Life On Mars: The Complete First Series (U.K.)

A really good British tv series worth a watch.A detective from the 2000’s gets in a car accident and wakes up in 1973 and works as a detective during that time.He tries to figure out why he is there and how to get back to his own time.He gets to experience no computers and adapt to 70s work & life.I also recommend the tv series Ashes to Ashes it’s connected to this series.Don’t bother with the American series , the British series is better.

There aren't many TV series I'll watch more than once. And even fewer I'll watch 2-3 times. Then there are those I come back to frequently, and this one -- the original UK version of "Life on Mars" -- is among the very rare that I've watched a dozen times or more.I can't say exactly why the story struck me so, especially since there was a fair amount of 1970s British culture that I didn't get until I began looking it up. But there's enough familiar for even this Yank born in the 1960s to recognize and feel nostalgic about.Plus there's the metaphysical angle, and the uncertainty as to exactly what's happened to Sam Tyler, especially since some of the events in Tyler's version of 1973 can't be entirely explained away as a dream. In fact, the Internet boards still debate whether the occasional anachronisms in Tyler's Manchester are entirely TV production accidents or if some were put in there on purpose (One I keep remembering is how Sam's wristwatch is a fancy analog and LCD model -- a watch that absolutely could not exist in '73.) The producers have been cagey about it.Besides the show getting the period (almost) completely right, the actors are fantastic in their roles.Anyway, it's a terrific show, and after watching it a bunch of times via Netflix rentals, I decided to get the blu-ray sets, both of the eight show seasons of Life on Mars...and I've watched them twice through each already. (Now I know the sequel series "Ashes to Ashes" wasn't quite as well received, in large part because they did away with a lot of the ambiguity, but I liked it anyway; I really wish the Beeb would allow that one out on something other than region-locked DVDs...)

my damn computer just erased my last review and I hate typing. I just saw a review saying that blu ray wony paly in our region..WRONG.. Yes the DVD has region that is UK but BluRay does not. Maybe someday when there are Bluray recorders everywhere for $100 but unitl then no. Region codes were made SIMPLY for COPYRIGHT/PIRATING purposing. its a lot easer to control several smaller crowds than one large crowd. Bluray technology was made with higher recording protection so they didn't bother and being a more expensive process would have been unprofitable to make in regions. With that being said, you can relax and now that buying this Bluray will be a rewarding experience if you watched the USA version and likes it. you will LOVE this one, and though some of the stories are close they are not the same so its not like wathicng a remake although THIS is the original and USA managed to change the storyline to fit the more braindead USA crowd..sorry, im an American and American tv is tiring..always trying to teach new PC or telling a story so a retard can understand. Brits make better shows, if they had the budget of the Hollywood jeews there would be a lot better movies out there. John Simm actually plays the role rather than a softy joke that the USA actor,but cant cut the actor, gotta play by the hooknosed masters. cant wait to order season 2 after I get back form vacation. So sad they only made 2 seasons of this. My favorite cop show of all time

Life on Mars is a cop show set in 1973 with a big twist - the lead character, Sam Tyler, is from 2006. He is everything a modern cop should be - professional, methodical, meticulous, and politically correct. When his girlfriend (a fellow police officer) urges him to follow a hunch, he scoffs.Then, in a speeding turn of events, his girlfriend is kidnapped and he is hit by a car. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a time so removed from his own, he might as well be on Mars. The embodiment of this world of prehistoric policing is his new boss, DCI Gene Hunt.The fascinating chemistry between Tyler and Hunt is what makes the show. Although the show initially condemns Hunt's brute force technique, Hunt is never painted as a villain. Instead, he and Tyler work out a balance, and make an excellent team as they start solving crimes using Hunt's instinct and Tyler's careful evidence-gathering.Another gem of the show is Annie Cartwright, a long-suffering but good-natured Women's Division police constable. She provides Tyler with a sympathetic ear and level headed advice, and their easy flirting is fun to watch and never feels forced.The first episode is perhaps a little too packed, as it sets the premise, introduces Tyler to his new world, and has him work a case that may be connected to his girlfriend's kidnapping 33 years in the future. The second episode eases the pace, though, and the show falls into it's satisfying groove.Every episode has has laugh-out-loud moments and great one-liners, moments of suspense as the characters tackle a case, and moments of creepy surrealism as Sam wonders what reality really is. Every episode also features some rollicking good music! I can't recommend this series highly enough.

This is one of the best shows there is! Love the characters and the actors are superb. Having grown up in the 70’s I can attest to the authenticity of the time period depicted. I’m thrilled to own this this series and season two is just as good. Compared to the British version the US version stinks.

Great to see this tremendous retro 70s police series again. This was the early DCI cop era, where almost anything goes to collar the perpetrators! Philip Glenister excels triumphantly in his Guv role, rarely holding back with his fists!!If you liked the Sweeney, you will love this,if you haven't seen it already, or just to relive a gritty/slightly supernatural/action saga. Can't reccomend it highly enough,and there's more, with the following Ashes to Ashes sequel.

With a title borrowed from David Bowie and the presence of John Simm (last seen in the absorbing 'State Of Play'), this wonderfully witty and inventive drama series had me hooked from the moment I saw the advert.The chemistry between Simm's DI Sam Tyler and Philip Glenister's scene-stealing role as DCI Gene 'The Gene Genie' Hunt (second Bowie reference) is one of the main crux of this show. Their difficult relationship straddles resentment, absolute loathing and complete reliance, resulting in hilarity (such as Glenister's wonderful one-liners) or nail-bitting drama (like Tyler and Hunt's clashes of character).By blending what could have been just another gritty crime drama with the element of sci-fi and fantasy, the shows creators have made, with the help of a script that's full of wit, warmth and intelligence, a fantastically engaging series. If you missed it when it first aired then I reccommend that you miss out no longer; 'Life On Mars' is proof, along with 'Dr Who', 'Hussle' and 'Cassanova', that the BBC can still make great television when it wants to.It's also a great DVD package (spanning 4 discs) that shows the producers really care about their series; the two part Making Of documentary (on discs 1 and 2) is insightful and interesting and at about 45mins each, it's not a 15 minute collection of clips and actors telling you who their character is like you don't know. The documentaries about music (disc 3) and production (disc 4) are equally as intriging. I've not experienced the audio commentaries yet but with such a great cast I'm sure they'll be entertaining. Even the imaculately produced packaging shows the care that has gone into this boxed set. Just do yourself a favour and buy it now... my little deputy dawgs.

A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself apparently in 1973. Is he mad, in a coma, or has he travelled back in time? From the first scene you are captured, dragged along on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, left wondering what IS going on and then gradually the peices drop into tantalising place, just for you to be thrown another mysterious turn of events. Stay with the episodes for you will enjoy great music from the 70s, car chases in souped up Ford Cortinas, great acting and quite brilliant plot twists and turns that leave you wanting to watch the whole series in one night. You will be swept off your feet and wanting more of the same.Each character on the team is fascinating and worth knowing more about. It is so fun and almost decadent.Life on Mars follows Sam Tyler as he tried to get home to the 21st century after waking up in 1973 when he is hit by a car. He is a police officer in Manchester who finds himself working with Gene Hunt, the complete opposite of the modern police man that Sam tries to be. Initially, he struggles with the situation and there are some great comedy moments as Sam and Gene get their wires crossed and disagree about the right course of action.The star of the show, for me, is Gene Hunt, a drinking, smoking, non-PC detective andl we love him for it! This will take you back to 1973, fast cars, places, great music, loveable characters, retro costumes, all the details are perfectly tuned and the plot is great, it isn't the basic time travel plot neither the classic 'cop show';simply a fusion of the two and nobody ever did it better!All he has to do is bide his time until he works out how to get home...This show is sheer brilliance. The seventies are beautifully shown with all their faults and merits. Spread throughout with an absolutely fantastic selection of music from these years, the perfect background for the Eternal Conflict between the meticulous "Modern man" Sam Tyler and his brute superior officer DCI Gene Hunt (or simply "Guv"). FANTASTIC! Buy the follow on series two and also the follow on series Ashes to Ashes which carries the stories through to a fantastic and thought provoking ending. You will not guess until the last minutes! Worth the journey. I took weeks watching the whole 2 series of Life On Mars and just had to watch the whole 3 series of Ashes to Ashes. Nothing will ever be as good as this again, sadly.The best thing I've seen in years: excellent concept, excellent execution and wonderful heart. The level of detail is also remarkable and it has a fantastic sense of style. Nobody couldn't like this!Watch the pilot episode or a trailer and then get hooked This is, I promise,The Best TV series ever made!Paul Davies FRTCA

As a retired DCI myself, having joined the Police in the early 70's, I have to say this series really does touch a nerve. Full of sexism, racism, excess drinking, macho characters, this is not that far off exactly "how it was". Of course there is some licence, but the core is on the money. Glenister portrays the basically sound, well meaning but firey DCI Hunt to perfection. Good supporting cast too. The stories are not far from reality, the scenes are well researched and the whole series is a cameo of Manchester/NW England in the late 60's & early 70's. Scruffy, unkempt streets and factories, a good deal of deference to the Police by most, even the baddies. Plenty of action. Storyline is not that straightforward unless you have seen the series from episode one. Highly recommended, enjoyable, but very non-PC, watching.

....because it works on so many levels at once there is something for everyone. Fantasy? Time travel? Cop show? Drama? It is none of these and all of these, and then some - all at once. The writers literally took years to obtain the formula and got it spectacularly right. Dosn't work on one level? Look at it another way, just as Sam Tyler has to continually redraw his conception of where he is and how he got there.A multitude of good to great acting skills and strong storylines are present throughout, and whatever others may think of individual aspects or even the entire piece, one thing that is evident is the charismatic performance of John Simm as Sam Tyler, lost from home in the neanderthal subcontinent that was the Greater Manchester Police in 1973. Simm is pretty much in every scene throughout both series, his character displaying every and all emotions at any given moment in a splendid performance.Simm is ably supported by everyone else, most notably Philip Glenister at his best as the incomparable Gene Hunt, his sidekicks Ray and Chris, plus of course the love element in "plonk" WPC Annie Cartwright whom Tyler could become close to.... Plus the guest actors bring characters to full life as we have come to expct. This is produced by the same company that brough us "Spooks" and Hustle", so perhaps we should not be surprised. I have high hopes for "Ashes To Ashes" and how that pans out if Gene Hunt finally rides off into the sunset...?