How sad is this?

Absolutely brilliant

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I loved Life On Mars and was just annoyed they bothered with ATA, they take the brilliant character that is Gene Hunt and instead of the great central character like Sam Tyler, we've got a posh and very dull Alex Drake. Is she dead? Is she alive? I really don't give a damn. Keeley Hawes acting is dreadful and at no point do I care or even want to see this character develop. I was hoping Gene would get as fed up as me and just shoot her.They've turned a initially great show into a woman-out-to-prove-herself tosh. Hunt and Drake have no chemistry and the only bits I like was when Drake was out of the way. Gene Hunt is a shadow of his former self-dragged out over 3 seasons and Drake made me want it to end it as soon as it started.Watch Life On Mars again, don't bother with this.

After all that she was dead anyway. All that rubbish in the first series about her parents being killed in a car bomb! It all came to nothing, the story line just dropped. We didn't even find out who shot her or why. All the screen time they wasted showing her angst over being apart from her daughter and she never got back to her. The last episode played out with Gene Hunt as a God type figure acting as custodian for the lost souls of dead coppers. His rival spent a couple of minutes trying to usher the supporting cast down to "the basement" before putting in a ridiculous turn outside the pub snarling like some hell hound. Alex Drake was supposed to be strong willed, resourceful and intelligent and yet she played no part in the three minutes or so they used to end the story. Why couldn't they just have her wake up in the hospital bed? I will watch out for further work from the writing team and avoid it to save myself further misery.Just as disappointing as Life on Mars when Sam Tyler solved the mystery of who kidnapped his girlfriend. He solves it in an early episode, they arrest some guy and Sam realises he will become the kidnapper later on in life, but when Sam returns to the "real world" we don't get any further mention of his girlfriend, the kidnapper or the fact that Sam has put the pieces together. These, along with DI Drake's daughter and the mystery of her parents' death are the reasons we tuned in each week and the writers just left them hanging. What a shame. I've seen the ending to the US version of Life on Mars and at least it had the good grace to provide a proper ending, even though they nicked it from an episode of Red Dwarf.

I agree with those who say that Ashes to Ashes (or A2A as we fans call it) is different from Life on Mars (LOM), but that has several explanations. Firstly, it is set in the 1980s, and it is written in the spirit of 1980s cop shows, with fashion, glamorous shots and set pieces, etc. Secondly, the central hero is female and her perspective on life is different from Sam Tyler's. She also knows more, having read Sam's notes about his time in Gene Hunt's world in 1973.However, it still has the unexpectedness and the central mystery of its predecessor, so that we are always wanting to know why Alex is stuck in 1981 and how and if she will get back to 2008. And of course, it has the fabulous Gene Hunt who comes into his own in this series. He is still moody and magnificent, and Philip Glenister has created a character with such charisma that I can't stop watching him. All the continuing characters are wonderful, and so are the new ones; Shaz and Viv in particular. Sam Tyler in LOM was intense, driven and edgy, and the darkness and gritty nature of 1970s style cop shows was well represented in LOM. This is equally great, but it's a different animal. I love both shows and I am really looking forward to the next series of A2A. The things that were revealed about Alex's past create new mysteries that need to be solved, so I am hoping that we will find out more. The most original aspect of both LOM and A2A is the central premise that someone can visit another time frame, whether real or imagined, and experience life there, while their body in "real life" is in a coma or near to death. It's a fascinating idea that has a lot of scope, and since it is a fantasy, anything can happen. The identity of Gene Hunt is open to debate - who is he really? I hope that we find out a lot more about this compelling character in the future. British TV at its best. Oh, and I also love 1980s music - really!

So i wonder that if as a girl I was predisposed to like Ashes to Ashes more than Life on Mars. I will grant that the original, is just that, the original, and so in a way it's the better. More original, more groundbreaking. But personally I love Ashes to Ashes more. Keeley Hawes took an episode or two to really gel with what was going on, but I think it really works now, and I feel for the character. She's trying to get back to her little girl, you know she can't just stay in the past... and to also try and save her parents. It's interesting, I want to know what's going to happen. And then there's Philip Glenister, who is always a good actor, but whose role as DCI Gene Hunt is a role he'll FOREVER be known as... and good reason. He's a man's man, funny, gritty, and in this series, occasionally vulnerable. Some don't like the way he is in this show, but I think it works. And the chemistry between Hunt and Drake really works, and it's interesting. I adore them. Finally maybe I like this because I love 80s music, and if you like that, this is a great series for you. It has a great soundtrack. Add that with the awesome quattro Hunt drives, and some fantastic cheesy, over the top moments (the boat showdown in episode 2 anyone?) and it's a show I find absolutely the best pure entertainment I've seen in years. Now all I need is for LoM to get released to DVD over here, and for this sequel to hit our shores so I can then get THAT on DVD and I'll be happy.