Is there life on Maaaaars?

Last night I watched "Life on Mars" for the first time. In fact it's just returned for a brand new series. And it's been raved about by all manner of people.

On the whole I enjoyed it. The premise involves a modern policeman from 2006, Sam Tyler (played by John Simm) who after being hit by a car, finds himself in 1973. There, he is working for Manchester and Salford Police CID under DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). One of the main (and most fascinating) themes of the programme is the conflict in attitudes between Tyler and his 1970s colleagues. Coming from the politically correct 21st Century, Tyler's methods of policing and general moral code are significantly different to those of DCI Hunt and co, who work in a police force where sexism, racism, police brutality and internal corruption are all commonplace! Lest this sounds unpleasant viewing, it isn't necessarily. Yes, some of the attitudes and behaviour exhibited by these coppers are uncomfortable to watch, but, I think the programme is capturing how things really were in the 1970s - and in fact TV cop shows from that period, like "The Sweeney" or "The Professionals", were just the same! We're not supposed to approve. The joy of "Life on Mars" comes from seeing the clash between modern Tyler and old school Hunt and our knowledge, as an audience, that things will eventually change - and hoorah for that. In the meantime poor old Tyler has to put up with such archaic attitudes. It doesn't all go unchallenged though. Tellingly there is only one female police officer, Annie Cartwright, in Hunt's department who is often regarded as the token bit of fluff, however at the end of yesterday's episode, after some particularly good work, she gets promoted! Accompanied by lots of patronising comments from the fellas, one of whom slaps her on the arse. To which, in response, she slaps him back on his arse. Go Annie!

We also get lots of frequent off-hand jokes about a future the audience already knows, but the historical characters do not, which nicely adds to the overall sense of irony in the show.

Tyler's situation is also an interesting one. Has he really travelled back in time? Is he in a coma in 2006 and imagining his experiences? Or is he really from 1973 and mentally unstable? We've had lots of clues to suggest that any of these could be true. Intriguing stuff that keeps us watching. Let's hope we find out the real answer before the end (this series is scheduled to be the last so there'd better be some decent explanations!)

Last night's episode had Marc Warren guesting as a villain (something he specialises in) and he was quite good, if a little underused. I also thought he was great in "Love and Monsters" in the last series of Dr Who (in which he played a loveable geek called Elton, with a personal interest in the Dr and ELO. "Interesting" combination).

Finally, I don't know how many of you have heard the recent rumours, but John Simm has been hotly tipped to be appearing in the up and coming third series of Dr Who. It's been said that he'll play the part of the Dr's arch-nemesis, The Master, a fellow Time Lord and renegade who popped up on many an occasion in the original version of the show. Mmm!! I wonder how much of that is true! If it is, I honestly hope Mr Simm can rise to the challenge. Eric Robert's OTT/camp portrayal of the Master in the 1996 Dr Who Movie was pretty damn dreadful. And Anthony Ainley, who first appeared as the evil Time Lord in the Tom Baker years, started off quite well, but quickly descended into pantomime villainy. Only Roger Delgado, the first and original Master during the Jon Pertwee years, really cut the mustard. His performance was classy, restrained and never less than menacing. Let's hope the new Master character (if he does materialise!) is treated with deference and respect. The resurrection of the Daleks and Cybermen was handled pretty well in the new series, so I hope it's a case of third time lucky!