I did notice that "Life on Mars" was playing during Ray's light-shift hallucination moment in the most recent ep

Ooh. I'm going to have to go back and look for that.

Yep, the speed-dating episode. I'm starting to wonder whether other characters are in comas or from the 2000s. At one point last season there was a real-world reference to another man in a coma. I've only seen each of the episodes of AtA once, and I don't remember what my original thought was of the significance of that. But you add in Shaz seeing stars, and I'm wondering whether that's just an echo of Alex's visions, or whether it's something else.

I, too, am hoping for an ending that's at least coherent. The Life on Mars ending took away the glorious ambiguity of the show, for me. Ashes to Ashes hasn't been at all ambiguous, but it's regaining some of that now, which is fun.

Coherent and ambiguous - I would like that.

There's been a very strong implication that the new character, Keats (Daniel Mays), is also from the future. He's practically said as much, and he knew the names of future serial killers. So it will be interesting to find out what he's doing there .

Apparently the coming episode will be even more Sam-centric. I'm fairly sure he could come back. They never found the body... .

Fiona: Ooh. I wonder if they've managed to tempt John Simm back, if only for a scene or two. It would also be fascinating if he didn't die in the past.

Seska, re your whitefont:

yes, it would be extremely cool to see John Simm again. However due to subsequent events I can't guarantee that I won't be shouting, "Don't trust him, he's THE MASTER!" at the screen .

Sapphire and Steel reference on Ashes to Ashes last night. Love it.

I was a bit worried when Ray started seeing stars and talking about astronauts though. I do hope they're not going to go where the US LoM did and put them all in hypersleep .

Nice episode, all in all. The Sam mystery deepens....

RE: Last night's Ashes to Ashes on the BBC. Anyone have any thoughts on what Gene might have said? I don't think it was just 'the truth' in relation to Sam. I think he knows where this universe, for want of a better term, has come from. Which might be related to Sam's death, too.

Fiona: Don't think the stars thing - which Ray and Shaz have both seen - is particularly literal. I think it might be what Ray said about being on the edge of the universe. Their world might be collapsing.

From a "mythology" perspective it would make sense if he did know what was going on. I don't think I want him to be running it, though. Maybe just been in a coma for ages or somesuch.

If Chaz had been in LoM, I could see (well enough to throw things at) a solution like the US one, but, as it is, it makes less sense. Also, see above re: throwing things.

Why couldn't anyone have looked at personnel files while in the now and given us an answer as to whether any of these people actually lived in our Universe? Seems like the first thing you do when you hear Sam's story. I know, dramatic tension, but, still...

It's interesting that they made the point about Gene changing because of both Sam and Alex. I wonder how, if at all, it feeds into the larger mythology.

3 more episodes, and still a lot to be done.

DebetEsse, I don't imagine that anyone would have checked whether Gene etc. actually existed, because it would have been assumed that Sam was hallucinating. I'm a bit surprised that Sam didn't appear to try and look them up, though. Maybe he didn't care. Alex's comments about that life seeming more real than her actual life probably come into play .

Yes, I'm actually quite looking forward to the last three eps.

I like to think that, given the connections to actual events (that Sam or Alex witnessed as a child), someone would have at least run Gene's name through the police databases. Both of them had time in the "real world" after their time in Gene-land, as well.