Life on Mars is a British television series that blends elements of a standard police procedural with science fiction. It was produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation and ran for two seasons on BBC One, with eight episodes per season, totaling sixteen episodes. It aired from January, 2006 to April, 2007. The series starred John Simm as Sam Tyler, Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt, Liz White as Annie Cartwright, Dean Andrews as Ray Carling, Marshall Lancaster as Chris Skelton and Noreen Kershaw as Phyllis Dobbs. The premise of the show focused on Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler, who finds himself the victim of an automobile collision that appears to transport him back in time to the year 1973 where he now works for the Manchester and Salford Police. Both the character and the viewer are left guessing as to whether Sam actually travels backwards through time, or is perhaps suffering from a coma dream, or if he is just insane.
Life on Mars was created by Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharaoh.
This series is rated TV-14.
Series aired on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 pm.
The title of the program is taken from the 1971 song "Life on Mars?" by artist David Bowie, which was first released as a single and also appeared on the album Hunky Dory.
