Ashes to Ashes (TV series)

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Ashes to Ashes
Genre	Time travel Police procedural
Created by	Matthew Graham Ashley Pharoah
Starring	Philip Glenister Keeley Hawes Dean Andrews Marshall Lancaster Montserrat Lombard
Theme music composer	Edmund Butt
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	16 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jane Featherstone Simon Crawford-Collins Matthew Graham Ashley Pharoah
Producer(s)	Beth Willis
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Kudos Film & Television
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original airing	7 February 2008
Status	On air
Chronology
Preceded by	Life on Mars
External links
Official website

Ashes to Ashes is a British television drama series which serves as a sequel to the 2006 series Life on Mars. It is a Kudos Film & Television production commissioned by BBC Wales,^[1] which was broadcast on BBC One. It premiered on 7 February 2008.^[2] Philip Glenister, who plays Gene Hunt, stated in an interview that the programme will run for at least two series. He added that he does not think any show featuring his character should be made afterwards.^[3] Co-creator Matthew Graham stated that the programme could potentially run to three series.^[4]

The series had its American television premiere on 7 March 2009 on BBC America, an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide Americas, and available on both cable and satellite. In that broadcast, the first episode of Ashes to Ashes was preceded by the finale episode from Life on Mars. Series 2 was to begin broadcasting on BBC America on 2 May 2009, but instead has been postponed until an unspecified date.^[5]

Filming for a second series started in mid-2008, and began broadcasting in the UK, on 20 April 2009.^[6][7] The second series is set in 1982, during the Falklands War, moving on almost six months after the events of the first series, which was set in July–October 1981.^[8] A third and final series of Ashes to Ashes has been commissioned for 2010.^[9]

Contents 1 Background 2 Continuity with Life on Mars 3 Reception 4 Cast 5 Episode guide 6 Soundtrack 7 Depiction of the early 1980s 8 Series two 9 Series three 10 DVD 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Background

Ashes to Ashes features DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister) from Life on Mars. He is joined by an experienced female detective and trained psychologist from the 21st century, DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes), who wakes up in 1981 after being shot in 2008. She concludes that she is either a second away from life, or a second away from death, because of the detailed notes she has studied from Sam Tyler, when he found himself back in time in 1973 after a car accident.^[10] Also reappearing are Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster) and Ray Carling (Dean Andrews). All have transferred to the Metropolitan Police in London, and Chris and Ray remain loyal to Gene. Augmenting the team is WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger, (Montserrat Lombard).

[edit] Continuity with Life on Mars

As with the parent series, the show's name comes from a David Bowie song of the era in which it is set, in this case the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes".

It is established that DI Alex Drake, a trained police psychologist, has been studying the suicide of DCI Sam Tyler and is familiar with the detailed description he recorded of his experiences of life in 1973 (while he was actually in a coma in 2006). Viewers saw Sam send this tape to Alex (referred to only as a police psychologist) via a voice recorder in the final episode of Life On Mars. This was the seed planted for the creation of Ashes to Ashes although Alex was not mentioned by name, nor was she seen.

When Drake herself is shot during a hostage situation and finds herself transported back to 1981, it is her familiarity with Tyler's world that leads her to believe she is "hallucinating", and that the people around her are simply fictitious constructs of her own mind; however, at the end of the first series it is suggested that they are not fictitious as Gene Hunt is a part of Drake's past. She also draws upon her knowledge of Tyler's experiences in 1973 to inform her decisions on how to act in the world of 1981. For example, she spends time finding and tuning a powerful radio so that she can receive information from the "real world", because this is how Tyler received information about the progression of his coma in his world of 1973. Alex does eventually receive messages from Rainbow characters Zippy and George, and other signals through a handheld radio and the television set.

In the first series, Drake was also stalked by a sinister clown in a Pierrot costume which resembles David Bowie's appearance in the "Ashes to Ashes" music video. The clown appears to echo the role of the Test Card F girl (Carole Hersee) in Life on Mars.

Drake learns from DS Ray Carling that Tyler returned to Manchester in 1973 and spent seven years serving faithfully alongside Gene Hunt. In pursuit of robbery suspects, he crashed his car into a river. He is presumed dead, although his body was never recovered.

A newspaper clipping paying posthumous tribute to Tyler's achievements hangs in Hunt's office. Hunt subsequently transferred to the Metropolitan Police, taking Carling and Skelton with him.

As in the case of Sam Tyler in Life on Mars, from Hunt's point of view, Drake has asked to be transferred to his division from elsewhere. Unlike Tyler in Life on Mars, Drake is a DI in both the present day and the past.

Character Jackie Queen, a newspaper reporter has appeared in both series.

[edit] Reception

Based on overnight returns, The Guardian reported that audience figures for the 7 February 2008 broadcast of the first episode, in a 9:00 pm slot on the flagship channel, BBC One, were 7 million: about 29% of viewers. The figure was "in line with the final episode of Life on Mars in April last year, though well up on the earlier show's second series debut of 5.7 million two months earlier," but The Guardian noted "the heavy publicity blitz this week for Ashes to Ashes" as a factor in its success against the opposition.^[11]

Critical reception to the first episode of the series was mixed,^[12] with positive reviews from The Daily Telegraph,^[13] The Herald^[14] The Spectator,^[15] and the New Statesman^[16] and negative reviews from The Times,^[17] The Sunday Times,"^[18] Newsnight Review,^[19] The Guardian^[20] and The Observer, which criticised the episode's direction, structure and tone (although it did praise the costumes and art direction).^[21] The national free sheet, Metro, gave the episode four stars as "a vote of faith" on what it described as "a dodgy start".^[22]

The Guardian reported on 15 February 2008 that, with 6.1 million viewers and a 25% audience share, the ratings for the second episode, shown on 14 February, were down by almost one million on the first, comparing overnight returns. It still did well against the Lynda La Plante police procedural Trial & Retribution, which fell to a series low on ITV.^[23]

The fifth episode, broadcast 6 March 2008, attracted 6.6 million viewers according to overnight returns.^[24] With this episode, The Daily Telegraph stated that "Ashes to Ashes stepped out of the shadow of Life on Mars."

After press complaints about the quality of Keeley Hawes' performance, Philip Glenister defended his co-star, stating, "It's a hellishly difficult thing to come into and I've seen how hard she works and how brilliant she is. To all those detractors, they're just plain wrong."^[25]

After the final episode of series 1 The Daily Mirror stated that although one or two episodes were lacking, in the end it was a satisfying finish to a series which had a lot to live up to and deserves a second series.

Entertainment news website Digital Spy praised the show's return with cult editor Ben Rawson-Jones describing the opening episode as "greatly promising" in his review.^[26]

[edit] Cast

• Philip Glenister as DCI Gene Hunt
• Keeley Hawes as DI Alex Drake
• Dean Andrews as DS Ray Carling
• Marshall Lancaster as DC Chris Skelton
• Montserrat Lombard as WPC Sharon Granger
• Geff Francis as Sergeant Viv James
• Amelia Bullmore as Caroline Price
• Stephen Campbell Moore as Evan White
• Joseph Long as Luigi

[edit] Episode guide

The first series had eight episodes and was written mainly by creators Ashley Pharoah (episodes 2 & 8), and Matthew Graham (episodes 1 & 7). Other writers for the series were Julie Rutterford (episode three) and Mark Greig (episodes 4 & 5), who worked on the parent series, "Life on Mars". The remaining episode was written by freelance writer Mick Ford. The series deals with Alex trying to figure out what happened to her parents, whose lives are connected to the political unrest of the time, especially Margaret Thatcher's campaign and Lord Leslie Scarman's attacks upon the police. Alex is haunted by the Clown from the music video of David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes", in a similar way to how the Test-Card Girl spoke to Sam Tyler in "Life on Mars". In the last episode it is revealed that the clown is her father.

The second series is set in 1982, against the political background of the Falklands War. Again the second series has eight episodes. The first episode of the series was written by Ashley Pharoah, and deals with the cover-up of a police officer killed in a nightclub. As the series progresses, Alex's comatose body is found in present day 2008. As Gene finds himself confronting a corrupted force, Alex begins receiving a string of phone calls from a man called Martin Summers, another patient at the hospital Alex has been moved to. Summers proves to be a formidable adversary, his actions eventually lead to a shocking murder and the most tense confrontation yet between Alex and Gene.

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack features contemporary songs by British groups of the period such as punk period survivors The Clash and The Stranglers, New Romantics such as Duran Duran and Ultravox, synthpop such as Jon & Vangelis and OMD, as well as the later period Roxy Music and The Passions' sole hit single, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", from 1981. A scene in the second episode, "The Happy Day", set at The Blitz features Steve Strange playing himself performing "Fade to Grey" by Visage. The last episode in Series 1 ends with "Take the Long Way Home" from Supertramp's Breakfast in America 1979 album. Episode 2 also contains the classic Madness song "The Prince".

A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes, from the first series of the show was released on 17 March 2008.^[27] A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes - Series 2, from the second series of the show was released on 20 April 2009.^[28] An official website was created to promote it http://www.thebackintimes.com.

[edit] Depiction of the early 1980s

As with the parent series, there are anachronisms. At least one, however, is intentional: the Audi Quattro was not available in right-hand drive in the United Kingdom in 1981, only in left-hand drive. The car shown in the TV series is the 1983 model, with slight changes to the headlights and other features.^[29] Philip Glenister admitted that the production was aware of this and said, "But who cares? It's a cool car." He has jokingly speculated that Hunt probably got it as a dodgy German import.^[30]

[edit] Series two

The first episode of the second series aired on 20 April 2009 and was watched by 7.01 million viewers.^[31][32] In a departure from the previous series, 1980s background music (some of which had been used during the episode) was available in full to viewers on digital TV in the UK and could be accessed by using the red button immediately after the show. This innovation consisted of clips of some of the featured groups from Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and other 80s BBC TV music programmes, each introduced by Philip Glenister in his guise as DCI Gene Hunt (with gently insulting and politically incorrect remarks appropriate to his character), and were on a loop of four or five songs, available only for the remainder of the evening of transmission.

[edit] Series three

It has been confirmed that a third and final series of Ashes to Ashes will be produced. Producers have revealed the climax of the third series will reveal who the character Gene Hunt really is.^[33] Philip Glenister, speaking on the BBC One Breakfast TV programme on 8 June 2009, announced that the third series will be the last.^[34]

In an interview with SFX, series co-creator and executive producer Matthew Graham stated that he is considering making a 3D episode for the show's third series. ^[35]

The show has been confirmed to be moving to HD. ^[36]

[edit] DVD

Series 1 received a DVD (region 2) release on 5 May 2008 in the UK; series 2 was released on 13 July 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ashes to Ashes at BBC Online
• Ashes to Ashes at TV.com
• Ashes to Ashes at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashes to Ashes at Digital Spy
• Ashes to Ashes Official website for the soundtrack
• Ashes to Ashes Music Scene by scene music listing

v • d • e Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes Life on Mars Episode list • List of characters • Soundtrack • US series • US episode list Ashes to Ashes Episode list • List of characters • Soundtrack - Series 1 • Soundtrack - Series 2 Characters Ray Carling • Annie Cartwright • Phyllis Dobbs • Alex Drake • Sharon Granger • Gene Hunt • Chris Skelton • Sam Tyler

v • d • e Science-fiction from the BBC 1990 · A for Andromeda (2006 re-make) · Ashes to Ashes · The Big Pull · Blake's 7 · Dark Season · The Day of the Triffids (radio version) · Doctor Who · Doomwatch · Earthsearch · Goodnight Sweetheart · The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series) · Hyperdrive · Invasion: Earth · Journey into Space · K-9 and Company · Life on Mars · The Mighty Boosh · Moonbase 3 · My Hero · Nebulous · Planet B · The Quatermass Experiment (2005 re-make) · The Quatermass Memoirs · Quatermass II · Quatermass and the Pit · Red Dwarf · The Sarah Jane Adventures · The Spaceship · Star Cops · Strange · Survivors (2008 re-make) · Torchwood · The Tripods · Undone