From my favorite movies..

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Ashes to Ashes is a great follow up to Life on Mars (UK). I watched the first run US series Life on Mars and felt it was a great show (ending not withstanding). I then discovered the UK series and thought it was excellent. After watching Ashes to Ashes, I found that the show, while a little slow at times, really moved the franchise along. The ending was phenomenal. I won't give a spoiler, but trust me it is worth the wait. I wish the US series put as much thought into the finale as the finale to Ashes to Ashes did. Initially I did not think that Ray's character was indicativeof the character he played on Life on Mars (UK), but saw how it was played masterfully after seeing the backstory created on Ashes to Ashes.

I'll admit to being a huge fan of this programme. I watched all three series and the two series of its predecessor "Life On Mars" and thought they were top class entertainment.Having seen "Life on Mars" (LOM) isn't a requirement to enjoying "Ashes to Ashes" but it would definitely help as many of the main characters and the time travel concept of the programme was set out in the earlier programme.At the start of Series 1 we meet present day London Detective Inspector Alex Drake, played by Keeley Hawes (sigh……). Where was I? Oh yes. She is in a coma after being shot by a suspect during a chase. She wakes up to find herself in early 1980's London. It appears she is part of the police unit headed by Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). He was also head of the unit that Sam Tyler found himself in "Life on Mars" set in 1970's Manchester. She was familiar with Hunt and the other characters from LOM as she had read interviews Tyler had had after he "returned" from the 1970's.In Series 1 each episode sees the unit working on a crime while Drake tries to work out how she can get back to "real life" and her young daughter. The time she finds herself in is shortly before her parents were killed in a car bomb. She convinces herself that if she can prevent this happening in her 1980's reality she will return to present day. The two intertwining story threads as well as the brilliantly written and acted dynamics between the characters make each episode a treat . I don't think I'm giving away too much by saying that Series 2 finds Drake still in the 1980's and trying to find a way back by cracking a plot involving police corruption that Hunt seems to be involved in. This series is darker in tone that the first. She also meets character that, like her, seems to have been thrown back from present day to the 1980's.Series three was flagged as the final series and this made each episode even more tense as the characters and the viewers move towards an unknown finale. Hints and red herrings are thrown into each episode that encourages us to theorise on what will happen to our characters in the end. Carrying on the dark tone from Series 2 a major new character seems to be out to get Hunt and tries to convince Drake that Hunt has a murky past. I won't say much more except that I thought the ending was brilliant.There are plenty of comic moments throughout all the series. A lot come from the conflict between Drake's 2000's policing style (her speciality is criminal profiling) and Hunts more direct methods. This is similar to the conflict between Tyler and Hunt in LOM. I found this conflict repetitive after a few episodes in the earlier programme but perhaps because of the romantic frisson between Drake and Hunt, it seemed more believable to me.Gene Hunt's politically incorrect one-liners have launched a thousand tee shirts and are among the show's highlights. The supporting cast must also get a mention. Marshall Lancaster, Dean Andrews and Montserrat Lombard are brilliant and we come love their characters as much as Drake and Hunt.The 80's popular culture references, clothes and especially the music are all spot on.So if you have never seen Ashes to Ashes I really envy you as you have a treat ahead of you. Get the box set, close the curtains, put on your leg warmers, throw your Best of Roxy Music on the CD player and have a great 80's weekend.

On seeing series 1:Crude, puerile, facile, over-acted... was it done this way on purpose, and if so what are they making fun of - the poor wights that stay glued? John Sim reportedly thought "Life on Mars" was a stupid idea, this one is an even more stupid retread with lousy acting (or is it direction?) thrown in.The Audi coupé is about the best thing in it. Lovely cars, they were. For the rest of it, the criminals are obvious, the cops bumble about, the floozy who talks phunny (Alex Whatever) is ludicrous. The guy who popped her one at the beginning should have used a dumdum.Yet funnily enough, it's quite enjoyable in its lobotomized way...Several months later:Changed my rating from 2 to 7. Why? Someone else in the family bought series 2 and 3. The way they tied it off explains why everything is crude, puerile and over-acted. Cunning devils...

I was a bit of a newcomer to Life On Mars. I only joined in with the Life on Mars fad halfway through and by the time i finished catching up the spin-off series appeared. But lets face it, it was to be expected.Ashes To Ashes picks up where Life On Mars left off but this time Sam Tyler is replaced with Alex Drake (Played by the stunning Keeley Hawes) who finds herself shot in the head and in 1981.Que drumroll for the ALMIGHTY! DCI Gene Hunt. It's the only reason i kept tuning in for the first couple of episodes because of Phillip Glenisters awesome character and his trademark wit.The show is great but it took me about 3 episodes in to get really into it while some people were hooked on the first episode i lingered in limbo. But have patience with it.The fact that John Simms male character from Life on Mars has been replaced by an incredibly good looking female brings up plenty of new fresh ideas and story lines. This added a breath of fresh air because it mainly brought up new problems for Gene Hunt being a Mans Man.The writing and character development was well executed and Gene Hunts comic wit was perfectly written. And Ashes to Ashes knew were to draw the line between comedy and drama. It kept it funny but also very serious.all round this series is great and i look forward to the next series......even if i have to wait to next year for it.