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Contains spoilers up to and including the episode discussed, but is spoiler free for subsequent episodes of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
“She’s what every copper dreads. A dead child. Parents looking to you for answers... I had the job of showing them what their lovely perfect ten had become.”
In 2006, Sam’s been given an overdose of his medication in hospital and it’s having some very strange effects on him in 1973, including some serious temperature swings and strange, trippy dreams. But he can’t rest at home for another day, as there’s a crisis at the station. A man is threatening to kill himself at the station of the ransom demand for his kidnapped daughter and wife – the release of a particular prisoner – aren’t met. The problem is, Gene is convinced the prisoner is guilty.
After the disappointment of last time, this episode shows Life on Mars very much on form. The surreal opening sequence, in which Sam dreams that he and Gene are in 60s children’s programme Camberwick Green, is brilliant and one of the programme’s most memorable sequences. Sam’s drug-heightened state is well used throughout the episode, particularly in the final act as the suppressants knock Sam out and he’s forced to watch the rest of the team finish the case without him.
The structure of this episode is unusual for Life on Mars. The multiple flashbacks as other characters explain the original case to Sam are a real change from the norm, as Sam is in pretty much every scene. The shoehorning of Annie into the original investigation (when she was still a mere “plod”) wasn’t done as smoothly as possible, but it was pretty vital to the story. These flashbacks serve many purposes, especially in showing how much all these characters have developed since Sam’s arrival, not least Chris.
It’s fascinating to see Gene’s certainty slowly but surely disintegrate as the truth behind the original investigation reveals itself. With arguably the right motives, Gene was so determined to comfort the parents of the dead girl that he forced a young boy into confessing to a murder he didn’t commit, particularly as he convinced himself that he believed the boy had done it. It’s a testament to the makers of this programme – and the intelligence they so clearly credit the audience with having – that they allow this story to unfold in this way, trusting the viewers to see the moral grey areas and understand everyone’s motives even if they don't approve of them.
Now that Sam’s on the scene, they (generally) investigate properly and communicate with each other. He's taught them so well they can complete the case without him, and he finally asks Annie out without messing it up – maybe he should unintentionally take drugs more often.
Next time: Heroin hits the streets of Manchester and Sam somehow ends up tied up.
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