Oh. My. God.
If there’s one thing we need right now, it’s good news and tonight we have it!
Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes were two connected time-travel (sort of) shows that ran between 2006 and 2010 and saw DCI Gene Hunt (the amazing Phil Glennister) seemingly ageless and mentoring two cops lost in time – Sam Tyler (John Simm) stuck in the 1970s in Manchester and Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) stuck in the 1980s – both thrown back from their own modern times.
The shows were absolute standouts in the BBC’s catalogue of great TV, with fun, adventure, great characters and a totally enthralling premise… while both were essentially police procedural shows, they had this ever-present underlying narrative of ‘what the hell is going on?!’ running just below the surface.
When Ashes to Ashes ended in 2010 it left a big, big gap.
But now it seems that Gene Hunt is set to return – and hopefully bring both gangs with him!
Series co-creator Matthew Graham took to his Twitter earlier tonight to have a watchalong of the first episode of Life On Mars and, while he commented on the episode, he also dropped details about The Final Chapter, a planned final series set in the Life on Mars universe and aimed at tying it all together.
Here’s some of the details Graham shared tonight – I’ve filled in some of the details beside his quotes.
Yes. We want Annie back in the Final Chapter. Yes we do! Annie in Life on Mars was played by the amazing and adorable Liz White. She was the heart of the series and I’d love to see her return too!
We intend to get as many back (across both decades) as we can. So when you wonder who will be coming back for The Final Chapter – think Avengers Assemble! Both Decades refers to the original Life on Mars (set in the 70s) and then sequel series Ashes to Ashes (set in the 80s). The cast remained mostly the same except Sam Tyler in Mars was played by John Simm while Alex Drake in Ashes was played by Keeley Hawes. Let’s hope we get the whole gang together… that would be superbly exciting.
It’ll be set partially in the 70’s, partially in the 80’s and mostly in an alternate NOW. Looks like the throwback to the past series will be there and will we see Gene Hunt in the modern world? Gene’s non-PC personality would be a real treat in the modern world…
Expect one Ford Cortina, one Audi Quattro and the Chinese wall of all cardboard boxes. The Cortina was Gene Hunt’s car in Mars while the Quattro was in Ashes… there were lots of scenes of cardboard boxes being demolished during car chases
And please do remember that the incredible Jim Keats sang “We’ll Meet Again” as he walked away from Gene… Keats was played in Ashes to Ashes by Rogue One star Daniel Mays and it was revealed that he was much, much more than he seems. Having him back not only makes sense, but seems essential given who he is.
DCI Litton will be back to get under Gene’s feet Actor Lee Ross played Litton in both series… he is Hunt’s superior and thorn in his side
In The final Chapter there will be a TV show WITHIN our Tv show. TYLER: MURDER DIVISION. Sam Tyler is the lead character played by John Simm in Life on Mars… it could be fun to see how this plays out
We would never make another Mars unless we really had something to say and could push the envelope all over again. Finally we have something. Sounds good to me… as I say, Gene Hunt in the modern world is a time bomb we all want to see going off!
Final Chapter will be set in Manchester and in London. Returning to the settings of both Mars and Ashes
We are seeing it as 4 or 5 episodes and then done. Life on Mars had two seasons of 8 episodes while Ashes to Ashes had three seasons of 8 episodes each, so this will be a certain closing chapter.
We’re still left wondering when this will air and what exactly it will be about but given the major supernatural pay-off to the series, it’s a safe bet that this show will be unlike anything we’ve seen before and I for one cannot wait!
Any fans of Life on Mars (not the US remake) and sequel series Ashes to Ashes? If so, let me know how you feel about the news
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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