If I was to give you one piece of advice regarding Ashes to Ashes it would be this; try to avoid the inevitable and don't compare it too much to Life on Mars. Easier said than done I know but I guarantee you the more you view it as a series in it's own right, as opposed to a third Life on Mars, the more you'll enjoy it. Yes the basic premise is the same but there are enough differences here to make this a successful and entertaining show in it's own right.
Ashes to Ashes takes our favorite non-PC DCI and his team-mates from the familiar nostalgia of 70s Manchester and propels him into the 80s in London. His new side-kick is Alex Drake, a modern day Police Physcologist who, as a result of being shot in the head during a hostage situation, finds herself back in 1981, the year in which her parents were killed.
So far so familiar. However what makes this series very different is the way in which Alex, unlike Sam Tyler in LoM, believes she understands whats going on because she has studied Sam's notes. This gives her a certain arrogance and self-assurance that may annoy some but which I found amusing.Keeley Hawses is perfect for the role giving just the right amount confidence with a little vulnerability thrown. Her angst at wanting to return to her daughter is palpable.
The Gene Hunt she meets is different too. As always Philip Glenister is on top form n as the Gene Genie but this time he has new dimensions to him. He's more subdued now and perhaps even a little vulnerable, having been through divorce, the loss of a colleague and transferal to a new city and living in a new era where is methods of policing are fast going out of fashion.But the old Gene is still there too and Phil still gets the pick of the one-liners.
We also get to see a more sensitive side to Gene in his relationship with Alex. The chemistry between the two is perfectly acted and palpable as they grow closer through the series.Phil and Keeley really gel together well and are perfectly matched.
Ray and Chris are as lovable as ever and Montserrat Lomabard, as new team member WPC 'Shaz' Granger is doing a great job and really fits in well with 'our boys'.
The 80s are very well represented between the choice of songs played throughout to the cars, clothes, hairstyles and even the inclusion the Royal Wedding. It'a all very authentic looking and really does take you back in time.
People are bound to complain about missing Sam Tyler/ John Simm and about Gene's new softer side and that Keeley isn't right etc but again, fan of LoM though I am, I suggest you try to view this program without preconceptions, with an open mind and remembering that nowhere did it ever say that this was simply a third Life on Mars. Rathers it's an extension of the series. The same premise but with new twists and turns. Characters have changed, new ones have been added, the era and social realities are different. But it's better for all that and is more interesting to watch than if were merely the same thing over again.
Ashes to Ashes takes our favorite non-PC DCI and his team-mates from the familiar nostalgia of 70s Manchester and propels him into the 80s in London. His new side-kick is Alex Drake, a modern day Police Physcologist who, as a result of being shot in the head during a hostage situation, finds herself back in 1981, the year in which her parents were killed.
So far so familiar. However what makes this series very different is the way in which Alex, unlike Sam Tyler in LoM, believes she understands whats going on because she has studied Sam's notes. This gives her a certain arrogance and self-assurance that may annoy some but which I found amusing.Keeley Hawses is perfect for the role giving just the right amount confidence with a little vulnerability thrown. Her angst at wanting to return to her daughter is palpable.
The Gene Hunt she meets is different too. As always Philip Glenister is on top form n as the Gene Genie but this time he has new dimensions to him. He's more subdued now and perhaps even a little vulnerable, having been through divorce, the loss of a colleague and transferal to a new city and living in a new era where is methods of policing are fast going out of fashion.But the old Gene is still there too and Phil still gets the pick of the one-liners.
We also get to see a more sensitive side to Gene in his relationship with Alex. The chemistry between the two is perfectly acted and palpable as they grow closer through the series.Phil and Keeley really gel together well and are perfectly matched.
Ray and Chris are as lovable as ever and Montserrat Lomabard, as new team member WPC 'Shaz' Granger is doing a great job and really fits in well with 'our boys'.
The 80s are very well represented between the choice of songs played throughout to the cars, clothes, hairstyles and even the inclusion the Royal Wedding. It'a all very authentic looking and really does take you back in time.
People are bound to complain about missing Sam Tyler/ John Simm and about Gene's new softer side and that Keeley isn't right etc but again, fan of LoM though I am, I suggest you try to view this program without preconceptions, with an open mind and remembering that nowhere did it ever say that this was simply a third Life on Mars. Rathers it's an extension of the series. The same premise but with new twists and turns. Characters have changed, new ones have been added, the era and social realities are different. But it's better for all that and is more interesting to watch than if were merely the same thing over again.