.
> 
> However, it's all American and shown on clever telly


Trust me, I flick through the channels most nights, and retch over the titles of the programmes.  Dire. I mostly watch Corrie and reruns of Frasier  but BBC4 has some quality stuff on (bbc4 = clever telly presumably)


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## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> Er, yeah mate but thats true of just about every cop tv show / movie I've ever seen.  Sure LOM isn't Raymond Chandler but its still very a watchable cop show thats tapped into this weird fantasy/trippy/alternate reality angle that no other show has.
> 
> Are you able to guess how the series is wrapped up as well then?



I never said it wasn't watchable just that it's overrated. It's a traditional cop show with a few entertaining bells and whistles bolted on to it – nothing more.

How will it end? If they had any balls they'd kill him off.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> How will it end? If they had any balls they'd kill him off.



My gf knows how it ends - she worked on all but 1 of the episodes in the 2nd series.  They filmed two endings - thankfully I know nothing about either!


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

I guess everyone's thinking about how it will end.  How does everyone WANT it to end?

I'd be half happy and half gutted if it turns out he wakes up from a coma.  I'd be astounded if it's actually _real_ and he is in the 70s    I'd be most gutted if he karks it


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> They filmed two endings


ooOOOooo!!! *rubs hands together*


----------



## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> They filmed two endings - thankfully I know nothing about either!



I hope it stays that way too! I'd have given in to temptation and found out already.


----------



## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> I guess everyone's thinking about how it will end.  How does everyone WANT it to end?
> 
> I'd be half happy and half gutted if it turns out he wakes up from a coma.  I'd be astounded if it's actually _real_ and he is in the 70s    I'd be most gutted if he karks it



What would be most memorable? A happy ending... or a nasty, bleak, fucking horrible Blackadder Goes Forth ending? Brrr...


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> What would be most memorable? A happy ending... or a nasty, bleak, fucking horrible Blackadder Goes Forth ending? Brrr...


The latter 

Oh, and SF - you have massive self-control.  I'd have tortured, hung drawn and quartered any girlfriend of mine by now to find out


----------



## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> The latter



Precisely! If I were in charge of LOM it would be the horrible, bleak ending that would stick in people's minds forever that I'd go for. I rather like Sam Tyler though so I hope they don't...


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Precisely! If I were in charge of LOM it would be the horrible, bleak ending that would stick in people's minds forever that I'd go for. *I rather like Sam Tyler though *so I hope they don't...


If they kill him off, you'll LOVE him, and he'll be in your heart and mind forever!


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> The latter
> 
> Oh, and SF - you have massive self-control.  I'd have tortured, hung drawn and quartered any girlfriend of mine by now to find out



yeah, I've had to cover my ears a few times and go running from the room


----------



## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Someone should start a thread about the bleakest endings to TV series or films ever (unfortunately it would be a bit spoiler heavy). 

I remember cuddly cop show Juliet Bravo finishing with the death of one of the main characters (a young policeman IIRC) in the 80s. It's weird how that's stayed with me all these years because, other than that, it was a fairly shit series.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Someone should start a thread about the bleakest endings to TV series or films ever (unfortunately it would be a bit spoiler heavy).



Threads and The Vanishing would feature high on my list.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> yeah, I've had to cover my ears a few times and go running from the room


----------



## andy2002 (Mar 21, 2007)

Low Winter Sun, which is just one of the bleakest things I've ever seen in my life. The fact the ending managed to be even more downbeat than the rest of it was a staggering achievement!


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> Someone should start a thread about the bleakest endings to TV series or films ever (unfortunately it would be a bit spoiler heavy).


Yep, good idea.  I nearly said something about a book that had a big effect on me, but realised it's a spoiler  

Perhaps if you start one with SPOILER ALERT in the title? I would but I can't be arsed


----------



## marty21 (Mar 21, 2007)

i've got this feeling the ending will be a bit wizard of oz, with him coming to, and seeing or seeking out the people he knew in the 70s, or maybe they're all in the hospital, dying of various ailments


----------



## sojourner (Mar 21, 2007)

marty21 said:
			
		

> i've got this feeling the ending *will be a bit wizard of oz, *with him coming to, and seeing or seeking out the people he knew in the 70s, or maybe they're all in the hospital, dying of various ailments


As in, take no notice of the man behind the curtain?


----------



## Jenerys (Mar 22, 2007)

marty21 said:
			
		

> i've got this feeling the ending will be a bit wizard of oz, with him coming to, and seeing or seeking out the people he knew in the 70s, or maybe they're all in the hospital, dying of various ailments


Oh I hope so  

ETA - that he finds them in our time, not that they are dying in hospital  

As for plots etc, you have to take this show with a pinch of salt. I've always worked out whodunnit within the first 20 minutes, using my Poirot theory (as in the tv show, not by powers of detection). 

After 20 minutes everyone who has a major speaking part has usually spoken, and it doesnt take a genius to work out the accused is usually innocent and the probable villain is probaby not, so that just leaves the third speaking part as the killer


----------



## bigbry (Mar 22, 2007)

Watched Tues episode this morning (shift  work caused the delay).

Thoroughly enjoyed it (as I have both series so far) but I'm concerned Sam Tyler might meet all his old '70's comrades' in 2007.

If they show Annie Cartwright aged about 60 it's gonna totally ruin the lusty fondness I have for actress Liz White - even though I'm 60 myself.


----------



## Balbi (Mar 27, 2007)

Good episode.


----------



## treelover (Mar 27, 2007)

Yes, the acting by the central characters is sublime and you can't fail to be moved.


----------



## agricola (Mar 27, 2007)

"as nervous as a small nun at a penguin shoot"


----------



## LDR (Mar 27, 2007)

I love some of the lines that Gene gets.

"He's got his fingers in more pies than a leper at a cookery class."


----------



## maximilian ping (Mar 27, 2007)

LD Rudeboy said:
			
		

> "He's got his fingers in more pies than a leper at a cookery class."



loved that  

best programme on tv


----------



## madzone (Mar 27, 2007)

Missed tonights - is it repeated?


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> Missed tonights - is it repeated?


Next week madz - they do a 'catch up' of the previous weeks AFTER the current one, on BBC4


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

agricola said:
			
		

> "as nervous as a small nun at a penguin shoot"


  

And just how many insults could he fit in to Sam after he said he'd been in love with that girl??


----------



## Kanda (Mar 28, 2007)

No need to go all Dorothy on me... 

Some quality one liners


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

Next week's looks ace - Gene's on the run!


----------



## marty21 (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Next week's looks ace - Gene's on the run!



looking forward to that, quality as usual, one liner tastic


----------



## MikeMcc (Mar 28, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> Missed tonights - is it repeated?


Next Tues on BBC4


----------



## goldenecitrone (Mar 28, 2007)

If it was Ricky Gervais coming out with Gene's lines all the po-faced twats would be on here complaining about what a racist/homophobic/anti-spastics cunt he is. You don't often here the word Paki on BBC1. Great programme.


----------



## madzone (Mar 28, 2007)

Hmm - not sure I like it enough to watch two back to back.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> If it was Ricky Gervais coming out with Gene's lines all the po-faced twats would be on here complaining about what a racist/homophobic/anti-spastics cunt he is. You don't often here the word Paki on BBC1. Great programme.


But it's not ricky fucking gervais is it?

CONTEXT, and all that, eh?


----------



## hektik (Mar 28, 2007)

another great episode.

so what are everyones' theories about how it is going to be concluded? 
various wild theories here: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/2007/03/life_on_mars_how_will_it_end.html


----------



## goldenecitrone (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> But it's not ricky fucking gervais is it?
> 
> CONTEXT, and all that, eh?



Ah, coz it's all a dream set in the 1970's it's okay. Gotcha.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> Ah, coz it's all a dream set in the 1970's it's okay. Gotcha.


Yes, because it's set in the 70s.  Were you around then?  Do you remember how racism and sexism were 'normal'? Cos I do, and to me, this is a representation of back then.  A tv programme which replicates the behaviour of back then

How fucking hard is it to grasp that??


----------



## goldenecitrone (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Yes, because it's set in the 70s.  Were you around then?  Do you remember how racism and sexism were 'normal'? Cos I do, and to me, this is a representation of back then.  A tv programme which replicates the behaviour of back then
> 
> How fucking hard is it to grasp that??



The writers do it with a certain relish, though, not unlike a certain Mr. Gervais. I'm not knocking it, I think it's well done. 'I could murder an Indian'.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> *The writers do it with a certain relish, though*, not unlike a certain Mr. Gervais. I'm not knocking it, I think it's well done. 'I could murder an Indian'.


You think?  I just reckon they are very good at showing the savagery that goes along with that kind of racist behaviour.  Chills me to the bone.  My dad used to speak like that, as did most people round here.  

And re the sexism, It weren't that long ago that I was having to order two half pints and pour them into one pint glass, cos landlords wouldn't serve a woman with a pint.  And that was IF I was allowed in the bar 

Gene's a nasty cunt, and I think they do a damn fine job showing him that way.

As for Gervais, I don't pay any attention to him other than when he was in the Office so can't comment other than to say that if he does it, then he's an utter prick, and it's completely different


----------



## goldenecitrone (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Gene's a nasty cunt, and I think they do a damn fine job showing him that way.



I think he comes across as a real anti-hero. He might say nasty stuff, but underneath there's a diamond geezer struggling to get out. I bet loads of modern police would love to get away with the things Gene does. That's my only reservation about the character.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> I think he comes across as a real anti-hero. He might say nasty stuff, but underneath there's a diamond geezer struggling to get out. I* bet loads of modern police would love to get away with the things Gene does.* That's my only reservation about the character.


Well, they used to, in The Sweeney!  

As for diamond geezer, know what you mean, but I just can't help remembering all the 'diamond geezers' who were just nasty sexist cunts to me when I was growing up - I have a bit of an 'empathy failure' when faced with it again    I love to hate Gene


----------



## clandestino (Mar 28, 2007)

It was a good episode but a little bit of a comedown after last week's incredible show. Also I thought Gene came out with a few too many one-liners - I got a slight bit of one-liner fatigue with him (funnily enough, it was the fingers in pies comment which LDR quotes - a great line but they should have saved it for another episode IMO). Maybe they're just trying to cram as much in as they can now there's only...what is it...two episodes left?

Still, best thing on TV for miles. Last week's episode was so good, they were never going to top it. And there were still some excellent, I-can't-believe-they've-said-that moments this week too - the "I could murder an Indian" line was brilliant timed and played.


----------



## madzone (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> As for diamond geezer, know what you mean, but I just can't help remembering all the 'diamond geezers' who were just nasty sexist cunts to me when I was growing up - I have a bit of an 'empathy failure' when faced with it again    I love to hate Gene




I find him strangely sexy


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> I find him strangely sexy


freak


----------



## madzone (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> freak


I suspect I'm not alone.


----------



## Jenerys (Mar 28, 2007)

*whistles*


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

LilJen said:
			
		

> *whistles*


 

Err...so, why?


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 28, 2007)

> You great soft sissy girly nancy french bender man united supporting poof!


----------



## Jenerys (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Err...so, why?


Dunno, I've had to add him to my list of bizarre tv crushes, along with Alan Sugar and Ben in Lost


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

LilJen said:
			
		

> Dunno, I've had to add him to my list of bizarre tv crushes, along with Alan Sugar and Ben in Lost


I don't know about Lost - never watched it, but I have a theory about the other 2...perhaps it's the power thing?  It's certainly not Gene's pretty-boy looks, svelte physique, or seductive turn of phrase, that's for sure


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 28, 2007)

nooooooooooooo!


----------



## Jenerys (Mar 28, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> ...perhaps it's the power thing?


For sure


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

RenegadeDog said:
			
		

> nooooooooooooo!


Well, it's bound to be utter crap, isn't it?   Nowt to worry about


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 28, 2007)

Yeah it's just a shame that americans can't enjoy more of our stuff in the original version.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 28, 2007)

RenegadeDog said:
			
		

> Yeah it's just a shame that americans can't enjoy more of our stuff in the original version.


Well, quite

I mean, you don't get english versions of Frasier, or erm...I'm struggling to think of another good one


----------



## zygote (Mar 29, 2007)

I've enjoyed most of the series, the best bit for me so far was the opening sequence in episode #7 where Sam is depicted as a clockwork 'morph' toy while Gene leaves off duffing up some lowlife so as to wave at the camera. Classic  

This episode just gone pissed me off as far as accuracy goes with the coppers looking blank faced to words like skag and smack whilst describing heroin as some 'new' drug. I was adult in 1973 and did not move in junkie circles but I knew those names along with 'H' and horse.  

The racism and sexism is true to life, it was endemic, and not just in the police force either. It is very difficult to make a 'period piece' if that 'period' was not long, long ago. If you made a programme set in mid 1800's you could get away with a lot of inaccurate stuff and very few people would notice. LoM does the street furniture and scenes very well.


----------



## goldenecitrone (Mar 29, 2007)

zygote said:
			
		

> I've enjoyed most of the series, the best bit for me so far was the opening sequence in episode #7 where Sam is depicted as a clockwork 'morph' toy while Gene leaves off duffing up some lowlife so as to wave at the camera. Classic



That was the introduction to Camberwick Green. Or was it Chigley? One or t'other. Windy Miller where are you now?


----------



## zygote (Mar 29, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> I find him strangely sexy






			
				madzone said:
			
		

> I suspect I'm not alone.


Mrs Z says to tell you... 'You are not alone'!


----------



## moose (Mar 29, 2007)

madzone said:
			
		

> I suspect I'm not alone.


*cough*


----------



## mrsfran (Mar 29, 2007)

You are most definitely not alone.


----------



## Balbi (Apr 3, 2007)

Only one episode left after tonight !!!!!!!

Looks like a cracker though


----------



## editor (Apr 3, 2007)

ianw said:
			
		

> Still, best thing on TV for miles.


I'd go along with that. It's smart, sassy, clever and very funny. Fantastic writing.


----------



## ICB (Apr 3, 2007)

RenegadeDog said:
			
		

> Yeah it's just a shame that americans can't enjoy more of our stuff in the original version.



There's no way the original would work over there, way too many culltural references, figures of speech, etc. that would leave an overseas audience looking like this  




			
				ianw said:
			
		

> Still, best thing on TV for miles.



Prison Break runs neck and neck for me.  Those two are way ahead of everything else though.


----------



## lostexpectation (Apr 3, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Well, it's bound to be utter crap, isn't it?   Nowt to worry about




david e kelly is going to ruin it , he make it far too wacky and his moralism is as subtle as hammer


----------



## Balbi (Apr 3, 2007)

CRACKING!


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Apr 3, 2007)

so Hyde is a codeword for the future / the non coma world.

Who/what TF is Morgan


----------



## DexterTCN (Apr 3, 2007)

And the comment about Hunt.


----------



## agricola (Apr 3, 2007)

"My Squirrel instincts...."

 

no forthcoming episode preview?  scary music for the credits?   bastards!


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Apr 3, 2007)

'Let my people gooooo!'


----------



## Sunspots (Apr 3, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> so Hyde is a codeword for the future / the non coma world.



As soon as they mentioned Hyde a few episodes, I thought 'hide'; or is that to obvious?  




			
				Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> Who/what TF is Morgan



I'm presuming Sam's in this coma, and Morgan's a doctor?


----------



## clandestino (Apr 3, 2007)

They ran out of time slightly with this one - had to have a quick CSI ending. "Yep, it was me, I did it, fair cop." But it was worth for all the weird build up - the look on Sam's face as he was trying to put his finger on what was wrong. Where had he heard that voice before?

One week to go!


----------



## Balbi (Apr 3, 2007)

I'm still all of a  about it.

I thought Morgan was Hyde 2612 when he appeared. Plus he was a suit with a dodgy moustache, definitely one not to be trusted.

Hunt has to leave/be killed for Sam to get back?


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Apr 3, 2007)

Notice also how many present day management buzzwords Morgan kept using. 'hearts and minds', 'tick all the boxes'...plus his approach mirrored to the investigation mirrored Sams (tape recorder).  

But the empty files???


----------



## madzone (Apr 3, 2007)

Just watched last weeks one and Maya's mum was a girl my dad taught drama to. I've managed to avoid seeing her in anything for fucking years and it turns out she's a good actress


----------



## moose (Apr 3, 2007)

Sigmund Fraud said:
			
		

> so Hyde is a codeword for the future / the non coma world.


Worryingly, I'm going to Hyde for a curry tomorrow night.

Tufty was ace!


----------



## marty21 (Apr 3, 2007)

building up nicely to the finale 

tufty was a star


----------



## mrsfran (Apr 4, 2007)

Gene Hunt is dreamy


----------



## moose (Apr 4, 2007)

Indeed, missfran. Gene in a vest!


----------



## Jenerys (Apr 4, 2007)

Darnnit, completely forgot this was on and went out for dinner instead

Thank god for replay tv 

ETA - Gene in a vest    The thought is not making me go weak at the knees, and I thought I fancied him


----------



## FabricLiveBaby! (Apr 4, 2007)

LilJen said:
			
		

> Darnnit, completely forgot this was on and went out for dinner instead
> 
> Thank god for replay tv
> 
> ETA - Gene in a vest    The thought is not making me go weak at the knees, and I thought I fancied him



Indeed!  I would be gutted that I missed it!


Sad this is ending soon cos it's the only thing on worth watching (apart from dr who).  I guess after this it'll be more "celebrity backsalppers"
  "celebrities walking on the moon" and "make me a child" shows.

YAWN.

At the same time I'm glad it's ending becuase I hate it when programmes drag on and on and just turn into another boring soap opera.

Hopefully the sucess of this programme will prove that not everyone want' to watch celebrity no-hopers snogging each toher and eating worms.

Well done BBC in being so forward.


----------



## zed (Apr 4, 2007)

I'm probably in a minority here, but I watched this show once (after hearing people rave about it) a couple of weeks back and thought it was kind of average.

The plotline was weak and it just seemed to be some sort of vehicle to make lame jokes about the differences between life in the 70's and today.

Looks like a pastiche of The Sweeny, Top Of The Pops and The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club.

Or do I need to watch more than one episode?


----------



## madzone (Apr 4, 2007)

Yes


----------



## FabricLiveBaby! (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> I'm probably in a minority here, but I watched this show once (after hearing people rave about it) a couple of weeks back and thought it was kind of average.
> 
> The plotline was weak and it just seemed to be some sort of vehicle to make lame jokes about the differences between life in the 70's and today.
> 
> ...



I think you needed ot watch it from the begginning


----------



## agricola (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> I'm probably in a minority here, but I watched this show once (after hearing people rave about it) a couple of weeks back and thought it was kind of average.
> 
> The plotline was weak and it just seemed to be some sort of vehicle to make lame jokes about the differences between life in the 70's and today.
> 
> ...



Yes, otherwise it just does come across as a load of stereotypes.


----------



## fuzzy felt (Apr 4, 2007)

sadly, i missed the very first episodes of this, but regardless, my theory is:

gene is the man driving the car which runs sam over, and that's why in order for sam to get back to the present, he has to either kill gene or put him in the slammer for a long time, in order to change the course of history. 

i could, of course, be talking utter shite. 

oh, and i fancy the arse off gene as well, as do half of the women in my office!


----------



## Jenerys (Apr 4, 2007)

For us ladies


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 4, 2007)

fuzzy felt said:
			
		

> sadly, i missed the very first episodes of this, but regardless, my theory is:
> 
> gene is the man driving the car which runs sam over, and that's why in order for sam to get back to the present, he has to either kill gene or put him in the slammer for a long time, in order to change the course of history.
> 
> ...



It's possible, he certainly seems to have to 'get Gene' to get out.


Great telly. I wonder if the writers knew the ending from the start?


----------



## Balbi (Apr 4, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> It's possible, he certainly seems to have to 'get Gene' to get out.



    

DO NOT WANT.


----------



## FabricLiveBaby! (Apr 4, 2007)

Maybe he will find a different way?


----------



## Balbi (Apr 4, 2007)

I worry that the BBC are going to pwn us


----------



## hektik (Apr 4, 2007)

fuzzy felt said:
			
		

> gene is the man driving the car which runs sam over, and that's why in order for sam to get back to the present, he has to either kill gene or put him in the slammer for a long time, in order to change the course of history.



good theory. i had considered that, but in several interviews the cast have said it is "mind-bending" - which makes me think it will be a bit more complex than that. Although, of course, that rather relies on their definition of mind-bending.

one of the more outre of theories relies on gene's name: gene hunt. sam is a science experiment, where the coma has been induced in order to find a specifc gene which will  cure his condition.


----------



## Rollem (Apr 4, 2007)

i reckon its all just a dream 





(for the sane amongst us )


----------



## Balbi (Apr 4, 2007)

I have the desire to start wearing 70's shirts


----------



## fuzzy felt (Apr 4, 2007)

Balbi said:
			
		

> DO NOT WANT.



no, and if i'm right, i suspect sam won't want to either. which leaves him with a choice - betray gene and get back to his old life, or stay loyal and remain back in the 1970's.

but as i said, i'm probably talking shite!


----------



## diond (Apr 4, 2007)

hektik said:
			
		

> good theory. i had considered that, but in several interviews the cast have said it is "mind-bending" - which makes me think it will be a bit more complex than that. Although, of course, that rather relies on their definition of mind-bending.
> 
> one of the more outre of theories relies on gene's name: gene hunt. sam is a science experiment, where the coma has been induced in order to find a specifc gene which will  cure his condition.



Fuck me, that's a good one! It's a good job this programme is very well layered; enabling the thicker people, like myself, to enjoy it at its base level.


----------



## editor (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> Or do I need to watch more than one episode?


Yes. And then you should discover that it's one of the cleverest, smartest and downright funny dramas seen on TV for years.


----------



## zed (Apr 4, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Yes. And then you should discover that it's one of the cleverest, smartest and downright funny dramas seen on TV for years.



Clever and smart?

How?


----------



## editor (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> Clever and smart?
> 
> How?


Err, because it's cleverly written and has a smart script?

Why not watch a few episodes and try and work it out for yourself?


----------



## twister (Apr 4, 2007)

I bought the first series on dvd for my folks for Xmas (well, my dad) saying 'you'll love it' and the fuckers haven't even watched one episode.

Knowing them they'll probably watch it and love it, but it'll be when everyone thinks it's old hat and they've strung out the concept far too long. It is a bit Quantum Leap, you just know the fucker's never going to make it home as long as the viewing figures are good


----------



## zed (Apr 4, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Err, because it's cleverly written and has a smart script?
> 
> Why not watch a few episodes and try and work it out for yourself?



I'll watch it two more times. But I was hoping to let in on the secret so I might appreciate it better.


----------



## editor (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> I'll watch it two more times. But I was hoping to let in on the secret so I might appreciate it better.


The best way to "appreciate" it is to watch it. There's nothing I could say that would make it any better.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Apr 4, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> I'll watch it two more times. But I was hoping to let in on the secret so I might appreciate it better.



You need to see the first couple of episodes of the first series to "get" most of the interplay.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Apr 4, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> The best way to "appreciate" it is to watch it. There's nothing I could say that would make it any better.



I sort of doubt zed actually wants to appreciate "Life on Mars" when he can have so much more fun sneering in his usual condescending manner.


----------



## Jenerys (Apr 4, 2007)

Just watched last night's episode    




Diana Dors and a bucket of chip oil


----------



## tangerinedream (Apr 5, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> I'd go along with that. It's smart, sassy, clever and very funny. Fantastic writing.



It's the first TV drama in years and years that I've been commited to not going out in order to watch. I have been studying it with my media students and very single one of them (40+ of them) love it to bits, despite not getting half the cultural reference points. I'm not even very fond of John Simm normally but it's won me over.


----------



## susie12 (Apr 5, 2007)

I've been staying in to watch it too.  IMO it's one of the best things on tv at the mo and perhaps ever - subtle, clever writing and brill acting from all concerned. amidst the sea of dross which is most tv programming this stands out like a diamond in a compost heap


----------



## clandestino (Apr 10, 2007)

Last episode tonight!!


----------



## sojourner (Apr 10, 2007)

ianw said:
			
		

> Last episode tonight!!


 

I'm sooo excited!!  Best thing about today is tonight!


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

I'm hoping to have the final chapter of my dissertation down by tonight, so I have a conclusion to do tomorrow.

If I don't i'm not going to enjoy LOM so much.

Nervous about it TBH


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Apr 10, 2007)

Ooh yeah this should be good


----------



## Allan (Apr 10, 2007)

I reckon it'll turn out that the car accident was deliberate for some reason.

Of course I could be totally wrong.


----------



## zed (Apr 10, 2007)

This sorts of things are invariably a massive disappointment.

Odds-on it will happen again tonight.


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

Allan said:
			
		

> I reckon it'll turn out that the car accident was deliberate for some reason.
> 
> Of course I could be totally wrong.



My fave theory was that gene's driving the car, but as has been stated it's hardly mindblowing...


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

Thirty Five Minutes To Go!!


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

The plot of Life On Mars owes much to the best of the Buffy the Vampire Killer episodes, and that much becomes very clear tonight.


----------



## Gromit (Apr 10, 2007)

Jim will fix it. Just wait and see. Class start.


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck 

I'm all over the shop here.


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

So the rational explanation presented before us is that Sam has a tuma on the brain, is in a coma and is dreaming all of this. Every so often he registers loved ones talking to him and incorporates their words into his fantasy world. 

BUT

Fans of the series will not want to kill off all the characters and so will root for the deranged fantasy to continue and for the rational reality to be extinguished, or at least held at bay. Thus the prog draws us into a subversive desire to thwart the rational. 

BUT

The reality is that the rational 'reality' is just as unreal as the fantasy - it is all fantasy. In fact the unreal world of 70s TV style coppers is more real than the hinted at 'real' world that Sam fantasises about and of which we know next to nothing. 

AND 

A second rational explanation is given us that Sam is an undercover operator working on operation MARS aiming to root out corruption in the force, and that his fantasies about the future are the result of an accident and amnesia.

Meanwhile

The plot enables a parody of 70s style copper antics to be ruthlessly critiqued by the modern pc copper, Sam. And thus 'pc gone mad' ranting Torygraph and Mail readers must hate this constant reminder as to why 'political correctness' is so necessary, and how plain stupid the racist, sexist, homophobic, violent, fuckwits are is displayed plainly on our screens each episode.

In addition to which we, of a certain age, get to revel in a dose of nostalgia.

Fab show.


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

It's fucking AMAZING.


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

If the ending is like Buffy he is about to change his mind and go back and save his mates.


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

Told ya! Hooray!! Off he goes back....


----------



## spanglechick (Apr 10, 2007)

*applauds*


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

She just switched me off!


----------



## Louloubelle (Apr 10, 2007)

*cries*


----------



## agricola (Apr 10, 2007)

brilliant, best ending to anything ever


----------



## diond (Apr 10, 2007)

More twists and turns than a Ronaldo foray into an opposition's half!


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

Actual brilliance


----------



## harpo (Apr 10, 2007)

Hmm...


----------



## Tank Girl (Apr 10, 2007)

diond said:
			
		

> More twists and turns than a Ronaldo foray into an opposition's half!


my words were "more twists than a curly wurly"


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

Tank Girl said:
			
		

> my words were "more twists than a curly wurly"



Much more apt.


----------



## William of Walworth (Apr 10, 2007)

Groucho said:
			
		

> She just switched me off!









Just been watching it ...

Fantastic!


----------



## clandestino (Apr 10, 2007)

Brilliant stuff! They got it just right!


----------



## spanglechick (Apr 10, 2007)

william's stuck in a time warp!

that was soooo cool.(not the boards going on the fritz)


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

It's deja vu all over again again as indeed it was yesterday. Urban's a bit er sticky at the mo...


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

Life on Mars broke the internet.


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

agricola said:
			
		

> brilliant, best ending to anything ever



although...




			
				Groucho said:
			
		

> If the ending is like Buffy he is about to change his mind and go back and save his mates.



 

Unless you meant the girl switching it off.


----------



## William of Walworth (Apr 10, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> This sorts of things are invariably a massive disappointment.
> 
> Odds-on it will happen again tonight.



Well I thought tonight;s conclusion was fantastic 

'Odds on' that it wouldn't be, to some miserable negative sneering type who's never positive or happy about anything ever, maybe ...


----------



## clandestino (Apr 10, 2007)

The brilliant thing about that ending, of course, is that we can't be sure what the truth is. Love it. 

It was the only way they could have ended it.


----------



## zed (Apr 10, 2007)

I take it, it was good then?

It's nice to see you all so happy.  Especially William.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Apr 10, 2007)

from camberwell carrot to brain surgeon...my head hurts


----------



## Groucho (Apr 10, 2007)

ianw said:
			
		

> The brilliant thing about that ending, of course, is that we can't be sure what the truth is. Love it.



Yes, a bizarre concept, 'truth', within the plot of a fantasy....

I much prefer the possibilities to be open, unanswered, and multifarious. 




			
				ianw said:
			
		

> It was the only way they could have ended it.



Well I was completely surprised by the little girl switching off my TV from the inside. They could have just gone to the credits.


----------



## treelover (Apr 10, 2007)

puts the rest of British tv to shame


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

I'm still marveling at how they did it


----------



## marty21 (Apr 10, 2007)

not sure they quite pulled it off, but i wanted him to stay in the past... and tyler finally got to steal an episode of his own series from gene hunt


----------



## agricola (Apr 10, 2007)

treelover said:
			
		

> puts the rest of British tv to shame



i wouldnt restrict it to british tv, its utter genius - though i cant see a scene in which one is cheering on someone to top themselves going down well in the states.


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

I do wonder if, from the two endings, they chose both


----------



## andy2002 (Apr 10, 2007)

Damn good ending - kept it nice and vague to the bitter end. Although, if there's going to be a follow-up series starring Gene Hunt in the 80s, presumably it means the 70s reality was the proper one all along?


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

Very good. Well done the writers, I don't begrudge the BBC my £130 or whatever licence fee now.


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

Great ending to what has to be one of the very best TV dramas in decades. I still can't quite work out what was going on but that was part of the appeal of the show. Great acting and the writing is as clever and as sharp as it gets.

I watched the final episode after seeing the amazing Man Utd game making this just about one of the best nights in front of a TV_ evah!_


----------



## Gromit (Apr 10, 2007)

I don't get it. So the ghost was old man Smithers all along?


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Great ending to what has to be one of the very best TV dramas in decades. I still can't quite work out what was going on but that was part of the appeal of the show. Great acting and the writing is as clever and as sharp as it gets.
> 
> I watched the final episode after seeing the amazing Man Utd game making this just about one of the best nights in front of a TV_ evah!_




It could be either way, which is great, was Sam *really* from 2007 or 1973.

I think the former but it's left a little bit ambiguous.


----------



## DexterTCN (Apr 10, 2007)

Tears in my eyes 

(and I watched first half of ManU and 2nd half of Chelsea before it, Ed)

The question is though.....would you?


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

The graveyard followed by the office scene was some fantastic work all round.


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

Oh, and I've just seen that it was a BBC Wales production too - the same people who did the new Dr Who series. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn TV pobol!


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Oh, and I've just seen that it was a BBC Wales production too - the same people who did the new Dr Who series.
> 
> Diolch yn fawr iawn TV pobol!




You *just* noticied that??? 




It's weird also the Dr Who (all the series since Christopher Ecclestone I believe have been BBC Wales) are not setting more episodes in Wales (or even... in space!!) They seem to be obsessed with 21st century London.


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> It's weird also the Dr Who (all the series since Christopher Ecclestone I believe have been BBC Wales) are not setting more episodes in Wales (or even... in space!!) They seem to be obsessed with 21st century London.


Except that many of the 'London' scenes in all the series have been set in lovely Cardiff.


----------



## Kanda (Apr 10, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> I watched the final episode after seeing the amazing Man Utd game making this just about one of the best nights in front of a TV_ evah!_



Get yourself a PVR _slakah!!_

I watched both which makes my evening more amazing than yours 

E2A: Whilst I was watching recorded Life on Mars, I started recording Kidnapped, think I'll watch that tomorrow


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Except that many of the 'London' scenes in all the series have been set in lovely Cardiff.



It's probably cheaper I suppose.

 We location spotted Keighley in the supposed Manchester train heist settings tonight.


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

Kanda said:
			
		

> Get yourself a PVR _slakah!!_
> 
> I watched both which makes my evening more amazing than yours


Errr, I have, that's how I was able to watch Life on Mars immediately after the Man Utd game. In fact, my PVR is so clever, it can record two programs simultaneously and let me watch one of them from the beginning while it's still recording the end.

So,_ nuuh!
_


----------



## Kanda (Apr 10, 2007)

Bah, I misread!

Humax PVR?


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> We location spotted Keighley in the supposed Manchester train heist settings tonight.


And the tunnel was the same one used in the Railway Children!


----------



## editor (Apr 10, 2007)

Kanda said:
			
		

> Bah, I misread!
> 
> Humax PVR?


Spot on!


----------



## Gromit (Apr 10, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> It could be either way, which is great, was Sam *really* from 2007 or 1973.
> 
> I think the former but it's left a little bit ambiguous.



Sorry to spoil it but how would a copper from 1973 know about 'stingers' and other modern inventions etc?


----------



## Kanda (Apr 10, 2007)

I have a Humax HDTV with PVR built in, I <3 it!


----------



## Balbi (Apr 10, 2007)

Marius said:
			
		

> Sorry to spoil it but how would a copper from 1973 know about 'stingers' and other modern inventions etc?



D'uh, it's modern because we know about it - to him it's a brilliant mind malfunctioning


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

Marius said:
			
		

> Sorry to spoil it but how would a copper from 1973 know about 'stingers' and other modern inventions etc?



Yeah, I thought that. For someone from 1973 he got a helluvalot of things right about the future!!

Thats why I thought the former scenario, but they came up with a good counter plot/ ending all the same.


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 10, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Errr, I have, that's how I was able to watch Life on Mars immediately after the Man Utd game. *In fact, my PVR *is so clever, it can record two programs simultaneously and let me watch one of them from the beginning while it's still recording the end.
> 
> So,_ nuuh!
> _



I wish I knew what you were talking about.  

Trogs back to the cave...


----------



## moose (Apr 11, 2007)

The train scenes were shot at East Lancs Railway at Bury, where me and me dad drove a steam train last year.


----------



## agricola (Apr 11, 2007)

And the spin-off series has been confirmed:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6542633.stm

Does this mean Gene Hunt is God?


----------



## editor (Apr 11, 2007)

agricola said:
			
		

> And the spin-off series has been confirmed:
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6542633.stm
> 
> Does this mean Gene Hunt is God?


How odd does this sound?



> The sequel, Ashes to Ashes, will see Philip Glenister return as DCI Gene Hunt - but this time in London in 1981.
> 
> He will be joined by a female detective from the 21st Century who is stuck in the past after an accident.
> 
> She will replace Life on Mars star John Simm, who was at the centre of the original mystery after apparently being catapulted back in time following a car crash in 2006.


----------



## agricola (Apr 11, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> How odd does this sound?



Odd.  I wonder if he will be behind Swamp '81?


----------



## moose (Apr 11, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> And the tunnel was the same one used in the Railway Children!


Ummm thought that was Mytholmes tunnel. The one on LoM is Brooksbottom tunnel
[/anorak]


----------



## Louloubelle (Apr 11, 2007)

agricola said:
			
		

> Does this mean Gene Hunt is God?




possibly 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6498495.stm

one of my new heroes


----------



## clandestino (Apr 11, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> How odd does this sound?



Oh dear. I don't like the sound of this. 




			
				BBC story said:
			
		

> Jane Featherstone, executive producer for TV production company Kudos, said the search was on for DCI Hunt's new "sexy sidekick".
> 
> "It's a touch of Moonlighting teamed with a measure of Miami Vice," she said.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (Apr 11, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> It's weird also the Dr Who (all the series since Christopher Ecclestone I believe have been BBC Wales) are not setting more episodes in Wales (or even... in space!!) They seem to be obsessed with 21st century London.




Not as weird as the fact that a time traveling alien, with the whole universe and  all of history at his disposal seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in Cardiff!

Anyone know where LOM was shot?


----------



## sojourner (Apr 11, 2007)

King Biscuit Time said:
			
		

> Anyone know where LOM was shot?


I believe moose is the authoritative guide on this  

Brilliant last episode!!  And to my mind, Sam was from 2007, and decided to go back to unconscious fantasy land in 1973.  Some cracking scenes - loved it when he went back and shot Paddy - was just like an old Western film shootout   Also loved the solo Butch/Sundance leap off the roof

I was on the edge of me couch all the way through - fanbloodytastic


----------



## moose (Apr 11, 2007)

King Biscuit Time said:
			
		

> Anyone know where LOM was shot?


Most of the interiors were sets (the nick, Sam's flat, the interior of the pub). The outside of the police station, with the concrete cladding, is the council buildings in Stockport. They've used Victoria Baths, which won BBC2's Restoration for a lot of the court/mortuary/Irish Centre scenes because of the lovely tiling and stained glass. They've used lots of Ancoats and Gorton backstreets and city centre 70s tower blocks, and the exterior of the pub is in Royton near Oldham. The terraced houses and cobbled streets are around Bolton. I think the rooftop from last night might be Arndale car park, but it caused some heated debate in our house. We're also still arguing about the location for the wife-swapping party, but I think it's in Fallowfield.


----------



## El Sueno (Apr 11, 2007)

Last night's episode was magnificent, they still managed to swerve me despite me having at least three endings mapped out for my own personal interest... that new one sounds a bit ropey though. Sexy sidekick? Deary me.


----------



## Rollem (Apr 11, 2007)

last nights episode left me feeling sad and anxious. like i wanted to "go home"
all a bit weird, but made me want to go back to the "good old days" of my childhood (though in fariness that was in the 80's mostly). back to when things were black and white...

ahem  anyway, i  loved that sam took one look around the faceless policing of 2007 and felt nothing. saw no space for him to change things and headed back to where he could 'make a difference' (my take obviously)

i dont like the sound of ashes to ashes though.


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 11, 2007)

moose said:
			
		

> Ummm thought that was Mytholmes tunnel. The one on LoM is Brooksbottom tunnel
> [/anorak]




I'm told Keighley station is definitely in last nights shots!


----------



## Balbi (Apr 11, 2007)

The creator of the programme said the test card girl switching us off at the end was the writing team's way of saying 'Don't analyse too much, it's a television programme - we'll turn the telly off for you, go do something else' 

The same writing team is working on 'Ashes to Ashes'. I remain hopeful that they'll make it work out in the end


----------



## Jenerys (Apr 11, 2007)

Balbi said:
			
		

> The creator of the programme said the test card girl switching us off at the end was the writing team's way of saying 'Don't analyse too much, it's a television programme - we'll turn the telly off for you, go do something else'


Good cos my brain was just about to explode 

(((LilJen's brain)))


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Apr 11, 2007)

It all sounds a bit like Quantum Leap.


----------



## moose (Apr 11, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> I'm told Keighley station is definitely in last nights shots!


Definitely not, although they are similar.  The ironwork under the canopy at Keighley is far more ornate, and the edge of the roof is plain. Bolton Street Station, Bury has plainer ironwork and a crenelated canopy, which is clearly visible in the programme.


----------



## andy2002 (Apr 11, 2007)

Balbi said:
			
		

> The creator of the programme said the test card girl switching us off at the end was the writing team's way of saying 'Don't analyse too much, it's a television programme - we'll turn the telly off for you, go do something else'



One theory I read was that the Test Card Girl was death and that her turning off the TV at the end meant Sam had snuffed it.

The ending was perfect - it'll keep people theorising for years. 

I wonder when the first Life On Mars convention will be?


----------



## sojourner (Apr 11, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> One theory I read was that the Test Card Girl was death and that her turning off the TV at the end meant Sam had snuffed it.


That's what I thought it was actually


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 11, 2007)

moose said:
			
		

> Definitely not, although they are similar.  The ironwork under the canopy at Keighley is far more ornate, and the edge of the roof is plain. Bolton Street Station, Bury has plainer ironwork and a crenelated canopy, which is clearly visible in the programme.




Where it started out from in the station was Keighley, not that bridge where the 'heist' was filmed.

My b/f reckons he saw some filming done there a while ago that may have been it.


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 11, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> One theory I read was that the Test Card Girl was death and that her turning off the TV at the end meant Sam had snuffed it.



Well dur! Yes of course that's what it means.


----------



## moose (Apr 11, 2007)

Whatever you want to think 

However I am a member at East Lancs Railway, and I know it was Bolton Street


----------



## andy2002 (Apr 11, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> Well dur! Yes of course that's what it means.



What even though one of show's creators said the test card girl "switching off the TV" had no meaning beyond saying, "Don't analyse too much, it's a television programme - we'll turn the telly off for you, go do something else."?

Also, take a look around some of the other messageboards and you'll see that not everyone shares your belief that the ending was cut and dried.


----------



## goldenecitrone (Apr 11, 2007)

What a crap ending! Diving back into a coma at the point where you left off? What hogwash. And next a spin-off series with someone else from the future? I demand to have at least 3p off my licence fee next year.


----------



## spanglechick (Apr 11, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> What a crap ending! Diving back into a coma at the point where you left off? What hogwash. And next a spin-off series with someone else from the future? I demand to have at least 3p off my licence fee next year.


congratlations, mr citrone.  you are the person on this thread most attuned to zed's prediction.


----------



## goldenecitrone (Apr 11, 2007)

spanglechick said:
			
		

> congratlations, mr citrone.  you are the person on this thread most attuned to zed's prediction.



zed's dead, baby. zed's dead.


----------



## Gromit (Apr 11, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> What a crap ending! Diving back into a coma at the point where you left off? What hogwash. And next a spin-off series with someone else from the future? I demand to have at least 3p off my licence fee next year.



He should have dived back into the past and ended up in the wild west with Buffalo Bill screaming too much too much.

*reverse Army of Darkness alternative ending*


----------



## hektik (Apr 11, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> Diving back into a coma at the point where you left off?



did he ever actually leave the coma though?

my theory goes as such:

1973 is a coma. he can hear voices from the future. he knows he is going to have an operation, and at the end of the programme, as he enters the tunnel, he thinks that it has been a success, and he is waking up. waht has actually happened is the operation has failed, and the "future" he is in is actually a deeper coma - hence why he seems to recover so quickly. it is also why he doesn't feel anything (like when he puts the pen through his hand in that meeting).

he realises that this is a trick: his body has already had several attempts at keeping him in his coma, and that this is another attempt, hence why he jumps off the roof: this is why he goes back to the same point in 1973.  he has accepted his fate (of never waking up) but realises he can choose to do it in the 73 version instead of the future version he was just in. 

at the end of the programme, becasue he is in a lighter coma, he can hear the doctors - maybe trying to save him after they have botched the operation? but they cant, and he dies.


----------



## Jim2k5 (Apr 11, 2007)

i really enjoyed the season finale, and i think that he was jumping back into the coma from the roof of the building, i think that he must not have left the coma at all inorder for him to not feel anything, but hey just my 2 cents


----------



## hektik (Apr 11, 2007)

Jim2k5 said:
			
		

> i really enjoyed the season finale, and i think that he was jumping back into the coma from the roof of the building, i think that he must not have left the coma at all inorder for him to not feel anything, but hey just my 2 cents



beat ya by one minute


----------



## ViolentPanda (Apr 11, 2007)

goldenecitrone said:
			
		

> What a crap ending! Diving back into a coma at the point where you left off? What hogwash. And next a spin-off series with someone else from the future? I demand to have at least 3p off my licence fee next year.



Ah, but was he diving off a building back into a coma, or was he merely coming out of a fugue state (induced by the same car crash after-effects that gave him amnesia) in the tunnel where he *thought* he was in the future and had just dived off a building? 

T'was fucking ace.


----------



## mr_eko (Apr 11, 2007)

wasn't feeling this really seen it all before -  Vanilla Sky meets Quantum Leap


----------



## Jim2k5 (Apr 11, 2007)

hektik said:
			
		

> beat ya by one minute




lol so i see now, damn you


----------



## bigbry (Apr 11, 2007)

moose said:
			
		

> Definitely not, although they are similar.  The ironwork under the canopy at Keighley is far more ornate, and the edge of the roof is plain. Bolton Street Station, Bury has plainer ironwork and a crenelated canopy, which is clearly visible in the programme.


God, that's almost as complicated as the plot of LOM.


----------



## sojourner (Apr 11, 2007)

hektik said:
			
		

> did he ever actually leave the coma though?
> 
> my theory goes as such:
> 
> ...



Oooo, I really like your theory


----------



## elevendayempire (Apr 11, 2007)

Head writer Matthew Graham explains it all:

http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ianwylie/2007/04/life_on_mars_the_answers.html

SG


----------



## clandestino (Apr 11, 2007)

hektik said:
			
		

> did he ever actually leave the coma though?
> 
> my theory goes as such:
> 
> ...




yep, that's what i thought too.

as for ashes to ashes, i don't understand why they need someone else from the future. just have a female officer who's pushing progressive policing going head to head with gene's old school methods. having another coma storyline is a little too clunky i think.


----------



## editor (Apr 11, 2007)

ianw said:
			
		

> as for ashes to ashes, i don't understand why they need someone else from the future. just have a female officer who's pushing progressive policing going head to head with gene's old school methods. having another coma storyline is a little too clunky i think.


Mind you, Gene is fantastically entertaining all on his own!


----------



## clandestino (Apr 11, 2007)

editor said:
			
		

> Mind you, Gene is fantastically entertaining all on his own!



That's my point. They don't need another coma storyline. We've bought into it now - just stick Gene in some sticky situations and let him work his magic. The new coma storyline might be a bit irritating - we've been there and done that already.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Apr 11, 2007)

mr_eko said:
			
		

> wasn't feeling this really seen it all before -  Vanilla Sky meets Quantum Leap



"Vanilla Sky"?

See, you can't have the necessary taste to appreciate "Life on Mars", 'cos it was obviously drained from you when you watched that pile of festering Tom Cruise _dreck_!


----------



## mauvais (Apr 11, 2007)

I take what I think's the obvious but optimistic view of it.

I saw it as him genuinely being in both different times - bugger all to do with the coma. That's a bit irrelevant - it's just the means that allows him to be in two places at once.

He was revived and brought back to the present, forcing him into one of these worlds. However he didn't want it so he killed his 'present self' and forced the other option.

The last radio interruption, and the test card girl, were merely signifying that he couldn't return to the future and everything was now 'fixed down'.


----------



## _angel_ (Apr 11, 2007)

andy2002 said:
			
		

> What even though one of show's creators said the test card girl "switching off the TV" had no meaning beyond saying, "Don't analyse too much, it's a television programme - we'll turn the telly off for you, go do something else."?
> 
> Also, take a look around some of the other messageboards and you'll see that not everyone shares your belief that the ending was cut and dried.




I think it means Sam is dead when he's switched off, but it's great there's so many different interpretations to it. It means it's good writing.


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## Notorious J.I.M (Apr 11, 2007)

The writer sort of clears up the meaning of the ending in an interview today. 





> "I was always slightly surprised that people thought there was a genuine mystery. To me, it was obvious - he got hit by a car, the doctors and nurses were speaking to him over the radio and through the television and he was in a coma. The fact is that he began to suspect there seemed to be a way in which he could change his world - once he's there for a period of time, he begins to assimilate so much of that world into himself. He starts to question whether he was ever anywhere else.
> 
> "But I never thought the audience would fall for that. But then we realised we had to start being a little bit more careful about saying definitively that he was in a coma. When it came to writing him waking up, I just couldn't bear him staying in 2007. I just wanted him to go back.
> 
> ...


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## belboid (Apr 11, 2007)

Groucho said:
			
		

> The plot of Life On Mars owes much to the best of the Buffy the Vampire Killer episodes, and that much becomes very clear tonight.


my favourite buffy episode that one, and like LOM - a mess of contradictions!


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## belboid (Apr 11, 2007)

_angel_ said:
			
		

> Where it started out from in the station was Keighley, not that bridge where the 'heist' was filmed.
> 
> My b/f reckons he saw some filming done there a while ago that may have been it.


naah, I've been to Keighley station many a many a time  and it wasn't that one.  In fact me brother-in-law slept there on saturday night, for some strange reason that I am yet to fathom.


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## belboid (Apr 11, 2007)

sojourner said:
			
		

> Oooo, I really like your theory


my theory is this:

it was a jolly good tv show that could never manage to tie up all its loose ends, tho had a jolly good go.


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## Gromit (Apr 11, 2007)

belboid said:
			
		

> my theory is this:
> 
> it was a jolly good tv show that could never manage to tie up all its loose ends, tho had a jolly good go.



I'll go with the Lucy Lawless explanation off the Simpsons.

Any time anything happened that didn't quite add up... a wizard did it.


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## Groucho (Apr 12, 2007)

belboid said:
			
		

> my favourite buffy episode that one, and like LOM - a mess of contradictions!



It should be your favourite Buffy episode because it is by far the best one. The second best one with the floating scary monsters who steal teenagers voices is no-where near as good. Now I'm not a big Buffy fan by the way, but it has it's moments and the loveliest person I have ever met is a Buffy fan so it can't be bad.

The contradictions are part of the appeal. Tying up all the loose ends and packaging a step by step dots all joined up spoon fed a, b, c, and 2+2=4 kind of ending is dullness beyond reason for dullards.


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## belboid (Apr 12, 2007)

the ones based on mr burns from the simpsons, you mean


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## tangerinedream (Apr 12, 2007)

belboid said:
			
		

> naah, I've been to Keighley station many a many a time  and it wasn't that one.  In fact me brother-in-law slept there on saturday night, for some strange reason that I am yet to fathom.



It definately wasn't Keighley - It was 100% definately Bury Bolton St - which is the home of the East Lancs railway, a private preserved railway line.


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## Groucho (Apr 12, 2007)

belboid said:
			
		

> the ones based on mr burns from the simpsons, you mean



Yeh, I guess everything's connected to everything else.


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## rhod (Apr 13, 2007)

Notorious J.I.M said:
			
		

> The writer sort of clears up the meaning of the ending in an interview today.



That's how I read the ending - he had gone into a coma in 2007, and whilst in this state was confronting some bad psychological stuff from his past, but had in the process fallen in love with the fantasy time period (and one person in particular) - upon waking up, he realises that he actually felt more alive living in his fantasy state; that the modern age and policing ethos isn't necessarily what he thought it was, and that he had more of a positive role to play by going back to his 1973 fantasy state.


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## Allan (Apr 13, 2007)

So he didn't actually go back in time, it was just a fantasy all along? So when he changes history in episode 1 and saves Mya he didn't really change anything and the bit where Mya leaves him is his mind's way of explaining why she's not there when he wakes up. In reality she hasn't left him and moved on, she's actually still dead.


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## rhod (Apr 13, 2007)

I think she died, yeah - and the character of Leila her Mum was also something he made up to deal with the grief of his loss - if he could "save" her, he could save Maya? - I think it's telling that whilst he received messages from Maya, she didn't appear when he came round in 2007.


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## zed (Apr 13, 2007)

I watched the final episode they re-ran on BBC 4 last night.  

It was good.

I was wrong.


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## editor (Apr 13, 2007)

zed said:
			
		

> I was wrong.


That's more like it! It's a shame you saw the last episode first, but I'd recommend getting the DVD box set of the first series. You'll love it!


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## Santino (Apr 13, 2007)

The last Matrix film should have been more like that.


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## Balbi (Apr 13, 2007)

It's awfully obvious, but the two series boxed set's going to sell like a _bastard_  One in every home.


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## rollinder (Apr 13, 2007)

is it true they've changed the music on the dvds because of copyright fees?


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## Citizen66 (Apr 13, 2007)

FabricLiveBaby! said:
			
		

> Why do they always cancel the good stuff but leave shite like eastenders on?



That wasn't a very nice thing to say about eastender.


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## Kaka Tim (Apr 22, 2007)

Saw the last two epsiodes back to back last night. Fucking brilliant and quite moving as well. Best TV prog for years. Or ever. Or something.  Great writing, lots of brilliant oine liners, great acting, superb characters, good plots and breathtaking originality. 

the sequal sounds lke it could be a bit dodge though.


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## Badgers (Jun 19, 2011)

Only 4 episodes in and so far it is enjoyable. 
Silly but cool, will stick with it I think.


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## Badgers (Jun 19, 2011)

Still going and into series 2 now


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## Badgers (Jun 19, 2011)

Liking DCI Gene Hunt a lot


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## spliff (Jun 20, 2011)

It's been a long time since I've seen them, but the memory of the Candlewick Green opening sequence still makes me chuckle.


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## Pseudopsycho (Jun 20, 2011)

stay out of trumpton!


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