The first series of "Life on Mars" is fun enough, but frustrating in that it doesn't finish the story. Unfortunately, the second series feels like a concept that has been stretch beyond its limits and only the last two episodes are much of interest - everything that comes before them is really more of the same.
The problem lies in the fact that the time travel story is far more interesting than most of the cop drama - and that is because a lot of the cop drama is cartoonish and sometimes a bit sloppy. Investigations often hinge on coincidence and are plagued by the need to suspend your disbelief incredibly - often, you are left wondering why they didn't think to look into this or that, things that seem obvious but they are oblivious to. They're the worst group of investigators since the Torchwood gang. You can write it off to the dream world quality of the series, but one would expect even if the 70s cops are shoddy, Sam Tyler would not be.
It also suffers from the fact that every time the character of Gene Hunt seems to be progressing - which he did in the first series - he is drawn back to square one - brutal, boorish. The character is really stuck in one gear after awhile, which makes no sense within the logic of the actual story and, eventually, just becomes unpleasant.
All that said, if you leave your common sense at the door, the show can be fun - and the performances are often the reason it holds interest. They rise above the scripts astoundingly and are to be highly commended for holding the show together.
The problem lies in the fact that the time travel story is far more interesting than most of the cop drama - and that is because a lot of the cop drama is cartoonish and sometimes a bit sloppy. Investigations often hinge on coincidence and are plagued by the need to suspend your disbelief incredibly - often, you are left wondering why they didn't think to look into this or that, things that seem obvious but they are oblivious to. They're the worst group of investigators since the Torchwood gang. You can write it off to the dream world quality of the series, but one would expect even if the 70s cops are shoddy, Sam Tyler would not be.
It also suffers from the fact that every time the character of Gene Hunt seems to be progressing - which he did in the first series - he is drawn back to square one - brutal, boorish. The character is really stuck in one gear after awhile, which makes no sense within the logic of the actual story and, eventually, just becomes unpleasant.
All that said, if you leave your common sense at the door, the show can be fun - and the performances are often the reason it holds interest. They rise above the scripts astoundingly and are to be highly commended for holding the show together.