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Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural
drama
television series, serving as the sequel
to Life on Mars
.
The series began airing on BBC One
in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009. A third and final series was broadcast from 2 April to 21 May 2010 on BBC One and BBC HD
.
(played by Keeley Hawes
), a policewoman in service with the London Metropolitan Police
, who is shot in 2008, and inexplicably regains consciousness in 1981.
The first episode of the series reveals that, in the present day, Drake has been studying records of the events seen in Life on Mars
. Upon waking in the past she is surprised to meet the returning characters of Gene Hunt
(Philip Glenister
), Ray Carling
(Dean Andrews
) and Chris Skelton
(Marshall Lancaster
) all of whom she has learned of from her research, the trio having transferred from the Manchester setting of Life on Mars (Manchester and Salford Police
) to London.
Tension between Drake and Hunt is built through the unsatisfactory explanation of Sam Tyler's absence, and the perceived underhandedness and shoddy work of Hunt in contrast to the methodical, ethical and thoroughly modern Drake. Continuing the theme of Life on Mars, throughout the series it is ambiguous to both Drake and the audience whether the character is dead or alive in the present day and to what extent her actions have any effect on events.
or Purgatory
, for "restless dead" police officers. These restless dead include the main characters Gene, Ray, Chris, and Shaz (Montserrat Lombard
), all of whom died in violent circumstances. There may be others.
The revelation of their deaths come as a surprise to all except Gene who knew they were all dead but who had forgotten the circumstances of his own death due to the passage of time. All except Hunt "move on" as he takes it upon himself to act as a psychopomp
or "ferryman
", to all of his officers, helping them on their way to The Railway Arms (their euphemism for Heaven
).
Gene returns to his office where a newly dead officer arrives, demanding his iPhone
(implying that he is from the present) and asking where his office has gone, in a very similar manner to the arrival of Sam Tyler (John Simm
) in the first episode of Life on Mars.
, Bille Eltringham
and Catherine Morshead. Filming for the second series began in 2008, and began airing on 20 April 2009 in the same timeslot. The second series takes place six months after the first, set in 1982 during the Falklands War
.
They were shot on Super 16 film.
A third and final series was commissioned, and filming of the final eight 60-minute episodes began in late 2009, premiering on 2 April 2010. The series was shot in HD. In an interview with SFX, series co-creator and executive producer Matthew Graham
stated that he was considering making a 3D
episode. Once again, the series moved on a year, this time to 1983. Philip Glenister, speaking on the BBC One Breakfast
TV programme on 8 June 2009, announced that the third series would be the last. Producers revealed the climax of the show would reveal who the character of Gene Hunt really is.
The programme premiered in America on 7 March 2009, available on both cable
and satellite
. The second series began broadcasting on BBC America
on 11 May 2010 at 10:00 pm ET
. In Australia, Series 1 of Ashes to Ashes commenced on 10 August 2009 on ABC1
, with the second series shown directly after. The third series commenced on 13 January 2011 on ABC1. In Portugal, the show is broadcast on Fox Life
, while in Latin America, the series is shown on HBO Plus.
The third series concluded on 21 May 2010.
(episodes 2 & 8) and Matthew Graham
(episodes 1 & 7). Other writers for the series were Julie Rutterford
(episode three) and Mark Greig
(episodes 4 & 5), who worked on the parent series, Life on Mars
. The remaining episode (6) was written by freelance writer Mick Ford
. In this series Alex tries to figure out what happened to her parents, whose lives are connected to the political unrest of the time, especially Margaret Thatcher
's campaign and Lord Scarman's attacks on the police. Alex is haunted by a mysterious figure who seems to be the Clown from the music video of David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes
", reminiscent of the Test-Card Girl who bedevilled Sam Tyler
in Life on Mars. (The clown's identity is revealed in the last episode.)
The second series of eight episodes is set in 1982, against the political background of the Falklands War
. The first episode, written by Ashley Pharoah, deals with the cover-up of the killing of a police officer in a nightclub. As the series progresses, Alex's comatose body is found in present day 2008. Gene finds himself confronting a corrupted force and Alex begins receiving a string of phone calls from a man called Martin Summers, another patient at the hospital to which she has been moved. Summers proves to be a formidable adversary, whose actions eventually lead to a murder and an extremely tense confrontation between Alex and Gene.
In the third and final series, set yet another year forward in 1983, DCI Gene Hunt, DI Alex Drake and the rest of the team all return, joined by a new addition, DCI Jim Keats, a discipline and complaints officer.
and The Stranglers
, New Romantic
s such as Duran Duran
and Ultravox
, synthpop
such as Jon & Vangelis, OMD
, later period Roxy Music
and The Passions
' sole hit single, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", from 1981. A scene in the second episode, "The Happy Day", set at The Blitz
features Steve Strange
playing himself performing "Fade to Grey" by Visage
. The last episode in Series 1 ends with "Take the Long Way Home
" from Supertramp
's Breakfast in America
1979 album. Episode 2 also contains the classic Madness
song "The Prince
". The final episode of Series 3 plays out to David Bowie
's "Heroes".
A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes (Original Soundtrack), from the first series of the show was released on 17 March 2008. A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes – Series 2 (Original Soundtrack), from the second series of the show was released on 20 April 2009. A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes – Series 3 (Original Soundtrack), from the third series of the show was released on 12 April 2010.
During the second and third series, 1980s background music
(some of which had been used during the show) was available to UK digital TV viewers by using the red button
immediately after the show. Clips from Top of the Pops
, The Old Grey Whistle Test and other 1980s BBC TV music programmes, introduced by Philip Glenister in his guise as DCI Gene Hunt, were looped for the remainder of the evening of transmission.
was not available in right-hand drive in the United Kingdom in 1981, only in left-hand drive. The car shown in the TV series is the 1983 model, with slight changes to the headlights and other features. Philip Glenister admitted that the production was aware of this and said, "But who cares? It's a cool car." A number of songs used in the series were also out of time, such as Japan's
"Ghosts
" in series one, Duran Duran's
"Is There Something I Should Know?
in series two, and "Two Tribes
" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
and "Walking on Sunshine
" by Katrina and the Waves
in series three (although the latter was originally released in 1983, the version played was from 1985). Billy Joel
's "Uptown Girl
" was released in 1983, but it features prominently in episode 3.2, set four months before the release; similarly, Ray Carling says in episode 1.2 that Bobby Moore
"was in that movie, Escape to Victory
", which was not released until a fortnight after the episode was set. News events of the three depicted years are used as backdrops to the stories: the 29 July 1981 royal wedding, the 1981 start of the London Docklands Development Corporation
's work and Lord Scarman's contemporaneous enquiry
, the April 1982 liberation of the Falkland Islands
, the 9 June 1983 general election, the 21 November 1983 damage to the Blue Peter Garden, and (in flashback), the 2 June 1953 coronation of the Queen
.
reported that audience figures for the 7 February 2008 broadcast of the first episode, in a 9 pm slot on the flagship channel, BBC One, were 7 million: about 29% of viewers. The figure was "in line with the final episode of Life on Mars in April last year, though well up on the earlier show's second series debut of 5.7 million two months earlier," but The Guardian noted "the heavy publicity blitz this week for Ashes to Ashes" as a factor in its success.
Critical reception to the first episode of the series was mixed, with positive reviews from The Daily Telegraph
, The Herald
The Spectator
, and the New Statesman
and negative reviews from The Times
, The Sunday Times
," Newsnight Review, The Guardian and The Observer
, which criticised the episode's direction, structure and tone (although it did praise the costumes and art direction). The national free sheet, Metro
, gave the episode four stars as "a vote of faith" on what it described as "a dodgy start".
The Guardian reported on 15 February 2008 that, with 6.1 million viewers and a 25% audience share, the ratings for the second episode, shown on 14 February, were down by almost one million on the first, comparing overnight returns. It still did well against the Lynda La Plante
police procedural
Trial & Retribution
, which fell to a series low on ITV
. The fifth episode, broadcast 6 March 2008, attracted 6.6 million viewers according to overnight returns. With this episode, The Daily Telegraph
stated that "Ashes to Ashes stepped out of the shadow of Life on Mars
."
After the final episode of the first series, The Daily Mirror
stated that although one or two episodes were lacking, in the end it was a satisfying finish to a series which had a lot to live up to, and deserved a second series. Addressing press complaints about the quality of Keeley Hawes' performance, Philip Glenister defended his co-star, stating, "It's a hellishly difficult thing to come into and I've seen how hard she works and how brilliant she is. To all those detractors, they're just plain wrong."
Entertainment news website Digital Spy praised the show's return with cult editor Ben Rawson-Jones describing the opening episode of the second series as "greatly promising". It was watched by 7.01 million viewers.
The second series was nominated for The TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. Keeley Hawes and Philip Glenister received nominations in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories respectively.
The finale of Ashes To Ashes, which finished in 2010, has been described by Dean Andrews as 'genius'. He explained on GMTV: "Everything is tied up. You get all of the answers from Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes."
When interviewed by SFX Magazine in May 2010, Matthew Graham
spoke of teasing the BBC with a third set of series called 'The Laughing Gnome
' (presumably a prequel based in the sixties due to the title), and that they made "the whole title page and copyrighted it and everything". He said the BBC responded well to the joke, replying "Yeah, it's commissioned!".
The series three finale was watched by 6.45 million viewers.
used an edited image of Gene Hunt on the Quattro with David Cameron
's face as part of its general election campaign with the words "Don’t let him take Britain back to the 1980s" – comparing his policies to those of Margaret Thatcher
, whose economic policy in the early 1980s saw substantial spending cuts and a sharp rise in unemployment.
In response to this, the Conservatives
copied the image with the words "Fire up the Quattro. It's time for Change. Vote for Change. Vote Conservative." Subsequently Kudos Productions, which owns the copyright to the Gene Hunt character, wrote to both parties requiring them to cease using the image.
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series, serving as the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
.
The series began airing on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009. A third and final series was broadcast from 2 April to 21 May 2010 on BBC One and BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
.
Plot
The series tells the fictional story of Alex DrakeAlex Drake
DI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lucy Cole.-Character history:...
(played by Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
), a policewoman in service with the London Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
, who is shot in 2008, and inexplicably regains consciousness in 1981.
The first episode of the series reveals that, in the present day, Drake has been studying records of the events seen in Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
. Upon waking in the past she is surprised to meet the returning characters of Gene Hunt
Gene Hunt
DCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, whereas in the American version he is portrayed by Harvey Keitel.The...
(Philip Glenister
Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:...
), Ray Carling
Ray Carling
DC/DS/DI Raymond Milton "Ray" Carling is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.-Life on Mars:...
(Dean Andrews
Dean Andrews
Dean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars...
) and Chris Skelton
Chris Skelton
PC/DC Christopher "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.- Life on Mars :...
(Marshall Lancaster
Marshall Lancaster
Marshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a...
) all of whom she has learned of from her research, the trio having transferred from the Manchester setting of Life on Mars (Manchester and Salford Police
Manchester and Salford Police
Manchester and Salford Police was, from June 1, 1968 to April 1, 1974, a police force in England. It was created as a merger of the Manchester City Police and Salford City Police, and covered the adjacent county boroughs of Manchester and Salford...
) to London.
Tension between Drake and Hunt is built through the unsatisfactory explanation of Sam Tyler's absence, and the perceived underhandedness and shoddy work of Hunt in contrast to the methodical, ethical and thoroughly modern Drake. Continuing the theme of Life on Mars, throughout the series it is ambiguous to both Drake and the audience whether the character is dead or alive in the present day and to what extent her actions have any effect on events.
Ending
The final episode reveals that the Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes world is a form of limboLimbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
or Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
, for "restless dead" police officers. These restless dead include the main characters Gene, Ray, Chris, and Shaz (Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard is a British actress best known for playing WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC Drama series Ashes to Ashes.Lombard was born in London. She is half Spanish and half Italian...
), all of whom died in violent circumstances. There may be others.
The revelation of their deaths come as a surprise to all except Gene who knew they were all dead but who had forgotten the circumstances of his own death due to the passage of time. All except Hunt "move on" as he takes it upon himself to act as a psychopomp
Psychopomp
Psychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage...
or "ferryman
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...
", to all of his officers, helping them on their way to The Railway Arms (their euphemism for Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
).
Gene returns to his office where a newly dead officer arrives, demanding his iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
(implying that he is from the present) and asking where his office has gone, in a very similar manner to the arrival of Sam Tyler (John Simm
John Simm
John Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television...
) in the first episode of Life on Mars.
Production
Throughout the first series, Ashes to Ashes was broadcast weekly on Fridays on BBC One at 9:00 pm, with the episodes directed by Jonny CampbellJonny Campbell
Jonny Campbell is a British television director.-TV:* Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights 2 Episodes * Spooks * Ashes to Ashes * Doctor Who...
, Bille Eltringham
Bille Eltringham
Bille Eltringham is an award winning British film and television director. She is a graduate of Bournemouth Film School.Her most recent film is Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution...
and Catherine Morshead. Filming for the second series began in 2008, and began airing on 20 April 2009 in the same timeslot. The second series takes place six months after the first, set in 1982 during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
They were shot on Super 16 film.
A third and final series was commissioned, and filming of the final eight 60-minute episodes began in late 2009, premiering on 2 April 2010. The series was shot in HD. In an interview with SFX, series co-creator and executive producer Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
stated that he was considering making a 3D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
episode. Once again, the series moved on a year, this time to 1983. Philip Glenister, speaking on the BBC One Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
TV programme on 8 June 2009, announced that the third series would be the last. Producers revealed the climax of the show would reveal who the character of Gene Hunt really is.
The programme premiered in America on 7 March 2009, available on both cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
. The second series began broadcasting on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
on 11 May 2010 at 10:00 pm ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. In Australia, Series 1 of Ashes to Ashes commenced on 10 August 2009 on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
, with the second series shown directly after. The third series commenced on 13 January 2011 on ABC1. In Portugal, the show is broadcast on Fox Life
Fox Life
Fox Life is a television network, launched by the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs across Latin America, Europe and Japan . Its basic programming include numerous television series, sitcoms and movies, among others, which includes some original programming in certain regions...
, while in Latin America, the series is shown on HBO Plus.
The third series concluded on 21 May 2010.
Cast
- Philip GlenisterPhilip GlenisterPhilip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:...
as Gene HuntGene HuntDCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, whereas in the American version he is portrayed by Harvey Keitel.The... - Keeley HawesKeeley HawesKeeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
as Alex DrakeAlex DrakeDI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lucy Cole.-Character history:... - Dean AndrewsDean AndrewsDean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars...
as Ray CarlingRay CarlingDC/DS/DI Raymond Milton "Ray" Carling is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.-Life on Mars:... - Marshall LancasterMarshall LancasterMarshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a...
as Chris SkeltonChris SkeltonPC/DC Christopher "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.- Life on Mars :... - Montserrat LombardMontserrat LombardMontserrat Lombard is a British actress best known for playing WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC Drama series Ashes to Ashes.Lombard was born in London. She is half Spanish and half Italian...
as Shaz Granger - Daniel MaysDaniel Mays-Early life:One of four boys, Mays was raised in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts before going on to win a place at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Career:...
as Jim KeatsJim KeatsDetective Chief Inspector James "Jim" Keats is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by actor Daniel Mays.-Background:...
(Series 3) - Joseph LongJoseph Long (actor)Joseph Long is an actor. He has appeared in numerous BBC television productions including Doctor Who, Ashes to Ashes, The Bill and East Enders, He has also appeared in film, for instance in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers as film director Carlo Ponti. He portrayed Bernardino Drovetti in the...
as Luigi - Geff FrancisGeff FrancisGeoffrey "Geff" Francis, most known as Geff Francis is a Black British actor who portrayed Lynford, a hoodlum in For Queen and Country...
as Viv James
Episode guide
The first series, set in 1981, consists of eight episodes, written mainly by creators Ashley PharoahAshley Pharoah
Ashley Pharoah is a British Television writer, co-creator of the successful drama series Life on Mars, which began on BBC One in 2006....
(episodes 2 & 8) and Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
(episodes 1 & 7). Other writers for the series were Julie Rutterford
Julie Rutterford
Julie Rutterford is a British film and television screenwriter. She shared a BAFTA Award for Best Short Film with producer Janey de Nordwall and director Brian Percival in 2001 for their film About a Girl...
(episode three) and Mark Greig
Mark Greig
Mark Greig is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. He is currently a scout with the Flyers...
(episodes 4 & 5), who worked on the parent series, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
. The remaining episode (6) was written by freelance writer Mick Ford
Mick Ford
Mick Ford is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of Scum. He also played Chico Barnes in the TV series based on the Dick Francis racing thrillers...
. In this series Alex tries to figure out what happened to her parents, whose lives are connected to the political unrest of the time, especially Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's campaign and Lord Scarman's attacks on the police. Alex is haunted by a mysterious figure who seems to be the Clown from the music video of David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)
"Ashes to Ashes" is a single by David Bowie, released in 1980. It made #1 in the UK and was the first cut from the Scary Monsters album, also a #1 hit. As well as its musical qualities, it is noted for its innovative video, directed by Bowie and David Mallet...
", reminiscent of the Test-Card Girl who bedevilled Sam Tyler
Sam Tyler
DCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.In the original British version of Life on Mars, Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara....
in Life on Mars. (The clown's identity is revealed in the last episode.)
The second series of eight episodes is set in 1982, against the political background of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. The first episode, written by Ashley Pharoah, deals with the cover-up of the killing of a police officer in a nightclub. As the series progresses, Alex's comatose body is found in present day 2008. Gene finds himself confronting a corrupted force and Alex begins receiving a string of phone calls from a man called Martin Summers, another patient at the hospital to which she has been moved. Summers proves to be a formidable adversary, whose actions eventually lead to a murder and an extremely tense confrontation between Alex and Gene.
In the third and final series, set yet another year forward in 1983, DCI Gene Hunt, DI Alex Drake and the rest of the team all return, joined by a new addition, DCI Jim Keats, a discipline and complaints officer.
Soundtracks
The soundtrack features contemporary songs by British groups of the period such as punk period survivors The ClashThe Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
s such as Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
and Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
such as Jon & Vangelis, OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
, later period Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
and The Passions
The Passions
The Passions were a British band which formed in 1978, and disbanded in 1983. They were one-hit wonders with their misty song, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star". which was released in early 1981.-Career:...
' sole hit single, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star", from 1981. A scene in the second episode, "The Happy Day", set at The Blitz
Blitz Kids
The Blitz Kids were a group of young people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden, London in the very early 1980s, and are credited with launching the New Romantic cultural movement...
features Steve Strange
Steve Strange
Steve Strange , is a Welsh pop singer, best known as the lead singer and frontman of the 1980s pop group Visage...
playing himself performing "Fade to Grey" by Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
. The last episode in Series 1 ends with "Take the Long Way Home
Take the Long Way Home
"Take the Long Way Home" is the fourth single and sixth track of Supertramp's 1979 album Breakfast in America. It reached number 10 on the U.S. charts. The song was used during the climax and closing credits to the final episode of the first series of Ashes to Ashes...
" from Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
's Breakfast in America
Breakfast in America
Breakfast in America was seen as a departure for the band, with its pop sound deviating from the progressive rock stylings that defined their earlier work...
1979 album. Episode 2 also contains the classic Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
song "The Prince
The Prince (song)
"The Prince" is a song by British ska/pop band Madness. It was written by Lee Thompson, and was the band's first single. On 10 August 1979 the single was released through 2 Tone Records and peaked at number 16 in the UK singles chart, spending a total of 11 weeks in the charts."The Prince" is a...
". The final episode of Series 3 plays out to David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Heroes".
A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes (Original Soundtrack), from the first series of the show was released on 17 March 2008. A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes – Series 2 (Original Soundtrack), from the second series of the show was released on 20 April 2009. A CD soundtrack, Ashes to Ashes – Series 3 (Original Soundtrack), from the third series of the show was released on 12 April 2010.
During the second and third series, 1980s background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
(some of which had been used during the show) was available to UK digital TV viewers by using the red button
Red Button (Digital Television)
Red Button is a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and By Directv in the USA. It is for interactive television services such as BBC Red Button and Astro...
immediately after the show. Clips from Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, The Old Grey Whistle Test and other 1980s BBC TV music programmes, introduced by Philip Glenister in his guise as DCI Gene Hunt, were looped for the remainder of the evening of transmission.
Track listings
Depiction of the early 1980s
As with the parent series, there are anachronisms. At least one is known to the cast and crew: the Audi QuattroAudi Quattro
The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, now part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March.The word quattro is derived from the Italian word for "four"...
was not available in right-hand drive in the United Kingdom in 1981, only in left-hand drive. The car shown in the TV series is the 1983 model, with slight changes to the headlights and other features. Philip Glenister admitted that the production was aware of this and said, "But who cares? It's a cool car." A number of songs used in the series were also out of time, such as Japan's
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
"Ghosts
Ghosts (Japan song)
"Ghosts" was a single by the British band Japan from the 1981 album Tin Drum. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1982. Although it was their biggest hit, this was not enough to stop the band splitting a few months later....
" in series one, Duran Duran's
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
"Is There Something I Should Know?
Is There Something I Should Know?
"Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by Duran Duran, released on 19 March 1983.The song was released as a stand-alone single and became the band's first UK number one record. It debuted in the #1 position on the UK Singles Chart on 26 March 1983...
in series two, and "Two Tribes
Two Tribes
"Two Tribes" is the second single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in May 1984 . The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome....
" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
and "Walking on Sunshine
Walking on Sunshine (song)
"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. The re-recorded version was at first released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States,...
" by Katrina and the Waves
Katrina and the Waves
Katrina and the Waves was an English pop rock band, best known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine" and their 1997 Eurovision Song Contest victory with the song "Love Shine a Light".-Pre-history: The Waves and Mama's Cookin' :...
in series three (although the latter was originally released in 1983, the version played was from 1985). Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "Uptown Girl
Uptown Girl
"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by musician Billy Joel, first released in 1983 on his album An Innocent Man. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl." The single peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts in the US, and #1 in the UK,...
" was released in 1983, but it features prominently in episode 3.2, set four months before the release; similarly, Ray Carling says in episode 1.2 that Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
"was in that movie, Escape to Victory
Escape to Victory
Escape to Victory, known simply as Victory in North America, is a 1981 film about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during World War II...
", which was not released until a fortnight after the episode was set. News events of the three depicted years are used as backdrops to the stories: the 29 July 1981 royal wedding, the 1981 start of the London Docklands Development Corporation
London Docklands Development Corporation
The London Docklands Development Corporation was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its eighteen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an area of in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and...
's work and Lord Scarman's contemporaneous enquiry
Scarman report
The Scarman report was commissioned by the UK Government following the 1981 Brixton riots. Lord Scarman was appointed by then Home Secretary William Whitelaw on 14 April 1981 to hold the enquiry into the riots...
, the April 1982 liberation of the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, the 9 June 1983 general election, the 21 November 1983 damage to the Blue Peter Garden, and (in flashback), the 2 June 1953 coronation of the Queen
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth...
.
Reception
Based on overnight returns, The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported that audience figures for the 7 February 2008 broadcast of the first episode, in a 9 pm slot on the flagship channel, BBC One, were 7 million: about 29% of viewers. The figure was "in line with the final episode of Life on Mars in April last year, though well up on the earlier show's second series debut of 5.7 million two months earlier," but The Guardian noted "the heavy publicity blitz this week for Ashes to Ashes" as a factor in its success.
Critical reception to the first episode of the series was mixed, with positive reviews from The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, and the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
and negative reviews from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
," Newsnight Review, The Guardian and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, which criticised the episode's direction, structure and tone (although it did praise the costumes and art direction). The national free sheet, Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
, gave the episode four stars as "a vote of faith" on what it described as "a dodgy start".
The Guardian reported on 15 February 2008 that, with 6.1 million viewers and a 25% audience share, the ratings for the second episode, shown on 14 February, were down by almost one million on the first, comparing overnight returns. It still did well against the Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series....
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
Trial & Retribution
Trial & Retribution
Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...
, which fell to a series low on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. The fifth episode, broadcast 6 March 2008, attracted 6.6 million viewers according to overnight returns. With this episode, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
stated that "Ashes to Ashes stepped out of the shadow of Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
."
After the final episode of the first series, The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
stated that although one or two episodes were lacking, in the end it was a satisfying finish to a series which had a lot to live up to, and deserved a second series. Addressing press complaints about the quality of Keeley Hawes' performance, Philip Glenister defended his co-star, stating, "It's a hellishly difficult thing to come into and I've seen how hard she works and how brilliant she is. To all those detractors, they're just plain wrong."
Entertainment news website Digital Spy praised the show's return with cult editor Ben Rawson-Jones describing the opening episode of the second series as "greatly promising". It was watched by 7.01 million viewers.
The second series was nominated for The TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. Keeley Hawes and Philip Glenister received nominations in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories respectively.
The finale of Ashes To Ashes, which finished in 2010, has been described by Dean Andrews as 'genius'. He explained on GMTV: "Everything is tied up. You get all of the answers from Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes."
When interviewed by SFX Magazine in May 2010, Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim....
spoke of teasing the BBC with a third set of series called 'The Laughing Gnome
The Laughing Gnome
"The Laughing Gnome" is a song by David Bowie. A pastiche of songs by one of Bowie's early influences, Anthony Newley, it was originally released as a novelty single on Deram Records in 1967, the track consisted of the singer meeting and conversing with the creature of the title, whose sped-up...
' (presumably a prequel based in the sixties due to the title), and that they made "the whole title page and copyrighted it and everything". He said the BBC responded well to the joke, replying "Yeah, it's commissioned!".
The series three finale was watched by 6.45 million viewers.
Cultural impact
In 2010, the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
used an edited image of Gene Hunt on the Quattro with David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
's face as part of its general election campaign with the words "Don’t let him take Britain back to the 1980s" – comparing his policies to those of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, whose economic policy in the early 1980s saw substantial spending cuts and a sharp rise in unemployment.
In response to this, the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
copied the image with the words "Fire up the Quattro. It's time for Change. Vote for Change. Vote Conservative." Subsequently Kudos Productions, which owns the copyright to the Gene Hunt character, wrote to both parties requiring them to cease using the image.
DVD releases
| Title | Region 2 | Region 4 | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashes to Ashes: The Complete Series One | 5 May 2008 | 1 October 2009 | 1–8 |
| Ashes to Ashes: The Complete Series Two | 13 July 2009 | 5 January 2010 | 9–16 |
| Ashes to Ashes: The Complete Series Three | 5 July 2010 | 6 October 2011 | 17–24 |