After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973.After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973.After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 9 wins & 30 nominations total
Browse episodes
Videos2
Storyline
After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973.
- Taglines
- Two cops in the same town at the same time... 33 years apart
- Genres
- Certificate
- TV-14
- Parents guide
Did you know
- GoofsThe bar scene: No beers cost 22p in 1973. Also, as the UK were still changing the money over, use and handing over of decimals would have been a lot slower than as shown in the film. Beer in Manchester would have been between 10np and 15np (or 2-3 shillings).
It was revealed in Ashes to Ashes that this era inhabited is a kind of police purgatory: Heavy artistic license can be used with these details, as it's not the real living world/ reality being portrayed.
- Alternate versionsWhile the version shown on BBC in the UK are 58 minutes in duration, the repeats on Bravo (UK) and the versions shown worldwide are cut down to about 42 minutes to make way for adverts and to cut down on the more adult material (particularly nudity and swearing). Much of the 1970s music is also replaced with public domain music due to rights issues.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Timeshift: Creating 'Life on Mars' (2006)
Top review
Witty, Subtle, and Compelling
Stumbled on this series on BBC America and miss it terribly now that the first season is over.
Great over-arching conflict (Is Sam imagining he's from the future? Is he living inside his coma-induced reality? Or did he really travel back in time?) intermingles well within each episodes crime to solve. Loved when promises a witness complete anonymity if the guy will agree to finger the perpetrator in a line up; handled in a way that recognized the humor without diminishing the seriousness.
Plus, even though it's promoted as Sam's story, the series would suffer greatly without the Guv (DCI Gene Hunt). In the US, Philip Glenister's character would too easily be a cardboard-flat, corrupt, irredeemable cop. Here he's written and played with many shades letting you cheer for him at times, loathe him at others, pity his neanderthal ways, respect his desire to be a "good cop" while shaking your head at his twisted definition of a "good cop." He's a smart and unpredictable foil for Sam. They're each a better man for having to deal with the other even as they resent the complication and will never fully agree on their methods. There's a grudging respect building between them.
It's Sam's and Hunt's push me-pull you relationship that makes this must-see for me.
Great over-arching conflict (Is Sam imagining he's from the future? Is he living inside his coma-induced reality? Or did he really travel back in time?) intermingles well within each episodes crime to solve. Loved when promises a witness complete anonymity if the guy will agree to finger the perpetrator in a line up; handled in a way that recognized the humor without diminishing the seriousness.
Plus, even though it's promoted as Sam's story, the series would suffer greatly without the Guv (DCI Gene Hunt). In the US, Philip Glenister's character would too easily be a cardboard-flat, corrupt, irredeemable cop. Here he's written and played with many shades letting you cheer for him at times, loathe him at others, pity his neanderthal ways, respect his desire to be a "good cop" while shaking your head at his twisted definition of a "good cop." He's a smart and unpredictable foil for Sam. They're each a better man for having to deal with the other even as they resent the complication and will never fully agree on their methods. There's a grudging respect building between them.
It's Sam's and Hunt's push me-pull you relationship that makes this must-see for me.
helpful•363
- gelogenicB
- Oct 4, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Ford Granada
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content

Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.