Iain J Coleman (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} iainjcoleman) wrote,@ 2008-02-07 22:41:00 |
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Ashes to Ashes
Spoilers for Ashes to Ashes episode 1:
So, the heavily-trailed successor to the mighty Life on Mars is here at last. But is it The Empire Strikes Back or Highlander II?
It's certainly got a different vibe.The time-stranded cop is female, of course, and more on that in a bit, and of course it feels different for me because I remember 1981. There's a much more fundamental difference, though, which is that this time the modern police officer knows all about Gene Hunt et al, and has no doubt at all that the whole experience is nothing but a figment of her own imagination. This is one of the things that lets down the drama. If our viewpoint character doesn't care about the events and people around her, why should we? Most importantly, Life on Mars was founded on the moral struggle between Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt: but if Alex Drake doesn't believe the people around her are real, why should she care if they get beaten up, tortured or shot? And speaking of the Gene Genie, the other big problem is that Ashes to Ashes has bought into Hunt's self-image wholly uncritically. His pig-headed machismo made dramatic sense in opposition to Tyler's modern restraint: without that opposition, the id-monster is free to roam wild in a show that gleefully indulges his every excess.
There is good stuff here: the period details are nicely evocative, and Glenister, Andrews and Lancaster do a very good job of portraying older versions of their previous characters. Sadly, the new lead actor isn't in the same league. Watching Keeley Hawes' shrill and mannered performance, you realise just how crucial John Simms' introspective intensity was to the success of Life on Mars. Presumably the production team thought that a female lead would add a new dimension to the central relationship, but there's much less sexual tension here than there was between Hunt and Tyler. Instead, there's just some ritualistic sexism that even Gene Hunt seems bored with.
But one of the really basic problems with this show is that it doesn't have a clear idea of its source material. Life on Mars was part tribute to, part parody of The Sweeney, a core concept that anchored the entire series. Ashes to Ashes wants to do the same with 80s cop shows - but there are two problems. The first is that all the good cop shows in the 80s were American. Where Life on Mars just needed to screech a brown Cortina through a brickworks to invoke its roots, Ashes to Ashes really needs dazzling sunshine glinting off bright blue sea if its speedboat full of gun-toting cops is to have the same effect. Puttering up an overcast Thames just doesn't cut it, I'm afraid. The second problem is that the source material here has such a range of tones, and Ashes to Ashes can't make up its mind which to go for. A hail of submachinegun fire in which no one is hurt can work as an affectionate send-up of The A Team, but only if the rest of the production supports it. When it's variously trying to be Miami Vice or The Equalizer, poor old Marshall Lancaster just looks like a twat as he dances amidst the bullets.
And finally, where the first episode of Life on Mars was structured around two brilliant, iconic scenes - Tyler's first confrontation with Hunt, and the pair of them leaping over the table at the climax - tonight's episode had no such moments.
I'm hopeful that these are just teething troubles, the creaks and groans of trying to restart the idea in a new setting. Perhaps, with the work of justifying the central premise done, the show will settle down to a solidly entertaining level, even if it never reaches the heights of its parent. Then again, perhaps I'm just being over-optimistic. We'll see.
Spoilers for Ashes to Ashes episode 1:
So, the heavily-trailed successor to the mighty Life on Mars is here at last. But is it The Empire Strikes Back or Highlander II?
It's certainly got a different vibe.The time-stranded cop is female, of course, and more on that in a bit, and of course it feels different for me because I remember 1981. There's a much more fundamental difference, though, which is that this time the modern police officer knows all about Gene Hunt et al, and has no doubt at all that the whole experience is nothing but a figment of her own imagination. This is one of the things that lets down the drama. If our viewpoint character doesn't care about the events and people around her, why should we? Most importantly, Life on Mars was founded on the moral struggle between Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt: but if Alex Drake doesn't believe the people around her are real, why should she care if they get beaten up, tortured or shot? And speaking of the Gene Genie, the other big problem is that Ashes to Ashes has bought into Hunt's self-image wholly uncritically. His pig-headed machismo made dramatic sense in opposition to Tyler's modern restraint: without that opposition, the id-monster is free to roam wild in a show that gleefully indulges his every excess.
There is good stuff here: the period details are nicely evocative, and Glenister, Andrews and Lancaster do a very good job of portraying older versions of their previous characters. Sadly, the new lead actor isn't in the same league. Watching Keeley Hawes' shrill and mannered performance, you realise just how crucial John Simms' introspective intensity was to the success of Life on Mars. Presumably the production team thought that a female lead would add a new dimension to the central relationship, but there's much less sexual tension here than there was between Hunt and Tyler. Instead, there's just some ritualistic sexism that even Gene Hunt seems bored with.
But one of the really basic problems with this show is that it doesn't have a clear idea of its source material. Life on Mars was part tribute to, part parody of The Sweeney, a core concept that anchored the entire series. Ashes to Ashes wants to do the same with 80s cop shows - but there are two problems. The first is that all the good cop shows in the 80s were American. Where Life on Mars just needed to screech a brown Cortina through a brickworks to invoke its roots, Ashes to Ashes really needs dazzling sunshine glinting off bright blue sea if its speedboat full of gun-toting cops is to have the same effect. Puttering up an overcast Thames just doesn't cut it, I'm afraid. The second problem is that the source material here has such a range of tones, and Ashes to Ashes can't make up its mind which to go for. A hail of submachinegun fire in which no one is hurt can work as an affectionate send-up of The A Team, but only if the rest of the production supports it. When it's variously trying to be Miami Vice or The Equalizer, poor old Marshall Lancaster just looks like a twat as he dances amidst the bullets.
And finally, where the first episode of Life on Mars was structured around two brilliant, iconic scenes - Tyler's first confrontation with Hunt, and the pair of them leaping over the table at the climax - tonight's episode had no such moments.
I'm hopeful that these are just teething troubles, the creaks and groans of trying to restart the idea in a new setting. Perhaps, with the work of justifying the central premise done, the show will settle down to a solidly entertaining level, even if it never reaches the heights of its parent. Then again, perhaps I'm just being over-optimistic. We'll see.
