Life on Mars Analysis - Series One, Episode One

First episodes are always important. They help set the scene, establish the characters, give the audience an idea of what to expect over the coming weeks. Many will miss it, but come back to it later to see how it all began. With Life on Mars, as with many other shows, the first episode had to prove that this was going to be something special, something a little bit different from the rest.

Not that you’d guess that, if you watched the first ten minutes.

When we are introduced to Sam Tyler, his world is pretty much the same as the world of a ton of other cop shows these days: a fast edited and very quickly resolved chase scene, an interview with the subject that goes nowhere, discussion of forensics, all done to strict procedure, with Sam being the embodiment of all of it. His gut feeling is telling him that suspect Colin Raimes is either behind the attacks or knows something, but he refuses to do anything about it, or even let his DI (and girlfriend) Maya investigate him, due to procedure.

He comes across as so flat and one dimensional in these scenes – even when his girlfriend has clearly been kidnapped – that you’re left wondering if this series can hold your interest with such a bland main character. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that in any other cop show, Sam Tyler would definitely not be the main character. If the first ten minutes are anything to go by, then Sam Tyler is arguably closer to being the general dick in charge, the guy who’s not so much antagonistic to the usual main characters who aren’t afraid to occasionally bend the rules so much as the guy who always slows things down and makes things frustratingly difficult for our heros because it’s “against procedure”. The guy who would never be considered interesting enough to be given any kind of depth in favour of the real main character.

However, this changes in Sam Tyler’s case about ten minutes in, in two ways. The first is when we see the first sign of emotion from him, that he actually gives a shit about anything and not just another soulless boss in a suit: when he’s driving his car and crying about Maya. Actually, he does more than just cry: he has a fucking breakdown over it. He’s so used to not letting anything get to him at all that it takes the disappearance of his girlfriend to break down that wall, and boy, does that wall break down completely. In this moment, a character who would normally be the least interesting in the audience’s eyes in most cop shows is suddenly humanised and earns our sympathy, a character we can suddenly sympathise and empathise with. Credit should be given to Simm for not trying to show off and show a whole range of emotion from Sam: instead, he plays the role as it should be played in that first ten minutes - ultimately, boring. Until that amazing moment of seeing what he can really do as an actor and convincingly show us a mental breakdown.

Which makes the second (and rather less subtle) thing that makes Sam Tyler interesting all the more important: suddenly, out of nowhere, he’s hit by a speeding car.

I’ve watched this first episode too many times to remember, and to this day, I still absolutely love how the writers were willing to risk losing viewers by having a boring first ten minutes that, on reflection, feel completely necessary as buildup to that all important moment. Now I know what was coming from when I heard about the show months before, but honestly, if I hadn’t known a thing about what I was watching at the time, I probably would’ve switched over during those ten minutes. Not afterwards, though. Because that’s when the whole show opens up in a big way.

When Sam wakes up, in 1973, with David Bowie singing and everything slowed right down, it truly is a magical moment. Suddenly, Sam has gone from a world of bright colours and blandness to a world of muddier, browner colours, a world that looks, sounds and feels real but feels completely alien to Sam. He has no clue what the hell’s happening to him, and this is truly sold by Simm’s performance, as we follow his journey of Sam every step of the way. Even the building he works at looks completely different, even though, on the outside, it’s exactly the same as the one we saw in 2006. Just a really effective use of different angles used and a slight change in tone really make a great impression that this isn’t the building that Sam knows.

And on the inside, we’re proven right: far from the ordered world we saw Sam come from, we are treated to mess and clutter, terrible lighting, and smoke coming from everywhere, with not a computer in sight (something that Sam not only picks up on but leads to a nice moment of misunderstanding from his new co-workers). And the office matches the office staff perfectly, as we’re introduced to DC Chris Skelton, someone who seems keen to see a new face around, and DS Ray Carling, who’s definitely not so keen. We’re not given much on these characters in this first episode, but both feel lively, three dimensional, men who are believeably of their time and are completely unprofessional when it comes to their work.

But neither really matches the brilliance of Sam’s new DCI: Gene Hunt, who beats up Sam the moment he’s woken up by him. From the first moment, Philip Glenister owns this role – a behemoth of a man who spends all the time chain smoking and drinking but most of all, he’s committed to his job – of arresting bad guys by any means necessary. In this aspect, him and Tyler clash almost instantly, and we come to another hugely important aspect of Life on Mars: Sam and Gene’s relationship. How reluctantly they get on with each other, how the methods of one conflict completely with another, and how both are equally challenged by the partnership. It’s not always a matter of “Sam is always right because he’s from 2006”: Gene absolutely believes what he’s doing is completely and morally right - after all, what good is “the law” if it actually stops you from protecting innocent citizens? Through a combination of great writing, acting and directing, it’s a relationship that is far from clichéd as it could’ve been and instead feels completely real.

And of course, it’s not just Gene who seems completely real to Sam: it’s the whole world, something that, logically, Sam cannot accept. (Kudos must be given to, erm, Kudos Productions for making 1973 come alive as it does, not just with the hair styles and the attitudes but also the very look, one that is gritty and grimy, feeling very reminiscent of 70s cop shows like the Sweeney, something that the creators have said was their intention.) It’s not just the obvious sign that earlier that day he distinctly remembers being hit by a car in 2006 and waking up in 1973 – there’s also the messages from the tv and distinct sounds that Sam hears that clearly suggest he is in a coma in 2006. This psychological aspect is another driving force of what makes Life on Mars work: it’s less the ‘mystery’ of how Sam got to 1973 that’s interesting, it’s the fact that Sam is in a world that appears to be completely real and yet he knows it cannot be. By the end of the episode, he is desperate to get back to 2006, by any means necessary, but Annie, the one person he has talked to about his situation, stops him to suggest that maybe there’s a reason he’s in 1973. The most fascinating aspect of that moment is that it’s the first moment of Sam wondering why the world feels so real around him if it is his mind, all because of some sand on Annie’s hand. That level of detail, of how even the tiny things matter, even when they happen off screen (such as Annie tripping over the fire bucket) just gives the show a level of depth that you just don’t see in most shows.

As far as first episodes go, we are given a lot, theme wise, all of which considerably complex, psychologically, morally and socially speaking. It’s also hard to fault in many other areas, in terms of writing, acting and directing. Not to mention that, with its excellent use of humour, jumping over desks in slow motion and car chases, a huge amount of fun. 

Thank god the last 50 minutes of the show were nothing like the first ten!