- The opening sequence with the gunman by the Thames sees yet another appearance on television for my old school, the City of London School. Why did I never see television cameras when I was there?
- Has Alex been hit or missed?
- Alex Drake's outfit when she comes to in 1981 has to be seen to be believed. I can't remember 1981 - was it really like this?
- Gene Hunt's shoes! Did people really wear those?
- Gene, Ray and Chris are back and just the same, although Gene's got a new coat and car.
- In the police station there's at least two black policemen - will there be conflict over racial attitudes?
- Quite an introduction for the men!
- Ah Zippy and George! Who of my generation doesn't have fond memories of Rainbow?
- Alex finds herself in a world she thinks she understands but is it what she imagines?
- Gene seems uneasy with "modern" policing - is he as out of place as others?
- Alex is quite open about her situation - will this cause her problems in the station?
- Zippy and George in the police station - quite a surreal sequence!
- And is it me or has Roy Skelton provided their voices?
- The clown is quite scarey!
- Shadwell is quite close to QMUL but I don't immediately recognise the railway arches seen.
- Sam Tyler lived in the past for seven years before drowning - or is he still alive somewhere?
- When Alex walks into the restaurant why do I immediately think of Bergerac?
- Gene knows that the knives are out for his type of his policing - will he act on borrowed time?
- We're getting scenes that Alex isn't actually present for, something not done on Life on Mars - is this a sign that this really is 1981? Come to think of it, when in the present day Layton remembered Alex's mother, was he actually remembering Alex herself?
- "I'm The A-Team." It hadn't started in 1981, had it?
- What would happen if Layton died? A wake-up, a paradox or what?
- Alex thinks she's done what it takes to get home, but is it that simple?
- Even Alex found Gene's cavalry boat ride to be over the top!
- Have Alex's parents already died yet? Or will we meet them soon?
All in all a good start to the series, showing it's very much a different beast and not just a rehashing of its predecessor. I'll keep on watching...
5 comments:
You hit upon quite a few things: no, I don’t think we got quite as bright and white clothing-wise by 1981 though the trends were there. What Alex wore was technically available but I don’t remember anyone dressing like that (disregard the fact that I was nine). And yes, The A Team thing was out of place: a few years early here!
I think we have three months to go before Alex’s parents are blown up.
I think Gene was using a phrase rather than a reference, although it's likely this is all in Alex's mind, so a bit of minor licence can be got away with.
I never, ever liked Rainbow, so was pleased to see George and Zippy in a rather creepy scene.
Plus one of the nice touches of both series is to have lines that have only a single meaning for the contemporary characters saying them but which both Sam/Alex and the viewer can read a double meaning into.
What was wrong about Rainbow Paul?
I found it twee and patronising, and Zippy's voice irritated me. Play School was more refined, pleasant, and just, well, so BBC
To be quite honest, I thought that the first episode of Ashes to Ashes was not very good at all when compared to Life on Mars.
The second episode wasn't much better either, though I did like the quote by Gene Hunt near the end which went: 'Useless spotty anarchic twat, nil. Royal Family and Gene Hunt, one.'
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