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Series 1: Episode 3 (Life on Mars)
Encyclopedia
The third episode of the first series of the British
time travel
police procedural
television
series, Life on Mars
, was first broadcast on 23 January 2006. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television
for BBC One
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
time travel
Time travel in fiction
Time travel is a common theme in science fiction and is depicted in a variety of media. It simply means either going forward in time or backward, to experience the future, or the past.-Literature:...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, was first broadcast on 23 January 2006. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
Synopsis
Sam is called to a murder at Cresters textile mill, the site of his bachelor flat in 2006. DCI Hunt suspects an outspoken union representative, but Sam tries to use his knowledge of forensic science to find the killer.Cast
- Sam TylerSam TylerDCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.In the original British version of Life on Mars, Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara....
— John SimmJohn SimmJohn Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television... - Gene HuntGene HuntDCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, whereas in the American version he is portrayed by Harvey Keitel.The...
— Philip GlenisterPhilip GlenisterPhilip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:... - Chris SkeltonChris SkeltonPC/DC Christopher "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.- Life on Mars :...
— Marshall LancasterMarshall LancasterMarshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a... - Ray CarlingRay CarlingDC/DS/DI Raymond Milton "Ray" Carling is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.-Life on Mars:...
— Dean AndrewsDean AndrewsDean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars... - Annie CartwrightAnnie CartwrightWPC/DC Annie Cartwright is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars. The character is portrayed by Liz White...
— Liz WhiteLiz White (actress)Liz White is an English actress, best known for her regular role as WPC/WDC Annie Cartwright in the BBC time travel drama Life on Mars, which began in January 2006... - Nelson — Tony Marshall
- Phyllis DobbsPhyllis DobbsWPC Phyllis Dobbs is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars. The character is portrayed by Noreen Kershaw, whereas in the American version the character does not exist except for a very minor capacity....
— Noreen KershawNoreen KershawNoreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director.She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play Shirley Valentine, later made famous by Pauline Collins... - Test Card Girl — Rafaella Hutchinson
- Ted Bannister — John HenshawJohn HenshawJohn Henshaw is a British actor, best-known for his roles as Ken the landlord in Early Doors, Wilf Bradshaw in Born and Bred and PC Roy Bramwell in The Cops. He is often associated with playing "hard men"...
- Derek Bannister — Andrew KnottAndrew KnottAndrew Knott is an English actor.- Biography :Knott was born in Salford and now lives in Yorkshire. His first acting was done in British television and radio programmes. He was trained in the Oldham Theatre Workshop...
- Tina — Rebecca AtkinsonRebecca AtkinsonRebecca Atkinson is an English actress and model. She is best known for playing Jamie Maguire's wife, Karen Maguire in Channel 4's Shameless, and she has been in the show since the inception...
- Mrs Bannister - Denice Hope
- DCI Litton - Lee RossLee RossLee D. Ross is the Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, and an influential social psychologist who has studied attribution theory, attributional biases, decision making and conflict resolution, often with longtime collaborator Mark Lepper...
- Arthur Coynes - John AxonJohn AxonJohn Axon GC was an English train driver from Stockport who died while trying to stop a runaway freight train on a 1 in 58 gradient near Buxton in Derbyshire after a brake failure. The train consisted of an ex-LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No...
- Dodds - Warren Donnelly
- Brian - Nicky Bell
- Pathologist - Paul Leeming
- Jimmy Saunders (uncredited)
Cultural references
- When Chris draws a very bad sketch of a crime scene, Ray tells him he should "send that into Vision OnVision OnVision On was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for deaf children. It was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ursula Eason and Patrick Dowling to replace a monthly series For the Deaf, a programme paced slowly enough for...
". Vision On was a BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
children's televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme, expressly for children with a hearing impediment. The presenters were Pat Keysell and the artist Tony HartTony HartNorman Antony "Tony" Hart was an English artist and children's television presenter. He was famous for television shows such as Vision On, Playbox, Take Hart and Hartbeat.-Early life:...
who made pictures in every imaginable medium and encouraged children to send in their own paintings to 'The Gallery'. - Tina said "I mean not thin like TwiggyTwiggyLesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
." Twiggy was the professional name of Lesley Hornsby, she became a 1960's pop icon and supermodel. She was famous for her androgynous look and extremely thin frame which has become the standard for catwalk models up to the present day. - Gene said "Say Goodnight, Gracie." The signature signoff of George BurnsGeorge BurnsGeorge Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and Gracie AllenGracie AllenGrace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
's vaudeville routine and later television performances became part of the popular vernacular and the title of Rupert HolmesRupert HolmesRupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
' 2002 play about the couple.
Music
- The Ballroom Blitz - SweetSweet (band)Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
- GypsyVery 'eavy... Very 'umbleVery 'eavy... Very 'umble is the debut album of British hard rock band Uriah Heep.It was released in the United States as Uriah Heep with alternate sleeve artwork, and with "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues." The album is notable for being rooted more in raunchy blues rock than the band's...
- Uriah HeepUriah Heep (band)Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals... - Wishing WellHeartbreaker (Free album)Heartbreaker is the seventh and final album by English rock group Free, that provided them with one of their most successful singles, "Wishing Well"...
- FreeFree (band)Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a... - Head in the SkyIn Hearing of Atomic RoosterIn Hearing of is the third album by British rock band Atomic Rooster. Although not included on the album, "The Devil's Answer" single was released just prior to it, becoming the band's highest chart success at number 4 in the UK...
- Atomic RoosterAtomic RoosterAtomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
Anachronisms
- The vehicle that Gene Hunt drives is a Ford Cortina Mk3. The registration plateVehicle registration plateA vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
, KJM 212K, shows that it was registered between August 1971 and July 1972. The vinyl roofVinyl roofVinyl roof refers to a vinyl covering for an automobile's top. This covering was originally designed to give the appearance of a convertible to models with a fixed roof, but eventually it evolved into a styling statement in its own right. Vinyl roofs were most popular in the American market, and...
and four headlights show that it was one of the top of the range models and the GXL badge which is clearly shown in close-up confirms this. However, the vehicle has some strange anachronistic features. The dashboard is from the 2000E model. Also shown in close-up is a badge consisting of the letter E surrounded by a laurel wreath. This was the badging used on the 2000E model, which replaced the GXL model late in 1973. The car should not be carrying badges for both models, especially as the 2000E model was not released onto the market until six months after the time that the episode was set. - Dialogue in the episode states that the date was 16 March 1973. However, in the first scene, the song that is played on the soundtrack is "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet, which was not released until August 1973.
- Sam conducted the taped interview, stating that it was 'Wednesday 16 March'. In 1973, 16 March was a Friday, not a Wednesday. However, 16 March was a Wednesday in 2005, the year the episode was written.
- Hunt asks DCI Litton whether his fragrance is Blue Stratos, but Litton replies that it is Paco Rabanne. Blue Stratos was launched by Shulton in 1974.
- In the scene where the guns are placed in the portaloo, there is a reflection of a Super Space-Cab Daf Truck (in the portacabin's window), but it was not released until at least 2001, yet the show is set in 1973.
External links
- Episode 3 at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Episode 3 at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Episode 3 at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...