Life on Mars was definitely my favourite TV programme and probably still is. Series one was fantastic and series two simply picked up from where it left off
********NB: I apologise now if you feel I have included too many quotes, I just wanted to highlight how good I feel the show is.********
Life ... Read review
Its hard to believe its over.Life On Marsshot out of nowhere at the beginning of 2006 to ... more
become a vital, gripping drama, and this second series more than maintains the sky high standards that the first so memorably set.What makes it even more surprisin...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Its hard to believe its over.Life On Marsshot out of nowhere at the beginning of 2006 to ... more
become a vital, gripping drama, and this second series more than maintains the sky high standards that the first so memorably set.What makes it even more surprisin...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
John Simm continues into a second thrilling series as Sam Tyler a driven and ambitious ... more
young detective determined to keep the streets of 21st Century Manchester safe. But after a near fatal car accident he has waken up dazed and confused in 1973. ...
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Few television dramas in recent years have made such an impact with critics and fans alike ... more
as BBC One's award-winning Life on Mars. There's been nothing else like it with its 1970s setting and its unique blend of crime science fiction mystery and humour - plus of course the compelling human drama of its ever-present question: will Sam make it home? Where volume one of THE OFFICIAL COMPANION explored in detail the genesis and making of the show volume two takes the story of this ground-breaking series to its conclusion with a range of features from views on how it ended to the making of a legend in the character of Gene Hunt. Illustrated with hundreds of on-set photos and drawings its witty incisive text and sublime design with just enough of a nod to seventies style combine to provide the ultimate viewers' guide.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Life on Mars was definitely my favourite TV programme and probably still is. Series one was fantastic and series two simply picked up from where it left off
********NB: I apologise now if you feel I have included too many quotes, I just wanted to highlight how good I feel the show is.********
Life on Mars tells the story of Sam Tyler, a police officer, who after being hit by a car woke up in 1973. He constantly questions ... ...the title track David Bowie's Life On Mars. All of the songs are authentic to the period and combined with the costumes, hairstyles, buildings and mannerisms of the show the feeling that you are in the 1970's is always prominent (and I wasn't even born then).
The show itself is very well written and filmed. It is comical and satirical but also manages to hit the nail on the head on more than one occasion. The best thing however about ... more
Life on Mars was definitely my favourite TV programme and probably still is. Series one was fantastic and series two simply picked up from where it left off
********NB: I apologise now if you feel I have included too many quotes, I just wanted to highlight how good I feel the show is.********
Life on Mars tells the story of Sam Tyler, a police officer, who after being hit by a car woke up in 1973. He constantly questions his own sanity and at the beginning of each episode Sam's voice is always heard to say "Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home."
After landing in 1973 at the beginning of the first series by this series Sam has now been in 1973 for a while and so focuses more on Sam establishing himself in the period. In this way it highlights more Sam's journey through the 1970's as well as his fight to get home and the psychological affect that being 'out of time' is having on him.
The format of the episodes remains the same as it was in the first series. Each episode telling it's own story (resolving a crime or two) but with Sam and his need to get home being the continuing thread. So if he's not talking to TV's or radios or being scared to death by the test-card girl, then he's out on the streets fighting side-by-side once again with DCI Gene Hunt, DS Ray Carling, DC Chris Skelton and the now more prominent W(P/D)C Annie Cartwright.
The characters in the show are as big and as bold as they were in the first series and encapsulate the period totally. Their fantastically unique personalities continue to pull laughs either purposely or through their naivety or non-'Political Correct' behaviour.
"Gene Hunt: Don't move, you are surrounded by armed bastards!"
Throughout the series however the only character that really progresses is Sam. That is not a negative however as in this way we are totally focused on Sam's journey and the other remain the iconic beacons that they always were. Chris continues to look up to Sam whilst Ray still hates his guts.
"Ray Carling: I'm arresting you for the theft of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest… and driving like a div."
Annie of course, as Sam's love interest, plays a more vital role in this series and in a way through her promotion to DC, does progress. Her scenes with Sam however are some of the most perfectly shot in the entire series. They show how Annie is struggling through her trust in Sam and ultimately her love for him to understand why he doesn't believe they are real. In this way they really help us to empathise not only with Sam's situation but also her situation, as a female in the police force in the 1970's.
"Annie Cartwright: Hurts, dosent it? Thats because it's real !"
The series does however allow us to see another dimension to Gene's character and so encourages us warm to him even further. We realise that Gene is like he is because of those he has been around and that in his own way he really respects Sam and the way that he breaks away from the typical police role that he, Gene, has become accustomed.
"Gene: And another thing. I intend to drink the equivalent of the North Sea in whisky tonight so raid your piggy banks."
Throughout the entire series I personally don't feel that there is a weak episode, they all just have their own style. Some are more humorous than others, some more poignant and some delve deeper into what we already know.
The music is, as it was in the first series, absolutely fantastic. Songs such as Yellow Brick Road, Live and Let Die and Gene Genie (DCI Gene Hunt's signature track). Of course there is also the title track David Bowie's Life On Mars. All of the songs are authentic to the period and combined with the costumes, hairstyles, buildings and mannerisms of the show the feeling that you are in the 1970's is always prominent (and I wasn't even born then).
The show itself is very well written and filmed. It is comical and satirical but also manages to hit the nail on the head on more than one occasion. The best thing however about this comedy is that every one of the characters is comic in someway and therefore as an audience you do not look to one character to provide the humour. For this reason I feel that the writing is truly sublime. The filming is also top-class the camera angles always place you as the audience is the right place at the right time and the some-what signature shot of Sam and Gene punching someone together is always filmed to achieve maximum (usually comic) effect.
"Chris Skelton: Woman in her twenties, dead. Gene Hunt: Well I didn't think she was sunbathing, did I?!"
As you can probably gather from this I do not have a bad word to say about the show. It is truly unpredictable up until the very last moment and if you're anything like me will probably be shouting a different thing at the TV each episode. It is in my opinion the best thing that has been shown on the TV for near on a decade and if you missed it on the TV then it is a definite must for the DVD collection. Scrub that, it is a definite must for the DVD collection whether you saw it on the TV or not.
MI9to5 27.08.2008 (18.09.2008)
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Review of Life On Mars - Series 2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
Advantages: As good as series 1 if not better Disadvantages: sad when it ended
...two episodes a night-I live life on the edge as you can tell!).Life On Mars:Series Two was released on dvd in April 2007, but if you are like me and have been living under a rock and not heard of this show, or simply watched it on BBC2 previously but want to watch it over and over (which no doubt I will be),then you can't do any worse than buying this and the first series. Series Two~ Series one is about Sam Tyler, a detective who after a near fatal ... ...Sam Tyler literally where the first series ended; still playing good cop/ bad cop with partner(in crime) Gene Hunt. All the usual gang are back but this time Annie plays a more prominent role having been promoted but still get's treated bad because she's a "bird". The sexual tension between Annie and Sam is more intense this series and has you screaming 'Kiss her' nearly every episode! The Plot~ With series one I liked the fact that most of the way ...
supersonic75 14.12.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Life On Mars - Series 2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
Advantages: Brilliant un-nostalgic trip back to the 70's, very insightful for younger generations Disadvantages: The last series - ever!!!
...1973 as he fears his life support system is being fiddled with in 2006. Fearing it is the same man in both eras he failed to out about in the twenty first century, Sam goes to any length in order to stop them.
Best quote - 'Good work Raymondo, I'm bumping you back up to DS...this time it will stand for Detective Sergeant instead of Dog S***!' (Gene Hunt).
Marks out of 10: 9 - a brilliant way to get us back into the swing 1973 style! Episode 2 - ... ...but in his new retro life style, can he convince his colleagues that the IRA were not responsible?
Best quote - 'It's not about impressing anybody, you moron!' (Sam Tyler to Ray Carling)
Marks out of 10: 8.5 - another solid episode, helping to progress the plot in both centuries.
Episode 4 - Sam and Annie, posing as Tony and Cherie Blair, are soon thrusted into the under cover lifestyle once again, trying to catch a killer at his own game at a ...
MizzMolko 18.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Life On Mars - Series 2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
Advantages: A great continuation of a fanstastic series Disadvantages: It's the last series. Some might find the conclusion unsatisfiying.
The second series of Life on Mars continues Sam Tyler's journey that began in the first series. If you haven't seen the first series then this set won't make complete sense to you, though I think series two could stand alone as the first was fairly self-contained and had its own overal story to tell. Series Two is a little more arc orientated, being the last series, and every episode takes the story another step towards its conclusion.
So to the ... ...setting.
The essence of Life on Mars is that of a traditional cop show. Series Two dives straight into the story, and the credits sequence gives a quick rundown of what the series is about. In 2006 Sam Tyler is a rather excellent policeman. He is struck down by a car and wakes up in 1973. Sam's monologue at the start of the titles sequence gives us the core questions that drives the series. Has he really traveled back in time? Is he in a coma? Or ...
cheesman88 27.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Life On Mars - Series 2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
Advantages: Thrilling storyline, great actors Disadvantages: Last in the series
I was fortunate enough to watch both series of this programme all in one go. I had no intention of doing so but story line is just so gripping that you are instantly caught in a web of intregue from the main charactor Sam. In the first series (this is a reveiw of the second afterall) We know that Sam, a DCI from the 21st century, is hit by a car and stuck in a coma. But whilst in this coma ends up in 1973. Is he in this coma? Is it really 1973? or ... ...where the first left off with Sam still trying to figure out what is real and what is not. The series takes some incredible twists and turns untill.......Well, im not gonna give anything away.
Incredable writting, immense acting, and a great soundtrack.
Almost makes you want to be in the 1970's. ...
furrytoad 12.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Life On Mars - Series 2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
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Advantages: Excellent, and cleverly done Disadvantages: None, it was perfect.
... beating up the wrong guy.. (from Life on Mars, by David Bowie 1973)
I began to watch the Life on Marsseries (1) back in 2006, but my own life got in the way, and I missed most of the series. Then I missed out on series2 as I hadn't seen the first series. I finally got to watch the whole of Ashes to Ashes, but it was annoying me that I hadn't watched the originals.
So, in August 08, I was bought the boxset of both, Series 1 and 2, for my birthday. Still having limited time for such extensive TV viewing, I have only just finished working my way through the 8 DVD's.
They were absolutely superb. I could see no gaps in the story lines, and by the end of series2, it was rounded off, so the viewer was not left wondering 'What about??' as so often happens when a series has finished, but there is a chance of a sequel ...
Advantages: Clever, funny, deep and engrossing. Disadvantages: Characters begin to wear thin by the second series
A bafta and Emmy Award winning series starring John Simm and Philip Glenister, Life on Mars is a genre-defying gem of a show.
The leading protagonist (Simm) is Sam Tyler, a modern-day Detective Chief Inspector of Greater Manchester Police, who is involved in a car accident and finds himself waking up in the year 1973, as a Detective Inspector, working for DCI Gene Hunt.(Glenister) Centering around Sam's desire to return home, the show's writing is particularly original, giving the viewer no more information as to the true nature of Sam's situation, than that which is given to Sam himself. This helps the viewer to genuinely identify with the lead character, and subsequently share with him a sense of desperation and urgency, the result of which is a show so utterly watchable and engrossing that it has received critical acclaim ...
Sam Tyler, a detective from the 21st Century finds himself catapulted back to 1973, after a car accident knocks him unconscious. In his new state of altered reality, Sam must prove himself to his 'boss', the hot-headed DCI Gene Hunt, all the while unsure whether he is awake or dreaming. Series 2 of LIFE ON MARS finds Sam attempting to solve both crimes and the truth behind his predicament.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
E1 ENTERTAINMENT
Release date
16/04/2007
No of Discs
3
Catalogue No
CTD 10517
Barcode
5030305105174
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Interactive menu
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
A thumpingly enjoyable piece of television (Telegraph, 09/03/2007)
DVD Description
LIFE ON MARS is a throwback to the crime-fighting style of the 1970s, drawing its inspiration from such TV series as THE SWEENEY and THE PROFESSIONALS. As was characteristic of classic 60s fantasy, the creators have taken some risks with the show’s politically incorrect references, daring to be slightly subversive. While its creators are quick to brush off comparisons to fellow time-travelling TV series QUANTUM LEAP, there are obvious thematic similarities, however unconscious. John Simm (HUMAN TRAFFIC) ably stars as Sam Tyler, the fish-out-of-water detective who must piece together the mysteries of his own situation, while solving the crime du jour. The show takes its title from David Bowie’s haunting theme song.
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