MONDAY 09 JANUARY
Drama
Life on Mars
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC1 London & South East
VIDEO Plus+: 5489
Subtitled, Widescreen, Audio-described
Episode written by Matthew Graham
1/8
Just when you thought the TV detective drama had been given so many twists it had tied itself up in knots, here's a genuinely innovative and imaginative take on an old genre. John Simm is Det Chief Insp Sam Tyler, who's hit by a car in 2006 and "wakes up" in 1973, wearing a wide collar and flares. He's now a detective inspector in the era of The Sweeney. His antediluvian boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), thinks little of bullying witnesses and thumping suspects. The all-male CID is wreathed in smoke from fags, and any woman brave enough to stray into this alien territory is belittled and patronised. This sounds silly, but writers Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah give the drama wit and heart, and Simm and Glenister are the perfect chalk-and-cheese cops.
RT reviewer: Alison Graham
Sam Tyler - John Simm
Gene Hunt - Philip Glenister
Annie Cartright - Liz White
Ray Carling - Dean Andrews
Chris Skelton - Marshall Lancaster
Nelson - Tony Marshall
Maya Roy - Archie Panjabi
Colin Raimes - Sam Hazeldine
Neil - Christopher Harper
Dora Keens - Jane Riley
Mrs Raimes - Mags Gannon
June - Rae Kelly
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