Life On Mars: Second Season
We are so happy this series is back. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out, it's great.
John Simm returns as time-travelling detective, Sam Tyler, who, after a near fatal car crash in present day, wakes up dazed, confused and in 1973. Freaked out by his new and outdated surroundings, Sam tries to return to the present. Has he gone crazy, in a coma or travelled back in time? Winner of an International Emmy®, BAFTA and RTS Award, Life on Mars is the latest critically-acclaimed U.K. drama slated for a U.S. pilot, in this case by David E. Kelley for ABC. SPECIAL TWO-HOUR PREMIERE: Life on Mars, season two, premieres Tuesday, December 11, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
In season one, while pursuing a gangland killer, Sam confronted deeply repressed memories of his murderous father. He managed to free himself from the guilt and fears of his childhood, but somehow still remained trapped in 1973 with diminishing hopes that he’d return to his former life.
Season two sees Sam clearly established in the upper echelons of Manchester’s Police force but, it’s still the ‘70s, so he’s still at odds with his chain-smoking, bigoted, technologically-backward and corrupt boss, Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). With classic music from David Bowie, Santana, T Rex, ELO, Roxy Music and Thin Lizzy, a guest role by Hustle’s Marc Warren and an episode written by the creator of Torchwood, Chris Chibnall, the finale season promises a thrilling finish and, finally, the fans will learn the truth about Sam Tyler and how he came to be stuck in 1973.
Gene’s maverick methods of policing continue and his desire to rid Manchester of criminal scum is stronger than ever, now that his mentor, Superintendent Woolf (Kevin McNally, Pirates of the Caribbean), is back at the precinct. However, Sam is astonished to find that his own mentor and inspiration from present day, Chief Inspector Glenn Fletcher (Emmet Brown, Outlaws) has also joined the team – although he’s just a fresh-faced, new recruit in 1973, dealing with the extra pressure of the racist attitudes of his new colleagues. Marc Warren guest stars as Tony Crane - another ghost from Sam’s ‘future past’ – who’s a sleazy casino owner with a line in counterfeit cash. When Sam realizes the danger Crane’s girlfriend, Eve (Yasmin Bannerman), will face in the future, he tries to put him away in a style that’s more old-school than what he’d usually recommend.
As Sam continues to use his knowledge and the techniques of the future to solve crimes in the past, each case offers some key to the mystery of his life. And, as the series draws to a close, the messages and visions Sam habitually perceives start to link up, pointing in one direction. Perhaps the voices he hears aren’t those of doctors by his comatose form in modern day. Perhaps Sam’s journey has murkier origins than he imagined. Certainly, its destination will chill Sam to the core.
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