Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 9 January 2006 and 10 April 2007. It follows Sam Tyler (John Simm), a Manchester police officer in 2006 who wakes up after a car accident to discover that he has time-travelled to 1973, where he works the same job in the same location under the command of Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) while attempting to solve the mystery of what has happened to him.
Life on Mars (named after David Bowie's song of the same name) and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes (also named after a David Bowie song), received acclaim for blending elements of mystery, police procedurals, supernatural drama, science fiction, and historical drama. It won two International Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series. An American adaptation was produced by ABC and ran for one season from October 2008 to April 2009, a Spanish adaptation was broadcast from April to June 2009, a Russian adaptation was broadcast in November 2012, a Czech adaptation was broadcast from January to March 2017, a South Korean adaptation began broadcasting in June 2018, and a Chinese adaptation was announced in 2019.
Plot Life on Mars follows Sam Tyler, a policeman in service with the Greater Manchester Police (GMP). After being hit by a car in 2006, Sam mysteriously awakens in 1973; he finds himself working for the predecessor of the GMP, the Manchester and Salford Police, at the same location as in 2006. Early on in the series, it becomes apparent to Sam that he has awakened as a Detective Inspector, one rank lower than his 2006 rank of Detective Chief Inspector. As part of the Criminal Investigation Department, Sam finds himself working under the command of DCI Gene Hunt. The plot is based on the ambiguity of Sam's predicament as neither the audience nor the character can be sure whether he has died, fallen into a coma, or legitimately travelled in time.Each episode begins with a monologue from Tyler reflecting this uncertainty. This is reproduced on the
Production The programme was conceived in 1998, when screenwriters Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah were sent on a break to Blackpool by Kudos to think of show ideas. Originally titled Ford Granada after the 1970s car, the series was rejected by the BBC. In response, Graham stated "Back then, broadcasters just weren't comfortable with something like that, something that wasn't set in the real world and that had a fantasy element to it." According to Graham, the initial idea was for a humorous, pre-watershed programme that overtly mocked the styles and attitudes of the 1970s, with the comic actor Neil Morrissey envisaged as the central character.
Later, Channel 4 drama executive John Yorke substantially redeveloped the original script, focusing on a double act between Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt. Senior management eventually decided not to pursue the idea, with Graham telling the Radio Times that the reaction to the idea was "it's going to be silly". The series eventually attracted the attention of BBC Wales's Julie Gardner, who persuaded BBC Head of Drama Jane Tranter to commission the programme from BBC Wales for BBC One. John Yorke left Channel 4 to rejoin the BBC and, together with Julie Gardner, acted as joint commissioning editor on the show for its entire run.
The programme's central character Sam Tyler was originally to have been named Sam Williams, but Kudos felt this not to be striking enough and requested Graham devise an alternative surname. Graham asked his young daughter for her opinion and she suggested Tyler for the character's surname. He later discovered that his daughter had named the character after the Doctor Who character Rose Tyler. Gene Hunt's surname came from actor Gareth Hunt. The initial geographical setting was to be London, which was changed to Leeds and finally to Manchester, as part of a BBC initiative to make more programmes in the city. The name Sam Williams was subsequently used as a plot point in the second season.
The second season had a distinctive style of introduction on BBC One: after a brief collage of momentary images, such as several test cards and comedy writer and broadcaster Barry Took, a mock-up version of BBC1's 1970s blue-on-black rotating globe ident was used, although the design had to be modified to fit widescreen sets. This was accompanied by a bass-voiced continuity announcer in the style of that era. Viewers in Wales saw an original 'BBC Cymru Wales' mechanical globe with introductions provided by former BBC Wales announcers. Trailers for the show also used the 1970s style, including the rhombus-style BBC logo.
On 9 October 2006, it was confirmed that the second season of Life on Mars would be the last. Matthew Graham stated: "We decided that Sam's journey should have a finite life span and a clear-cut ending and we feel that we have now reached that point after two series". Graham's claim that two endings had been filmed was later revealed to be a ruse.
Music The programme's soundtrack features mainly early 1970s songs as well as an original score of the theme music as part of the title sequence composed by Edmund Butt. The show's title is in reference to the David Bowie song "Life on Mars?", which plays on an iPod in Sam's car while he is run over, and on an 8-track tape in a Rover P6 when he awakes in 1973; it is used again at the climax of the final episode, and fleeting moments of the song are periodically used throughout the third season of the programme's sequel, Ashes to Ashes, to allude to Sam Tyler's fate.
Matthew Graham stated that initially there were some concerns over whether the production team would be able to license the song, which, had they been denied, would have necessitated retitling the series.Life on Mars: The Complete Series One — DVD commentary Another Bowie song, "Space Oddity", is used in BBC trailers advertising the series. In several episodes, Gene Hunt adopts the name "Gene Genie", in reference to yet another Bowie song, "The Jean Genie", used in the fourth episode. Another Bowie track, "Changes", is played over the closing credits of the second series finale.
The show's creators were initially refused permission to use "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings but, according to Graham in the Radio Times, "We sent the episode directly to Paul McCartney. Almost immediately, his assistant phoned back and said, 'Paul loves it. You can go ahead and use it'".
A soundtrack CD was released in 2007.
Music used
Series Episode Band Song 1 1 Blue Öyster Cult "Stairway to the Stars"David Bowie "Life on Mars"Deep Purple "Fireball" "Rat Bat Blue"Lou Reed "I'm So Free"The Move "Feel Too Good"Sweet "Little Willy"The Who "Baba O'Riley"Cream "White Room"Uriah Heep "Easy Livin'""Look at Yourself" 2 Hawkwind "You Shouldn't Do That"Lee "Scratch" Perry and The Upsetters "Jungle Lion"Paul McCartney and Wings "Live and Let Die"Deep Purple "No One Came" "Lazy"Pink Floyd "One of These Days"Status Quo "Junior's Wailing"Thin Lizzy "Saga of the Ageing Orphan" 3 Free "Wishing Well"Sweet "The Ballroom Blitz"Uriah Heep "Gypsy" 4 Atomic Rooster "Head in the Sky"David Bowie "The Jean Genie"Frankie Miller "I Can't Change It"Jethro Tull "Cross-Eyed Mary"Roger Whittaker "I Don't Believe in If Anymore"Hawkwind "Silver Machine"Slade "Gudbuy T' Jane"Sweet "Block Buster!"Hawkwind "Brainstorm"The Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" 5 Cream "White Room"Nina Simone "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"Roxy Music "Mother of Pearl" "Would You Believe?"T. Rex "Jeepster"Thin Lizzy "Call the Police" "The Rocker" 6 Louis Armstrong "What a Wonderful World" 7 Britney Spears "Toxic"Nina Simone "Sinner Man"Peters and Lee "Welcome Home"Pulp "Disco 2000" 8 Atomic Rooster "Save Me"Atomic Rooster "Devil's Answer"Free "Little Bit of Love"John Kongos "Tokoloshe Man"David Bowie "Life on Mars?"Lindisfarne "Meet Me on the Corner"Wizzard "See My Baby Jive" 2 1 David Bowie "Starman"Roxy Music "Street Life"The Three Degrees "Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon" (live version) "Year of Decision" (live version) 2 Elton John "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"Mungo Jerry "In the Summertime"The Hollies "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" 3 Barclay James Harvest "When the City Sleeps"David Cassidy "How Can I Be Sure"Sweet "Hell Raiser" 4 David Bowie "Aladdin Sane"The Strawbs "Lay Down"Used on the BBC broadcast, but not on the DVD release.Gilbert O'Sullivan "Alone Again (Naturally)"Roxy Music "Just Like You"Santana "Samba Pa Ti"Slade "Coz I Luv You"T. Rex "Rock On"The Moody Blues "The Story in Your Eyes" 5 Roxy Music "Just Like You"Electric Light Orchestra "10538 Overture"Hawkwind "You Shouldn't Do That" 6 Ananda Shankar "Snow Flower"Audience "I Had a Dream"Cozy Powell "Dance with the Devil"Elton John "Rocket Man"Shocking Blue "Hot sand"Thin Lizzy "Whiskey in the Jar"Uriah Heep "Traveller in Time" 7 Faces "Cindy Incidentally"Sweet "Done Me Wrong All Right"Mott the Hoople "One of the Boys"Sweet "Rock & Roll Disgrace" 8 Atomic Rooster "Decision/Indecision"David Bowie "Changes" "Life on Mars?"Elton John "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"Israel Kamakawiwoʻole "Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"Mott the Hoople "One of the Boys"Tom Waits "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You"
Episodes
Eight one-hour episodes of Life on Mars were broadcast weekly on Monday nights at 9:00 pm by the BBC. The series episodes were mostly written by its creators Jordan, Graham and , later joined by Chris Chibnall as the fourth writer for the first series. For the second series, Graham, and Chibnall returned to write episodes, joined by Julie Rutterford, Guy Jenkin and Mark Greig.
The second series was broadcast weekly at the same time as the first but on Tuesdays. According to Jane Featherstone, the show's executive producer, speaking in February 2006, a film version of the show was also a possibility: "Life on Mars was a very high concept idea and there was no doubt it would work on the big screen".
Just nine months after its debut, the repeat rights for Life on Mars were purchased by (now-defunct) UK pay TV channel Bravo, where it was the centrepiece for a new drama strand.
International The original version also was broadcast in Canada from September 2006 to April 2007 on BBC Canada, and from 8 January 2008 to 23 April 2008 on Télé-Québec in French and Showcase in English.
In New Zealand the original series was broadcast on TV One from February 2007, being described as "sensationally well-made" by an NZ website. Series two was broadcast from June 2008, with the final screening on 4 August 2008.
In Australia the original British version was broadcast on ABC1 from 20 May 2007, with the second following during February 2008. The US version broadcast on 5 February 2009 on Network Ten.
In the Republic of Ireland RTÉ Two broadcast the series from June 2007 in a late evening slot, following RTÉ News on Two.
The first series of the original Life on Mars was broadcast in the United States on BBC America from July 2006 to August 2007 and was broadcast in 2010 on some public television stations, with the second series being broadcast from December 2007 to January 2008. Acorn Media released both series on DVD in 2008.
The show has also been transmitted in Croatia (Croatian Radiotelevision), Sweden (a cut version on SVT 2), Netherlands (Nederland 3), in Germany (Kabel 1), Greece (Skai TV), Spain (Antena.neox), Israel (Hot), Italy (Rai Due), Japan, Serbia (B92), Norway (NRK) and Estonia (ERR). Sub began broadcasting Life on Mars in Finland in April 2008, and ATV World started broadcasting the show in Hong Kong on 13 July 2008,Kjell Häglund. "Brittiska saxar lurar svensk tv-publik", Dagens Nyheter 26 August 2008, received 28 August 2008. France (13ème Rue). In Hungary (Duna TV) Life on Mars started in March 2011.
French-German broadcaster Arte also aired the series in 2023.
Characters