C.A. Powell

Who Remembers Watching Life on Mars?

While flicking through Amazon Prime, I stumbled across an old television drama called Life on Mars. It stars John Simm as Sam Tyler, a police detective working in Manchester in 2006 - or thereabouts.

After being struck by a speeding car, Sam lies in a deep coma. Yet somehow, his consciousness awakens in the same part of Manchester in 1973. He is still a detective, but now he is dressed in flared trousers, Chelsea boots and wide-collared shirts.

As he walks towards the police station, newspaper billboards announce events from 1973, while the streets, cars and buildings all belong unmistakably to that era. I was twelve in 1973, although Sam tells us that he was only four at the time.

When he reaches the station, he is astonished to find officers smoking and drinking in the workplace. The attitudes and behaviour are a world away from the police station he knew in 2006, and political correctness has certainly not arrived yet.

As Sam becomes part of the 1973 Manchester police team, he begins hearing strange voices inside his head. He gradually realises that he is still lying in a hospital bed, deeply unconscious and connected to life-support equipment. At times, the little girl from the old television test-card image appears and speaks to him. He also hears his mother urging him to hold on and fight his way out of the coma.

Meanwhile, the Manchester police force of 1973 expects him to get on with the job and help track down criminals. This creates plenty of conflict between Sam and his new colleagues, who regard him as an irritating, self-righteous pain in the backside. Despite all the arguments, however, a grudging respect slowly begins to grow.

It is a fascinating mixture of police drama, science fiction, nostalgia and psychological mystery. I had forgotten just how unusual and entertaining it was.