Life on Mars

[gammaray]

..... er........What...?.... THAT'S IT??

[Coobeastie]

What were you expecting. I thought it was great end to the series and can't wait for the next installments next year.

[marchantino]

yep thats what other half said but i cant wait for the next series and hope they release it on dvd!

[Coobeastie]

The DVD (4 Disc) is due for release in October.

http://www.bbcshop.com/invt/ctd10365&source=2072

[Coobeastie]

And rather helpfully the BBC site also lists the soundtrack details which is particularly sporting seeing as they aren't releasing a CD to accompany the series.

[sense4all]

As soon as I heard the words "new series" the Home Counties housewife withered and the closeted glaswegian surged forward shouting cop out ending...... cop out ending..........

coobeastie you made me chuckle!

[gammaray]

I was expecting some kind of closure. I realise that would have made it difficult to follow on with another series, but neverther less I feel Cheated!

[KRUSTY]

The series has been such a success that there really was no other way of ending it and making a follow up series as intended. They could hardly have him have another accident for the next series could they?

[mandele-lcc]

I thought it was a good ending!!

I thought the closure on the walking in the woods flashbacks was fantastic as it had been in the last 3 episodes too. Must confess tho that I had thought earlier on in the episode (when his young mum was telling him about his dad) that it would be old sam that was the cause of why his dad had gone.

Just want to know the relevance of the girl and the puppet from bbc2 now lol

[stoo_pid]

I wonder if there's any relevance to the fact that he stopped Annie Cartwright being kicked / beaten (possibly to death?) by his father. As a kid he saw it happen & blocked it out of his mind, as an adult he stopped it from happening. Sam kept saying he felt he was there (i.e. 1973) for a reason - praps that was part of it...

[gammaray]

I take your point KRUSTY, I'm probably just too impatient. It has the capacity to just keep rolling along without ever having an ending. It has been a really good series and I'd hate to lose interest in it because they just dragged things out for too long.

[ludwig]

I suspect they filmed 2 endings; one which gave closure in case another series wasn't commissioned, and the one we saw which just left things hanging for a new series - in case it proved to be popular.
Of course it was popular, which seems to have taken them by surprise, as we've got to wait till next year while they frantically write and film a new series.

[kick3m0n]

sad week tho....no more Shameless or Life on Mars till NEXT YEAR! Way too long to wait. Loved Life on Mars, thought ending was brilliant.

[Pippa68]

I agree ludwig ~ I had thought there must be two endings. Maybe they will inlcude it in the DVD release?

I liked the last episode, as it proved Sam's reason for being there in two ways..finding out what his father was really like (what Sam did in the gun segment made me weep) & possibly saving Annie's life. It may not have given us closure, but it did give some to Sam!

Blimey..we have to wait a whole year for the next one. I will be ticking off the calendar months as Life On Mars has been one of the best things the BBC has produced in ages.

[ipek]

I thought it was the only way they could end it if there was another series coming, but as you say ludwig, there must have been different endings, depending on how popular it was.

I'm still quivering with horror at the clothes and hair - it was bad enough first time round.!!! But they've done a brilliant job with the period research - we were wating with bated breath and were not disappointed when they finally brought out the 'party-7' at the end of one episode. Classic! I can't remember how many of those we exploded with a screwdriver.......

It does make you realise how things have changed in just 30 years - not all for the better.

[mandele-lcc]

I just hope that to spice things up a bit they dont turn Sam Tyler into a sam beckett type character from quantum leap, righting wrongs done in the past.

Each Episode has had some relevance to Sams past, The first episode was based around the crime identical in Modus Operandi to the one he was working on on in 2005, Helping his mum with the Landlord and the rent, seeing himself going to the match, after giving away the hooligans ticket.

[kazza12345]

i was very disappointed "im going down the pub"

what?

Anyway, i think the new series should be gene in 2006

[Joe Shmoe]

I enjoyed the entire series from beginning to end. It had to end this way so there could be another series. There was however some closure for Sam. He now knows why his Dad went away. Also he changed history by savig Annie. I look forward to the next series.

[Netty7]

I think Life on Mars has been the best thing on TV for a long time, and I didn't want it to end. I agree with gammaray though, I think it should have finished there with Sam returning to the present, probably meeting Annie as an older lady (complete with the list of events, films, wars etc that he made for her in an early episode), proving what he had been trying to tell her.

And before you all say it's so good there must be another series - I totally agree but I've got a feeling it might just lose it's magic!

The 70's was my era and it has brought back some lovely memories.

My husband has been working away so I taped the whole series ,and have starting watching it again with him,and am enjoying it just as much second time round!

[Kenzie]

Netty7, the 70s was my era too - cringe and smile in turn! I totally loved this series and didn't want it to come to an end. I thought that the closure would be Sam finding out that his father, Vic, had been buried under a motorway bridge by the Morton brothers. I'm wondering if there is a significant link between Sam's current (2005) girlfriend (are they still going out or over?) and Annie. By the way, I recognise Liz White but can't put a finger on where I have seen her before - does anyone know what she has acted in before?

[Kenzie]

Forgot to say, The Gene Genie is brilliant! Philip Glenister is fantastic.