Product Description

Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster, Montserrat Lombard

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #430 in DVD
• Brand: DVD Boxsets
• Released on: 2008-05-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Surround Sound, Widescreen, Closed-captioned
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: .64 pounds
• Running time: 480 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A triumphant return for DCI Gene Hunt, Ashes To Ashes takes some of the characters from the superb time-shifting police drama Life On Mars, and moves the action to the early 1980s. So it’s out with the Cortina, in with the Audi Quattro, and straight down to some terrific television.

Joining DCI Hunt -- again played with terrific force and stature by Philip Glenister -- is Keeley Hawes, as DCI Alex Drake. Like John Simm’s character in Life On Mars, DCI Drake suddenly finds herself in 1981, with no clear reason why.

This provides the platform for another terrific show, the first series of which is fully present and correct here. Ashes To Ashes is tonally a little different from Life On Mars, but maintains the wonderful attention to period detail (and a healthy 80s soundtrack to match), and the willingness to mix in some fun alongside the serious business of police work.

Ashes To Ashes is some achievement. It grounds out an identify for itself, stepping out of the shadow of Mars. And the rapport between Hawes and Glenister is a real highlight. But there’s so much to enjoy here, backed up by the promise of another series in the offing. For now, though, there’s plenty to get your teeth into here, thanks to a quality, very British drama that’s simply compelling television. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
ASHES TO ASHES follows on from the hugely successful BBC series LIFE ON MARS, and sees the return of the self styled 'Sheriff of Manchester' DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Whereas LIFE ON MARS was a throwback to the crime-fighting style of the 1970's with a style and wit reminiscent of THE SWEENEY and THE PROFESSIONALS, ASHES TO ASHES takes you back to 'the decade that taste forgot', the 1980's. The series revels in 80s nostalgia, providing plenty of sight jokes and of course, a brand new car for Hunt.
DCI Hunt has left the relative comfort of the Greater Manchester Police to take on the 'southern nancys' of London, where he once again acquires a time-travelling sidekick, this time in the sexy and smart DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes). Alex's journey began back in 2008 when she was shot during a botched kidnapping of her daughter Molly. Her psychology background and indepth knowledge of the Sam Tyler case lead her to dismiss her predicament as a vivid hallucination. Nevertheless, with crime rife on the streets of 1980's London, and a police team that's not very receptive to modern career women, Alex has a lot to prove before she can figure out how to get home.

Customer Reviews

Addictive and sexy
Life on mars was fantastic already. I did not get hooked by the first Ashes to Ashes episode but kept watching and got to really love it. Maybe it is because I can relate more to the 80s than the 70s, everytime music starts in ashes to ashes I was going like Uuh I remember that, the same with the fashion and details. The series is perfectly produced and the actors are great. I like how Chris and Ray have developed. And, quite frankly, Gene Hunt becomes one of the most sexiest characters on TV ..... Fire up the Quattro..... Now Bollinger Knickers you can either punch me or kiss me ..... Gene Hunt Chapter 1, Verse 2 .... - just a few of the utterly un-PC scruffy quotes by Gene Hunt. Of course, the female lead, Keeley Hawes, is great too and carries her part tremendously. Ashes to Ashes is very recommendable, either if you know Life on Mars or you dont, Ashes to Ashes stands for itself as well as it does as a follow up.

Bollinger-Knickers takes on the Gene Genie
It would be very tempting just to say this isn't quite as good as Life on Mars, but the only thing that's really missing is the originality of the concept. Psychologically-trained copper DI Alex Drake is fully aware of what happened to Sam Tyler in Life on Mars - she's studied his case and she knows all about Gene, Ray, Chris and the rest. She thus enjoys something of a separateness from the action, totally convinced that none of it is real and that those in the 1981 world are 'constructs' created by her, rendering the dreamlike quality much more haunting and niggling this time round. She's also a little smug (Gene calls her Bollinger-Knickers, but clearly fancies this 'posh bird' something rotten). Some female viewers I know find her very annoying - I, like Gene, find her very sexy!

The best episodes are the first and last. In the first, you suspect the writers had a deliberate checklist of things to include to hook Life on Mars fans: an intriguing setup; a new car; the most memorable tunes of the era; Zippy and George from Rainbow (remember Basil Brush and Camberwick Green from Life on Mars?). This may be a little arch, but it's what we viewers want! As for the last episode...no. No clues!

Along the way there is much fun to be had, together with inspired touches like bringing the real Shaw Taylor out of retirement for a Police 5 segment.

It's addictive, it's a winner. Yes, it's a bit uneven, occasionally too tricksy, occasionally historically inaccurate. But knackers to that, as I'm sure Gene himself would say!

Life on Venus?
Quite simply, if you liked Life on Mars, there is no reason you should not like this. Yes, there are quibbles, and Sam Tyler is sorely missed - but the writers have managed something quite rare, in managing to keep life in the premise, keeping what worked, and yet injecting something new.
So what's new? This time, a woman - DI Drake - is the main character, as she was Sam's psychologist and therefore knows this world completely. When something happens to her, she finds herself immersed in it, with the characters we came to love in Life on Mars. However, this time it's the 80's, and as well conceived as the 70's was in Life on Mars, the 80's and 80's TV cop series conventions seem even more vivid here.
It takes a couple of episodes to get into gear, as Keeley Hawes struggles to fill the gap left by Sam Tyler. She is never as compelling as John Simm was as Sam Tyler, but does get into a groove, particularly in the chemistry with Gene Hunt.
And it's Gene Hunt that is really the star of the show... in the `70's he was in his hey day, here, the 80's bring the beginning of political correctness, and this makes for many of the more interesting scenes, the clash of Hunt versus pc-ness. The script and its wonderful one-liners that todays cops could never get away with are just so worth tuning in for. In fact, in this series it would be fair to say that all the characters get more of a chance to shine.. kudos to the scripwriters.
Don't make the same mistake I did though and think this was going to be the whole thing - this is only season 1, so not all story threads get wrapped up here! I for one will be keeping my eyes peeled for season 2...