BBC's Life on Mars Bows
How Do You Stop A Murder When You’re 30 Years Away?
An inventive and ambitious police drama breathes new life into the detective genre when a modern day cop is mysteriously transported back to the ’70s. With a series of gripping investigations and a murder inquiry that spans both eras, Life on Mars is a compelling drama and an imaginative exploration of the recent past. Starring John Simm (State of
Sam Tyler (John Simm), a cool, sharp young detective, is working hard to keep the streets of 21st century
When he wakes, he finds himself in a different era – 1973. Is this reality, madness or a dream? Sam struggles to understand what is happening to him.
Disoriented and traumatized, 21st century Sam is completely bewildered by his new environment. As all attempts to return to his own time fail, Sam falls back on what he knows best – his job. Each episode features a different case, some of the toughest Sam has ever tried to solve – partly because of what seems like archaic police procedure. This is a world without cell phones, where cops rely on paperwork and memory instead of computers, there’s no DNA profiling and what forensics do exist take two weeks to process.
Furthermore, his 1973 colleagues are insensitive, unreconstructed cops who regularly intimidate witnesses and are happy to nail suspects irrespective of whether they have evidence. Sam’s new boss is hard-nosed Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), the antithesis of everything Sam believes in. He gets results by trusting his gut instinct and, all too often, sheer brute force. Most of his team have similar attitudes towards their work including detective Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) who is suspicious of Sam and his ‘new-fangled’ ideas. At least detective Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster, Clocking Off), despite being clueless, is more affable and keen to learn.
The only person in this alien world who reaches out to Sam is a young police officer, Annie Cartwright (Liz White, The Street), an educated and open-minded woman who helps Sam in his quest to find the truth about his new circumstances, as well as battling to lock up the criminals of 1970s Manchester.
In the first episode, it becomes clear to Sam that the killer who is holding Maya in 2006 started his killing spree here and now in the early ’70s. Could catching the perpetrator be Sam’s key to returning to the future?
Jane Featherstone, Joint Managing Director at Kudos Film and Television, and executive producer of Life on Mars, says: “Life on Mars is a fantastic idea which takes the cop show genre and gives it a unique, humorous and irresistible twist. By taking a character of our time and throwing him headfirst into our recent past, it gives us a chance to explore what makes us who we are today.”
John Yorke, Controller of Continuing Drama Series and Head of Independent Drama at the BBC, explains: “The beauty of Life on Mars is that each week it concentrates on catching criminals through two completely opposing styles of policing. We put a modern DI [Detective Inspector] bang in the world of the old school copper and so explore two totally foreign worlds. Sam is both repelled and fascinated by this prehistoric world, and the drama lies in how he tries to accommodate himself to life on a completely different planet.”
The show features classic ’70s tracks from legendary artists including David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Wings and Thin Lizzy.
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CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS
Gene Hunt Philip Glenister
Annie Cartwright Liz White
Chris Skelton Marshall Lancaster
Ray Carling Dean Andrews
Phyllis
Nelson Tony Marshall
Maya
Creator & Writer (Eps 4 & 6) Ashley Pharoah
Creator & Writer (Ep 5) Tony Jordan
Writer (Ep 7) Chris Chibnall
Director (Eps 1 & 2) Bharat Nalluri
Director (Eps 3 & 4) John McKay
Director (Eps 6 & 8) John Alexander
Director (Eps 5 & 7) SJ Clarkson
Producer Claire Parker
Executive Producer Jane Featherstone
Executive Producer/Creator &
Writer (Eps 1, 2, 3, 6 & 8) Matthew Graham
WHAT THE BRITISH PRESS SAID
“The first bit of essential viewing of 2006 - and one which sets the bar so high others may struggle to match it. From its bravura opening, Life on Mars has an adhesive grip which intrigues, surprises, amuses and - thanks to some wonderful design and its 1973 setting - delights the eye, in retro-kitsch fashion, … Simm is marvellous as Tyler, a ferrety bundle of bewilderment and rage, in a series which shows every sign of being that rarest of small-screen beasts: high-concept mainstream TV made with genuine wit and imagination.” Daily Telegraph
“Utterly brilliant … I can’t remember the last time there was a police drama worth getting so excited about.” Daily Mirror
“…one of the most inventive police dramas in years.” Daily Star
“…riveting … as intriguing as Lost yet as nostalgic as The Sweeney, this is another triumph from BBC … part thriller, part comedy and part Kafkaesque nightmare, this is a detective series with a very welcome difference … John Simm is convincingly traumatised as Sam, but writer Matthew Graham ensures there is plenty of enjoyable comedy here too.” Observer
“Life on Mars looks authentic, Simm looks brilliant, and the whole series is something you will be wanting to invest your time in…” The Times
“…a stylish-looking series … part Sweeney, part Back to the Future, and part Bobby Ewing’s shower scene from Dallas… two beguiling central performances; by John Simm as the time-travelling policeman, and by Philip Glenister as his Sweeney-flavoured, Cortina-driving, 1973 boss.” The Times
SERIES 1
“…one of the most original cop shows in years … Don’t miss this.” Daily Mirror
“…an original, witty and illuminating idea … The writing is brought to life by intense performances from Simm … and craggy Philip Glenister.” Mail On Sunday
EPISODE SYNOPSES
Episode one
Sam Tyler’s world is about to be turned upside down. Moments after his girlfriend and colleague, Maya, is kidnapped by a serial killer, Sam is knocked unconscious by a car and wakes up... in 1973.
Sam discovers that in this strange new world, full of cigarette smoking, gum chewing, unreconstructed men, he’s a detective starting his first day in a new precinct and he’s got to prove himself to his new boss, Gene Hunt. Gene likes to throw his weight around. He acts first and thinks later. The only person in this alien world who reaches out to Sam is young police officer, Annie Cartwright.
Dazed and confused, Sam finds it difficult to focus on the murder his new colleagues are investigating, until he discovers a connection between this murder and the serial killer who kidnapped his girlfriend in 2006. Could solving this case be the key to getting home? Could it be a way to save Maya?
As Sam focuses on the case it seems the biggest obstacle standing between him and success is his new boss and his very different attitude to policing. To Sam, a 21st century liberal, Gene represents everything that is bad about the police force, everything that the force has tried to stamp out over the past 30 years. It’s a rollercoaster ride as Sam and Gene go head to head. Can they stop battling one another long enough to join forces and get the job done?
Sam is faced with the biggest moral dilemma of his life when he realizes that destroying evidence in 1973 could save Maya’s life in 2006. As he hears doctors voices from 2006 bleeding through into 1973 Sam becomes increasingly convinced that he’s in a coma. He stands on the roof of the police station poised to jump off and find out once and for all if this is real.
Episode one premieres Monday July 24,
Episode two
Sam’s dogged pursuit of evidence brings him into conflict with Hunt, who has a more flexible approach to the pursuit of justice.
Uncertain as to whether this strange new world is real or just a figment of his imagination, Sam decides, for now, to embrace his new situation and make the best of it. But then the team arrest Kim Trent, an elusive criminal high on the police squad’s wanted list. When Sam realizes that Gene has planted evidence to secure
Having been released by Sam,
Episode two premieres Monday July 31,
Episode three
As Sam starts to feel at home in 1973, he hears voices on his police car radio from 2006 and is alarmed to discover that his doctors are worrying that he’s losing the will to live. As comfortable as he’s become in ’73, Sam knows that he can’t give up the fight if he’s ever to get home. The problem is, he’s not sure what that fight is.
When Sam responds to a fatal stabbing at Crester’s Textiles he’s shocked to discover that Crester’s is the converted mill where he lives in 2006, and the dead man is quite literally lying in his kitchen. Sam sets up a forensic investigation but Gene thinks he’s wasting his time as there’s a rule in these sorts of cases – first one to speak did it. Sam is incredulous but Gene and the team all seem to believe that Ted Bannister, the first man to speak, is guilty.
Sam has found his fight. As he gets to know Ted, and starts to uncover the truth of what happened at the mill, Sam realizes just how much the concept of family and community has changed since 1973.
Episode three premieres Monday August 7,
Episode four
Sam’s belief in doing the right thing calls into question the ethos of his whole department as he takes on local gangster Stephen Warren in an attempt to stamp out police corruption.
Gene believes that Warren and the police can co-exist and that the streets are safer as a result. Coming from 2006 Sam knows, that in the future, police corruption will irrevocably change the relationship between the public and the police. This knowledge makes him determined not to turn a blind eye. But he knows that to get to
As Sam sets to work on Gene,
The full consequence of taking on
When Sam discovers that Gene’s reluctance to deal with
Episode four premieres Monday August 14,
Episode five
The murder of a Manchester United soccer fan results in another clash of methods between modern-day cop Sam and traditionalist Gene.
Gene is certain someone from the rival team, Manchester City, is to blame and he fears this could well spark a riot between the hooligan elements of both teams at a forthcoming match. Coming from 2006, Sam has witnessed how these small acts of violence can escalate into a disastrous situation. He’s not convinced that soccer rivalry is the motive for the murder, and suggests working undercover at the local pub – the last place the victim was seen alive. Hearing the word ‘pub’, Gene suddenly realizes it’s his ideal job!
Acting as a barmaid, Annie Cartwright fends off the usual sexual innudendo. Temporary pub manager Gene looks set to drink the pub dry to get in with the local hoodlums, including pub regulars Paul Bond (Anthony Flanagan) and Malcolm Cox (Joe Duttine). Sam worries about their chances of finding the killer before Saturday’s big match. His relationship with the young son of the murdered man brings Sam’s memories of his own father flooding back, especially when he realizes that the forthcoming match is the last one he and his dad ever went to together, when Sam was just four years-old.
With the press using the murder to fuel the flames of hate between rival fans, Sam believes the only way to prevent a full-scale riot is to prove that the murder was not soccer-related. Under pressure to solve the case before tensions destroy the community, Sam suddenly finds the riot is happening, bringing him face to face with the killer.
Episode five premieres Monday August 21,
Episode six
Sam hears his mother’s voice saying goodbye to him and learns that his life-support machine is to be turned off at
He’s terrified. He’s alive but has no idea how to make himself heard when he’s stuck in the 1970s. Before he can do anything, a call comes in about a man who has taken people hostage at the local newspaper, the Manchester Gazette. The gunman is threatening to kill the hostages at
Sam arrives with Gene, Annie, Ray and Chris at the paper’s offices, employing his 2006 methods of dealing with a hostage situation. Gene, on the other hand, has his own style of policing – he wants to go in with all guns blazing. If there is one thing Sam is sure of, no one can die today, not even the hostage taker, Reg (Paul Copley, Shameless).
As the clock ticks, Sam seems to inch his way towards a peaceful resolution, but just when he feels he’s making progress, Gene is there to frustrate matters. They manage to gain entrance to the office where the hostages are being held in an attempt to negotiate their safe release. Soon, however, they are being held hostage themselves. After a failed attempt at escape, Sam, Gene and Annie are put on ‘death row’ and, with the deadline looming, they desperately need to find a
way out.
Episode six premieres Monday August 28,
Episode seven
When small-time drug dealer Billy Kemble (Kevin Knapman) dies in police custody, Sam is pitted against all his colleagues in the precinct. They resent his suspicion that details of the death are being covered up and resist his attempts to investigate what really happened in the cells.
Sam demands a transparent investigation into Billy’s death. In 2006, he knows that if the police don’t police themselves the public will never trust them. Gene, on the other hand, has different ideas. He believes that Billy died as a result of being beaten up by his cellmate – case closed.
However, when the pathologist’s report arrives, it shows that Billy’s death was caused by a cocaine overdose. Gene is ecstatic, the police are in the clear. But Sam is still not convinced. Something he knows about drugs from being a cop in 2006 (but can’t quite put his finger on) tells him that something is not quite right. As Sam starts questioning his colleagues, he discovers that none of his team is telling the truth, not even those he thought he could trust. When the explosive evidence of what really happened to Billy falls into his hands, Sam has a huge decision to make because this evidence could tear the team apart.
Sam realises that this could be the opportunity he has been waiting for - the key to him getting back to 2006. But if he’s really in 1973, it could destroy his world and all the people in it.
Episode seven premieres Monday September 4,
Episode eight
Sam has finally started to accept his new world and believes that he can deal with anything that it throws at him until he comes face to face with his 29-year-old father.
In a bewildering case for Sam his own father, small-time gambler Vic Tyler, is at the center of a police investigation into the murder of a bookie’s clerk. Gene is convinced that Vic is his link to nailing a new crime syndicate, the Morton brothers, and is prepared to put Vic’s life on the line to get to them. A stunned Sam finds himself having to embark upon an emotional journey as he has to protect his father, firstly from Gene, but also from the Mortons, as it becomes apparent that Vic is more in debt to them than he first admitted.
Sam realizes that this is the time in 1973 when his dad left the family for good and wonders whether he’s here to clear his father’s name and stop him from leaving. Could convincing his dad to stay mean that he will wake up in 2006. Sam starts to piece together a childhood memory that he’s been repeatedly experiencing as a series of flashbacks that have become increasingly intense. He begins to make sense of these memories and starts to uncover the truth about his father and what really happened to his family – a truth that will change him forever.
Episode eight premieres Monday September 11,
REMEMBER 1973?
1973 was the year of layered hair, bulbous afros, flared trousers and glam rock. It is also the year David Bowie reached No. 3 in the
WHAT WAS HOT AND WHAT WAS NOT...
Entertainment
• David Bowie becomes the biggest-selling artist since The Beatles, hitting the eight million record mark.
• Marlon Brando refuses his Best Actor Oscar as a protest against the plight of Native Americans.
• Stunt motorcyclist Evil Knievel is the hero of the moment.
• Stevie Wonder wins his first Grammy Award.
• Paul McCartney is fined $240 for growing marijuana on his Scottish farm.
• Women are allowed on the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange.
Sport
• Billie Jean King retains her
• George Foreman becomes World Heavyweight Boxing Champion after beating Joe Frazier.
• The sport of snowboarding is born.
The Movies
• The Sting - Paul Newman and Robert Redford, won Best Picture and Best Director for George Roy Hill at the Oscars.
.• Don’t Look Now – starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, now famous for its haunting image of a little girl in a red cloak wandering the streets of
• The Exorcist – a classic horror with revolutionary special effects including the possessed child’s spinning head.
• The Day of the Jackal - starring Edward Fox as the assassin out to kill French President Charles de Gaulle.
• Mean Streets - starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel in Martin Scorsese’s film set in Little Italy.
• American Graffiti - Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard are college graduates on their last night of freedom before having to decide what to do with the rest of their lives.
• The Wickerman - Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland star in a story of a detective’s hunt for a missing girl.
• Serpico - Al Pacino won a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an honest cop fighting the corruption of his colleagues.
• A Touch of Class - Glenda Jackson stars in an Oscar-winning performance as the long-suffering wife of a philandering American businessman George Segal.
• Paper Moon - Tatum O’Neal won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this road movie about a young girl and a travelling con man in which she co-starred with her father, Ryan.
• Live and Let Die - Roger Moore’s first outing as James Bond.
• Enter the Dragon - Bruce Lee starred in
Births
• David Blaine, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Kay, Peter Andre, Juliette Lewis, Leigh Francis (Avid Merrion), Monica Seles, Neve Campbell, Faith Evans, Anastacia.
Marriages and divorces
• Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips.
• Anthony Hopkins marries his second wife Jennifer Lynton.
• Michael Caine marries Shakira Baksh.
• Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorce.
• Zappo Marx and Barbara Blakely divorce (she will later marry Frank Sinatra).
Deaths
• Noel Coward, JRR Tolkien, Bobby Darin, Fay Holden,
CAST INTERVIEWS
John Simm as detective Sam Tyler
What is Sam like?
“When you first see him, in 2006, he isn’t particularly likable. He’s quite pedantic and anal, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor. So when he wakes up in the ’70s, it’s quite a shock to him. For Sam, it’s an absolute nightmare – it’s like some crazy mad dream he’s having and he just can’t wake up. That’s a really frightening thought for anyone, to be trapped in a completely alien world. So he’s a bit all over the place, as you would be. It really makes you think: What if?”
Sam doesn’t get off to a great start with his new boss, Gene. They develop a love/hate relationship although they do have a grudging respect for each other’s methods... How does he get on with the rest of the team?
“They rub off on each other, I think. They learn to work together even though they are completely different. Gene’s the boss and they have all learnt from him, but Sam’s methods influence the rest of CID [Criminal Investigation Department], especially Chris. Sam can’t stand Ray but he likes Chris and he tries his best to teach him stuff but even Chris thinks he’s a little odd. He says ‘I don’t underestimate you boss, I just don’t understand you’ and it’s as simple as that. I think they probably all feel like that. Sam has the knowledge of how things are going to turn out and he knows about things like multi-tasking and taping interviews and they do it and they take it on board. His knowledge of the future is his only weapon and the only thing he can work with. And it’s quite hard for Gene to take on board because he just thinks Sam’s a nutter! But Sam learns from Gene too - a little humanity and using his gut instinct. It’s a perfect ‘buddy-buddy’ cop thing but with a really weird twist to it.”
Did you enjoy working with Philip? You have quite a lot of punch ups with him…
“I loved those funny fights and there’s always a stakeout or a chase or something, and I love those. In episode seven, Sam, Gene and Ray are doing a stakeout at the technical college, looking for the drug dealer, and when they need to give chase they can’t get out the car because the doors get stuck. That slapstick side of things just smacks of 1970s TV and I love that about it.”
You are known as a serious actor, with a great resumé including State of
“I enjoyed Men of the World. I do like doing comedy, I was in Spaced and I did a sketch thing with Steve Coogan once, and I’ve worked with Ricky Gervais.
I had worked with Philip a couple of times before on State of
How did you approach playing Sam? Did you know if he was in a coma, completely mad or were you playing it as if he really had gone back in time?
“I had to think along the lines of: if it happened to me, what would I do? Sam doesn’t know what has happened but Annie’s friend, Neil, tells him he’s in a coma and so he believes him but Neil is just winding him up. However, he hears noises, he hears his mum’s voice and doctor’s voices, machines beeping so he really believes that he’s asleep and he can’t wake up.
“But, if he has traveled back in time, he could be in a Back to the Future situation where his actions could have serious repercussions on the future. In episode one he is faced with a dilemma where he has the power to change things and he has to seriously think about what he does because it could affect whether his girlfriend in 2006 lives or dies.”
He has an interesting relationship with Annie…
“She likes him because he is weird and different and he helps her out and talks to her like a human being instead of slapping her arse when she walks past. You can kind of see why she’s attracted to that when this weird stranger walks into her life pretending to be from the future and she thinks ‘he’s a nutter but he’s actually really nice to me’. Sam flirts with her a little bit. He keeps putting his foot in it, I don’t think he’s trying to get off with her or anything like that because he’s still thinking about his girlfriend in 2006.
“At one point he meets his mum and she’s beautiful and younger than him and he quite fancies her and she fancies him. She flirts with him and he flirts with her. That’s got to mess with his head!”
Sam meets his dad later in the series. Do you think that you being a father yourself affected how you viewed that whole scenario?
“Yeah definitely, because I can think of how I feel about my son – it affects anything to do with kids that I ever do now. I just get an overwhelming feeling and realize it must have been the same for my dad with me and I realize how he must feel about his dad.
“To get the chance to meet your dad as a young man is a mad thing. Sam is really protective over his dad, he wants to think the best of him even though he left him when he was really young, and he refuses to believe he could be wrong about him. It was very strange calling Lee Ingleby ‘dad’ though. He’s about five years younger than me so it felt ridiculous!”
Did the costumes, sets and props bring back memories of the ’70s for you?
“I was born in 1970, so my personal memories of the ’70s are a bit vague. I do remember bits of it very well, 1977 for some reason – I remember a specific t-shirt that I wore, which had a Starsky & Hutch yellow transfer on the front. I remember the Sex Pistols too - I remember seeing punks. I remember Elvis Presley dying in 1977 really, really vividly. And there were some toys that I had that I remember really well. I had a Strika bike rather than a Chopper, it was green and I loved it very much.
“I loved The Six Million Dollar
“Music holds a lot of memories too. I remember walking into a school hall and hearing Elvis playing. I can see it all now – music does that, brings memories flooding back, music and smells. There was a smell from a passport cover the other day and it was literally BANG! It smelt exactly like a toy that I had as a kid, it was exactly the same.
“It was great to go back and rediscover that era. For the first month at least I was looking at all the magazines on set and I think I read every single one of them about twice. The pictures of footballers, the big Curly Wurlys, Party Sevens [both
“With the costumes I figured that if this is all in Sam’s head then he’s not going to want to look completely ridiculous in a clownish suit! Luckily because Sam’s from the future I didn’t have to deal with the big moustaches or long hair or anything like that! The suits were outrageously bad so I went for the leather jacket and the Cuban heels which were fantastic. Although it’s hard to chase criminals in Cuban heels, I have to say!”
Philip Glenister as Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt
What would you say Gene was like?
“I would say he was a maverick, the sheriff. In his head, he lives in a western and sees himself as the sheriff at high noon, the way he goes around policing, which is probably quite true to the way it was back then. It’s all black and white with Gene, there is no gray area with him. With that style of policing it was much more intuitive and not as scientific as it is nowadays. Back then they had to be more instinctive with their approach.”
He’s not scared of throwing a few punches...
“He’s dealing with crooks - he doesn’t go around punching members of the public! There is a very fine line between the criminal and the copper and I think he sometimes gets very close to crossing that line but he does always ensure he stays on the side of the law.”
Did you base him on anyone you knew?
“I saw him as a football [soccer] manager - there is definitely an element of Brian Clough [a former English soccer player and coach] in Gene. There is a very famous clip from the ’70s of Clough being interviewed and he was asked ‘what happens when somebody disagrees with you or has a different opinion?’ and he said: ‘I like to sit there, listen to what they have to say, then half an hour later they realize that I was right’. I thought that was so Gene. He is a cross between a ’70s football manager like Clough, and a current manager, someone with an arrogance, maybe Jose Mourinho [head coach of Chelsea soccer club].
“Gene dresses like a football manager - his big camel coat and slip on shoes - and his relationship with Sam is kind of like that of manager and star player - like Ferguson [head coach of Manchester United soccer club] and [David] Beckham - when there can be friction but there is also a lot of respect.”
Gene and Sam’s policing methods, although completely different, do seem to complement each other.
“Absolutely, there is respect on both sides - a grudging respect from Gene but he realizes that he sees a lot of Sam in himself. He sees Sam as both his prodigy but also his nemesis. They make a good team. Sam has the scientific capacity and Gene has the instinctive capacity and if you marry the two, you end up with the best detectives money can buy.
“I think that’s the key to their relationship. Meeting in the middle and combining the skills they have, when that works they get spectacular results.”
Did you enjoy all the ’70s clothes and cars?
“What was interesting was working out how old Gene was in 1973. He talks about the war and he would have done National Service [compulsory service in the military during peace time] and stuff like that. I loved the ’70s, growing up in that period of time with the music, cars, TV and all that cultural stuff. I was in London, in the suburbs, and we went on holidays to France which was so exciting. Going on the ferry and two weeks seemed like two years because it was so far away. I was very lucky because I grew up near a farm and we would build fantastic tree houses and go-carts. It seems like such an ancient thing now but it was cutting edge then - you used your hands to create. I must sound like a fuddy-duddy but it’s all computer games nowadays.”
Did you enjoy driving the Cortina?
“It was very difficult to handle without power steering, I was rather shocked by it. It was a rust bucket really so when it’s not your car you can throw it around a bit. It was great fun, quite a flash motor for the time, although I always wanted Tony Curtis’ Ferrari Dino, that was the car, or Roger Moore’s DB7 [from the classic ’70s TV series, The Persuaders].”
You filmed a lot of car chases, screeching around the corners – did you do a lot of the stunts?
“I did as much as I could. Peter, our stunt co-ordinator, was keen to let me do as much as possible but obviously for insurance purposes it didn’t allow for certain things. I was putting my foot down, slamming on the brakes and trying to hit certain marks which meant I had to do several rehearsals to get it right.
“But I’d hate to get back into my car on the weekends because I’d be driving with my missus and she’d say ‘you’re driving awfully fast dear, can you slow down - you can do it at work but this is Richmond!’”
Your father was a director and your brother, Robert, is an actor. Do you think that influenced you in wanting to be an actor?
“Not so much when I was younger, I wanted to be a milkman. One of my earliest memories is going up to my milkman and asking what time he finished and thinking that it was such a good job because you’d finish by lunchtime and so got the rest of the day off to play with your toys!”
BEHIND THE SCENES - How the ’70s were brought back to life
“I had an accident and when I woke up, I was here. Only here is 32 years in the past. Now, that either makes me a time-traveller, a lunatic or I’m lying in a hospital bed in 2005 and none of this is real.”
The initial idea for Life on Mars came from a writers weekend set up by the production company, Kudos, seven years ago, to come up with an idea for a big new series. Or, rather, Kudos sent Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharaoh to Blackpool for the weekend, armed with only a brown paper bag full of cash...
“There is still photo evidence from their brainstorming (or should that be drinking) session,” laughs producer Claire Parker. “They had a flip chart with the words ’70s Cop – Ford Granada’ scrawled on it.”
Writer and creator Matthew Graham explains: “None of us fancied littering the airwaves with yet more cop shows, and yet we knew that’s what people love watching. So, we came up with a police show that we would want to watch: a cop falls back in time and tries to solve crimes in the midst of The Sweeney.”
Three years ago, Parker, who was then the head of development for Kudos, together with Matthew Graham and Jane Featherstone, joint MD of Kudos, developed the idea for the series featuring a ’70s Cop’ which eventually turned into Life on Mars.
Featherstone explains: “When Matthew, Tony and Ashley originally came up with the idea, it was a little ahead of its time. But we knew we would resurrect it at some point in the future because it is such a brilliant idea for a TV drama.”
Parker continues: “We loved the premise: an action-packed police series set in 1973, but with a unique twist – our hero is a man from the present day who wakes up after a car accident with no idea why or how he has arrived in this alien world.
“The 1970s setting is perfect for fast car-chases, great music, classic clothes and juicy stories.
“But the show is also about the intense journey of a man thrown back into the recent past. Sam Tyler is like a fish out of water, in an alien world that has no relevance to his life in 2005.
“However, when it came to the storytelling, we needed to make sure it was designed to appeal to a contemporary audience – stories that are fast-paced, multi-layered and have strong moral or emotional dilemmas at the heart of them.
DramaLIFE ON MARS
“There is something very compelling about the possibility of going back in time and visiting your recent past – time travel is an ever popular subject in both TV and film.
“The twist in Life on Mars is that the audience is teased with the question of what has happened to Sam – has he gone back in time? Is he in a coma? Or is he mad? And most importantly: how can he get home?”
The ’70s was a time of change and no more so than in the police force as they introduced moves to improve media relations and ‘openness’ within the institution. It was also the start of a push to recruit and integrate female officers within the force, although the attitudes of most of their male colleagues and their criminal catching techniques were positively archaic.
Featherstone explains: “Sam believes that his knowledge of the future gives him a superiority and a more evolved sense of policing, but it puts him at odds with his ’70s colleagues straight from the off.
“He is repulsed by their attitudes to crime-solving; they are racist, sexist, conduct searches without warrants and think fitting someone up is OK as long as they deserve it.”
Parker concurs: “It initially seems obvious to Sam that his methods are far more sophisticated than his colleagues. But he quickly comes to realize that he is unable to rely on all the crutches of 21st-century technology, so is forced to fall back on his gut instincts.
“Without modern-day red tape, accountability and procedure, Sam starts to wonder whether he has just as much to learn from his 1970s colleagues as they do from him, even though they are arrogant, sexist, insensitive, brutal, lazy, boozy, impatient and corrupt - and that’s just DCI [Detective Chief Inspector] Gene Hunt!”
Life on Mars will remind viewers of life in the decade that taste forgot. But it is not a trip down Memory Lane to get nostalgic or reminisce about the good old days; it reflects life as it really was: an era of social and civil change. There was considerable industrial unrest and unemployment was on the increase (especially in the North West of England where the show is set) as the textile and mass manufacturing industries were reaching crisis point and the unions were becoming ever more vocal and militant.
Although 1973 was the year of Suzi Quatro, Ringos [a potato chip], the Raleigh Chopper [a popular kids bike], The Wombles and The Exorcist, it was also the year that British Prime Minister Edward Heath announced the three-day week, and measures to curb general speed limits to 50 mph and ending TV programming at 10.30pm were introduced in an effort to reduce fuel consumption after the Yom Kippur war in the Middle East. In the United States, the Vietnam war finally came to an end, only to give way to the scandal and intrigue of Watergate.
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“Our ethos for the series was not to fall into the trap of over-playing the nostalgic elements – we don’t get misty-eyed about what life was like back then,” continues Parker. “The series both draws on and challenges the idea of nostalgia. Were things really better in the past?
“We wanted the series to reflect the good and bad of the era and for the audience to experience everything through Sam’s eyes, as he himself is experiencing it. However, I’m sure it will trigger people’s memories of the time and enlighten those who are too young to remember Open University, Party Sevens, and the fact there were only three TV channels which actually closed down overnight!”
The show, in part, is influenced by the cool, action-packed, buddy, cop shows of the ’70s – The Professionals, Starsky & Hutch, The Sweeney – and great films of the period too, such as All the President’s Men and Get Carter.
“We looked at ’70s film and TV, from The Sweeney to Taxi Driver, for visual and period reference,” explains Parker.
Matthew Graham agrees: “I was very keen that Life on Mars wasn’t all about taking the piss out of ’70s fashion; I didn’t want it to look naff and corny. It had to trigger memories and be funny, but it also had to be cool.”
Featherstone explains: “When developing a series like this, it’s critical that, not only does your director share your vision, but can enhance it in ways you can only dream about. I had collaborated with Bharat on MI5 and Hustle and, to our mind, he was the best person to take what was Matthew’s vision and turn it into a reality.”
The casting of a new drama series is just as crucial as the script and the writer’s and director’s vision.
Graham explains: “In this show, more than any other I’ve done, the stories spring out of character. Sam and Gene are such rich creations to draw upon that you naturally think of stories that will pit them against each other – how they deal with women, trade unions, career criminals. Then it’s just a matter of molding the story to maximize these differences and prejudices and bring Gene and Sam to the same realization: that they must put aside their squabbles and work together to find the real culprit.
“Funnily enough I had always written Sam with John Simm in mind, although I never dreamed I’d get him. Gene was harder to picture, but when they sent me casting tapes for Phil Glenister I jumped right out of the armchair shouting ‘That’s him! That’s Gene Hunt!’ Phil can simmer like no other person on this Earth... And he’s got a right set of lungs on him!”
