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"Ashes to Ashes" (2008) More at IMDb Pro »
16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
more fun than life on mars, 2 March 2008
Author: wtf322 from Canada
The tone is a little more ironic and colourful than Life on Mars, which might upset a few of the predecessor's fans. But those few will always be upset, and this show is incredibly worth it.
Alex, because she knows that she's most likely in a coma (having had Sam's tapes) is herself taking the whole scenario a little less seriously - and so should we. This show is brilliant in the way that it has fun with itself. In the first episode, there is one shot of Ray, Gene and Chris on a speedboat to the sound of No More Heroes, by the Stranglers. Ray has a close up where he is sort of half smiling, and the whole thing is so unapologetically 80's, with the right sense of self awareness. The opening credits, too, let you know that you should be having fun with this show.
As long as you're not looking for the same tone and style as Life on Mars (remember, this is a show about being in an 80s cop show, not a show about being in a 70's cop show), this is a brilliant show.
17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
A worthy successor to "Life on Mars," with a lighter touch..., 18 February 2008
Author: DVD_Connoisseur from England
"Ashes to Ashes" is great entertainment. A lighter, more colourful series than its predecessor, "Ashes" captures perfectly the essence of the early '80s.
The first episode begins on a sombre note but it's only a matter of time 'til the fun kicks in. Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt makes a very welcome return, this time with a bright red Audi Quattro. Car fans will be in seventh heaven watching this series! Keeley Hawes (known to many as the voice of Lara Croft) is perfect in the role of DI Alex Drake. Aware of Sam Tyler's experiences, Drake is a more knowing character and the script is lighter and full of more comic potential. Despite this, it still retains the power to hit hard messages home and there's gritty realism in some scenes.
9 out of 10. This is what you pay the licence fee for.
13 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
perfect introduction to a totally different series, 7 February 2008
Author: allmappedout from Nr London, England
I find it amazing how Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah have managed to pull off this series. After so much scrutiny from the public before it's release, it was sure to have cringworthy moments and scenes that cloned Life on Mars. But instead they adapt characteristics and settings to that of the early 80's (which after all is why we watch the show), with great ease and you really do get the idea that time has carried on in the years between the two series, rather than it just being a clone of the previous.
The main differences are of course in the settings, the town and decade, but also in the character progression of Gene, Ray and Chris and the introduction of Alex Drake, the tormented but very different and witty, sophisticated main character. Keeley Hawes creates a sarcastic reaction to Alex's new surroundings which is almost a refreshing change from the intense nature of Sam Tyler. Once again, Phillip Glenister begins the series with a bang: "Tonight, my friend, your diary entry will read, 'Took a prozzie hostage and was shot by three armed bast***s." Welcome back everyone.
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Same old premise.....brand new story and all the better for it, 19 March 2008
Author: Jenny from Ireland
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
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.
5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
certainly not Ashes To Ashes with this series, 30 March 2008
Author: (tyranid_slayer) from United Kingdom
I was a bit of a newcomer to Life On Mars. I only joined in with the Life on Mars fad halfway through and by the time i finished catching up the spin-off series appeared. But lets face it, it was to be expected.
Ashes To Ashes picks up where Life On Mars left off but this time Sam Tyler is replaced with Alex Drake (Played by the stunning Keeley Hawes) who finds herself shot in the head and in 1981.
Que drumroll for the ALMIGHTY! DCI Gene Hunt. It's the only reason i kept tuning in for the first couple of episodes because of Phillip Glenisters awesome character and his trademark wit.
The show is great but it took me about 3 episodes in to get really into it while some people were hooked on the first episode i lingered in limbo. But have patience with it.
The fact that John Simms male character from Life on Mars has been replaced by an incredibly good looking female brings up plenty of new fresh ideas and story lines. This added a breath of fresh air because it mainly brought up new problems for Gene Hunt being a Mans Man.
The writing and character development was well executed and Gene Hunts comic wit was perfectly written. And Ashes to Ashes knew were to draw the line between comedy and drama. It kept it funny but also very serious.
all round this series is great and i look forward to the next series......even if i have to wait to next year for it.
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Certainly flawed, but overall quite interesting, and surprisingly post-modern, 3 April 2008
Author: Graham Greene from United Kingdom
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
It is probably wrong to compare Ashes to Ashes to the previous Life on Mars, despite the fact that both programmes come from the same creative team and exist in the same thematic universe. Still, Life on Mars was such a benchmark and such a surprisingly rewarding piece of work that such comparisons are really hard to resist. With Life on Mars we had an intelligent piece of television that offered a great story, subtle character interaction and a genuine imagination; blending elements of science-fiction with psychological character analysis, as well as juxtaposing ideas of archaic, twentieth century police procedures with the more high-tech but sterile policing of today. Ashes to Ashes is somewhat similar in the respect that the idea of self-analysis and an attempt to correct the future by way of the past is central to the development of the main character, but somehow it lacks the dynamics or sense of overall purpose that really made Life on Mars such a valid and exciting piece of work.
At its most extreme, you could argue that the series here is nothing more than a shameless cash-in; with the producers and writers copying the format of Life on Mars completely and giving us more of Gene Hunt and his particular blend of politically-incorrect, heart-on-sleeve policing against an environment of warm nostalgia. However, even here, the use of the early 1980's as the principal time-frame already shows the character of Hunt to be something of a woeful anachronism; as out of time as the stranded heroine Alex Drake against a backdrop of feminism, class war, immigration, privatisation and a gradual acceptance of homosexuality. Also, the potentially interesting political climate, with the shadow of the Falkland's, tyranny of the Tories, confrontation between races, terrorist attacks and the royal wedding are all reduced to minor details intended to flesh out the creation of a world that is continually undermined by shoddy writing, haphazard direction an attempt to condense the more iconic aspects of 80's culture into a sort of microcosm that feels at odds with a decade supposedly in its infancy. Or is it? The thematic concerns this time around are less about the clashing of cultures and backgrounds in a way that makes for satisfying drama, and more about the creation of a self-aware universe that not only comments on itself but on the notion of the "sequel". As with the audience, Alex Drake understands completely the world that she has entered into and is trying to control it to her advantage. She knows about the characters because she's experienced them through the writings of Sam Tyler in the same way that we the audience experienced them by actually watching Life on Mars. This does rob the programme of some tension, particularly in the first couple of episodes before the characters finally settle into their new roles and the broader aspects of the story become apparent, but it does open the story up to more intriguing ideas and interpretations regarding the role that Alex has in creating the world from her own memories and distorted idea of what the 80's really were.
Unlike Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes was less immediate and for me, and this was the programme's greatest flaw. Once it gets going its fantastic; the examination into Alex's parents and the factors that could possibly have led to their demise is rich with drama and emotion and really pays off in the final episode. However, for me, there were far too many lose ends leading up to this, and far too much of the writers having DCI Hunt do outlandish things in an attempt to appease the audience who buy into the whole "iconic" thing and want Gene Hunt catchphrases on their-mobiles. The emphasis on the drama should have remained with Drake consistently, because it is here where the story comes together; with more interplay between her and her parents and less of the Hunt sailing a speedboat under the arches of Tower Bridge and firming machine guns, like he's some colourful cartoon caricature. Or maybe that's the point? Given the fact that the first three episodes were so weak that I almost gave up on this completely - there didn't seem to be any direction in regards to the plot in the same way that Life on Mars so skilfully blended the past, present and visions of Sam Tyler into a jaw-dropping drama - the only way I could interpret Ashes to Ashes was as a post-modern pastiche akin to Takashi Miike's Dead or Alive trilogy. And it makes sense; with the world of Ashes being a complete "construct"; a self-aware artifice create by the character for the character as she lays dying with a bullet in her head, attempting to make sense, not only of the historic chain of events that led to this tragedy, but also the world created by Sam Tyler that was never fully explained. Sure, there are flaws in this theory, but there are also flaws in the show; with far too much pandering to the whims of Hunt-aficionados and less of the tight, tense, labyrinthine blending of self-examination and the self-preservation of a dying brain.
It will be interesting to see where the writers take this in the second series. Hopefully we will have more of Alex and more of an insight into the creation of this world in the respect of tying up the loose ends of the second series of Life on Mars. At any rate, if you're looking for more iconic Gene Hunt action then Ashes to Ashes won't disappoint. It's louder, bolder and less subtle than Life on Mars ever was, and here he's pretty much the main character. If you want to involve yourself in the story of Alex Drake and her highly emotional plight then you might have to overcome some serious flaws in the first three or four episodes, but believe me, it's probably worth it.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A worth successor to Life on Mars, 29 May 2008
Author: jhsteel from London, England
I agree with those who say that Ashes to Ashes (or A2A as we fans call it) is different from Life on Mars (LOM), but that has several explanations. Firstly, it is set in the 1980s, and it is written in the spirit of 1980s cop shows, with fashion, glamorous shots and set pieces, etc. Secondly, the central hero is female and her perspective on life is different from Sam Tyler's. She also knows more, having read Sam's notes about his time in Gene Hunt's world in 1973.
However, it still has the unexpectedness and the central mystery of its predecessor, so that we are always wanting to know why Alex is stuck in 1981 and how and if she will get back to 2008. And of course, it has the fabulous Gene Hunt who comes into his own in this series. He is still moody and magnificent, and Philip Glenister has created a character with such charisma that I can't stop watching him. All the continuing characters are wonderful, and so are the new ones; Shaz and Viv in particular. Sam Tyler in LOM was intense, driven and edgy, and the darkness and gritty nature of 1970s style cop shows was well represented in LOM. This is equally great, but it's a different animal. I love both shows and I am really looking forward to the next series of A2A. The things that were revealed about Alex's past create new mysteries that need to be solved, so I am hoping that we will find out more. The most original aspect of both LOM and A2A is the central premise that someone can visit another time frame, whether real or imagined, and experience life there, while their body in "real life" is in a coma or near to death. It's a fascinating idea that has a lot of scope, and since it is a fantasy, anything can happen. The identity of Gene Hunt is open to debate - who is he really? I hope that we find out a lot more about this compelling character in the future. British TV at its best. Oh, and I also love 1980s music - really!
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
What a stunning series Ashes to Ashes is!!, 19 April 2008
Author: waynehfitzgerald from Ireland
I haven't seen the earlier Life On Mars, but read the BBC website about it.
Ashes to Ashes was stunning television, with quite a few eye watering brilliant twists in the story every week. And brilliantly cool music selections for some of the scenes.
What a gobsmackingly brilliant final episode (of uk season one). The other episodes were leading up to this one, and it was well worth waiting for!! I won't say what we saw, but it was brilliant television, worthy of a movie-length ultimate season finale for an entire multi-season show.
I can't wait for the next series!! And yes, it did have definite Dempsey & Makepeace overtones - can't wait to see it they reference it when they get to 1985 !! ;-)
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic but different!, 6 April 2008
Author: Victoria Fletcher from United States
So i wonder that if as a girl I was predisposed to like Ashes to Ashes more than Life on Mars. I will grant that the original, is just that, the original, and so in a way it's the better. More original, more groundbreaking. But personally I love Ashes to Ashes more. Keeley Hawes took an episode or two to really gel with what was going on, but I think it really works now, and I feel for the character. She's trying to get back to her little girl, you know she can't just stay in the past... and to also try and save her parents. It's interesting, I want to know what's going to happen. And then there's Philip Glenister, who is always a good actor, but whose role as DCI Gene Hunt is a role he'll FOREVER be known as... and good reason. He's a man's man, funny, gritty, and in this series, occasionally vulnerable. Some don't like the way he is in this show, but I think it works. And the chemistry between Hunt and Drake really works, and it's interesting. I adore them. Finally maybe I like this because I love 80s music, and if you like that, this is a great series for you. It has a great soundtrack. Add that with the awesome quattro Hunt drives, and some fantastic cheesy, over the top moments (the boat showdown in episode 2 anyone?) and it's a show I find absolutely the best pure entertainment I've seen in years. Now all I need is for LoM to get released to DVD over here, and for this sequel to hit our shores so I can then get THAT on DVD and I'll be happy.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
not a sequel more a rewrite, 15 March 2008
Author: victor_66 from United Kingdom
People will always compare a sequel to its predecessor, sometimes rightly so, but this time they would be wrong. Life on Mars was new and unique. The story of policeman trapped in his own imagination that kept you guessing until the end as to whether this world was real or not. This is a similar idea with a twist. At the start Drake comes across as arrogant and very self assured of her policing and psychological skills but as the series progresses you can see the cracks appearing. Ashes to Ashes isn't so much a sequel as more a clever rewrite. I recommend people ignore the hype and hysteria of the media and judge for yourself.
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