Wow. After 8 weeks or so of following the second series of Life on Mars we at last reached the conclusion. Am I any the wiser? A little I suppose, especially when you read the writers comments here. Fascinating stuff. But as has been pointed out - the series was truly on that was taken over by the fans. To this extent there are web sites dedicated to the show, not least of all The Railway Arms site which is truly an experience, especially when you read some of the wilder theories about the programme.
Previous readers will know that I am a big fan of the BBC. I think it returns fantastic value for money, especially when "multi-channel" means "multi-ad break". If you don't know what I mean then try watching the excellent Heroes on the Sci-Fi Channel - 40 minutes of TV stretched to an hour, that's 1 minute of ads in every 3. It completely fucks up the viewing experience. Wait until June when its on the Beeb, ad free. It's a slow burner but worth it.
Back to Life on Mars though. Despite the writer explaining the ending, the fans are still putting forward their own theories. I am no different in this respect. I found the ending both enigmatic and satisfying and although I do take the writers points, I rather prefer to think that Sam's awakening into 2006/7 was part of the dream from the coma that has put him in 1973. It may well be that Frank Morgan did operate but that the operation didn't revive Sam, but even in his comatose state the event of the operation filtered through, just like the messages from the medical team and his friends and relatives. When he chose to jump of the roof at the end, this was done as part of the dream within the dream inside the coma and his way of returning to a place where he felt real and alive. That's my theory anyway, and it's one that leaves a smile on my face, from a programme that has simultaneously thrilled, entertained, amused and touched me at every turn. As TV goes this is one of the all time classics and will retain it's cult and iconic status much as The Prisoner, Star Trek, Doctor Who etc have.
The red herrings and the references throughout to the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan was the name of the actor who played the original wizard, Gene often call Sam by the name Dorothy, the last episode had Somewhere Over The Rainbow in it), and to the marvellous Bowie track from which it took its name were all part of the mystery and the fun. In Gene Hunt, the BBC have created one of TV's greatest ever characters, politically incorrect, mildly racist, very sexist, heavy smoking, heavy drinking...a refreshing change in these days of safe, homogenised, sanitised and anodyne behaviour. Amongst this lies the fact that all of the actors in this were utterly superb, each making the character they portrayed seem real and human. For this programme alone the BBC Licence fee was worth every penny. I await the Gene Hunt sequel, Ashes to Ashes with great anticipation.
- Gene Hunt: I think you've forgotten who you're talking to.
- Sam Tyler: An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline-alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding?
- Gene Hunt: You make that sound like a bad thing.
Later, Grocerjack
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