TV: Ashes to Ashes

And so to the inevitable Life on Mars spin-off, Ashes to Ashes which sees gruff Northern cop stereotype Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) resurrected and transferred down south to the London Met in the 80s. It was patently obvious from the moment the seminal Life on Mars finished that Hunt would be back, as the break-out anachronism against John Simm’s 21st century savvy detective Sam Tyler, the real difficulty was going to be explaining away a sequel to a show that seemed so perfectly self-contained.

You’ve probably seen the hoard of advertising doing the rounds advertising Hunt’s new sidekick, fish-out-of-time Detective Inspector Alex Drake, played with a confused hysteric by Keeley Hawes who in the space of twenty minutes of the opening show gets shot in the head and finds herself in 1981. Whereas Ashes to Ashes’s predecessor played delightfully with the ambiguity of Tyler’s predicament, Ashes to Ashes sets it straight from the outset, Drake is either in a coma or on the cusp of death. It is too easy to dismiss Hawes’ performance as over-the-top, she copes admirably with explaining away her own situation and dealing with her character’s own brain-melt at suddenly being stuck in Hunt’s world. It perversely offers something new – that Drake is self-aware and ‘knows’ that in our world she’s probably critically injured – while taking away much of the mystery that made Life on Mars such speculative fun. Efforts are made to shove in a few red herrings and subtle clues but there’s not so much endless debate to be had this time out.

Out of nowhere, Ashes to Ashes is the blockbuster sequel to the earlier sleeper hit and as the series progresses, that may provde not necessarily been a good thing. Ostensible sledge-hammer Hunt was a strong character piece that was deployed in a crowd-pleasing but nonetheless background fashion. Here, he’s the star, long, sweeping slo-mo heralding his introduction and his dialogue increasingly like an announcement of his own politics and attitude, flanked by his gun-wielding crew from Manchester who have also made the transfer.

The comparison is perhaps unfair, the introduction of Hawes and the transplant to another decade allows for a gleefully self-indulgent half hour that’s impossible not to enjoy as another synth-stuffed track you used to love plays out over Hunt and his boys commandeering a boat down the Thames armed with sub-machine guns. Since there’s only so many 80s cliches you can fit in (last night’s villain was predictably a coked-out Gordon Gecko complete with Miami Vice-style shoulder pads) the viability of a two-series run at such a pace is in doubt since nostalgia can fast become tired. The first episode served as an effective calling card. Providing Hunt gets reigned in and Drake’s dilemma is lashed on thick, you’re looking at something that really might be just as essential.

Ashes to Ashes can be seen on BBC 1 on Thursday nights at 9pm, or on BBC iPlayer at www.bbc.co.uk for the seven days afterwards.