Interesting thought, Fiona. It would make sense that Faith In Gene is key--That's the center that cannot hold. I prefer the idea that he's a real person, in whatever time, to some sort of non-human entity, or not real.

To me, the stars recall Bowie's Space Oddity. (And then I start down the wikipedia rabbit hole and it all kind of works). I mean, Major Tom is referenced in Ashes to Ashes the song. When the series started, I read it as Sam, and I may still, but (as much as it pains me to be similar to the US version), it might be Gene.

It's so very All About Sam, that he really ought to be back, even if just in flashback (and I agree that it was heavily implied in the promo). Dunno where/how Shaz fits into the Manchester thing, though, since she's not from there.

A2A: That was oddly satisfying. They over-used the "Life on Mars" line of that song in the Railway Arms scene. And I stand by my "looking up Gene Hunt in the real world would have been helpful" statement. I really liked that they told us who Jim was without actually getting out the chart and saying it.

I had to look up when Antiques Roadshow started. You've had it for ages over there.

DebetEsse - I agree, especially about Jim. I'm now retrospectively sad that Jim got Viv, not Gene . I loved the way he was played, unpredictable until the final episode, then completely unhinged .

And I really liked the fact that we saw Nelson again.

Antiques Roadshow has been running for ever - since 1979 apparently. Though the best oh-my-goodness-has-it-really-been-on-that-long of the series was Top Gear .

Here's a Guardian article and interview with Matthew Graham explaining everything, über-spoilery:

[link]

I was sad to see that a lot of my friends on twitter hated that, so I'm glad you liked it too, Fiona and DebetEsse! It seems that people who were watching it as a retro cop show were disappointed, but those of us who were enjoying the fantasy elements weren't. There was some serious retcon going on, but it worked. Alex's ending was consistent with the fact that she'd had no real-world interruptions this season. And the whole overarching story arc makes a lot of sense. I want to go back and watch the whole of Life on Mars now. (The BBC has only 'stacked' Ashes to Ashes on the iPlayer, though, irritatingly!)

Fiona: Yep, you were right that they should have looked up Gene in the real world. But they thought Sam was crazy, and he didn't know there was a real world connection, so it makes sense. I didn't think the very short burst of 'Life on Mars' was over-done, but then I'm sentimental. I liked the return of Nelson and his pub.

I liked the very end. I like the idea that some people are dead and they forget where they're from, and others are close to death and remember. Knowing that Gene wouldn't think those who remember are crazy anymore was a rather nice touch at the end. (Although having the bloke asking for his iPhone was a bit OTT.)

There was an Antiques Roadshow mention? I'll have to watch again - I missed a couple of things. Yep, that's been on as long as I can remember.

And I had a long and complicated dream last night that my father had died after being in a coma. BBC's fault.

ETA: [refs to the very spoilery article Fiona linked to]Hmm. The Guardian article suggests there was no retcon involved. Hard to know whether to trust the writers on that. I'm definitely going to have to rewatch Life on Mars.

I wondered about whether Gene would remember in the new re-boot. I get that they had to short-hand the "new guy from the future", but, yes, the iPhone was heavy-handed.

I kind of want to re-watch all of both series, but that's a lot of show.

It's horribly funny that they made Gene Hunt a bloody woobie in the end.

I actually quite liked the iPhone reference. I think it was supposed to be a bit overdone, and it was also obviously a riff on Sam's speech when he first entered the 1973 station. ("Where's my PC terminal?" "Ooo?" Hah!) I also liked that we didn't really get a good look at New Guy, or we may have become interested in his story. And it's not his story anymore anyway, it's still Gene's .

I like that you can probably sum the whole thing up with: It's Gene Hunt's world. We just live in it .

Even if somebody had tried to look up Gene Hunt in the present, I question whether they would have found a young copper who was killed in the depths of Lancashire in 1953 .

All in all I'm pretty relieved at this ending. It was satisfying, cohered to the internal logic of both series and didn't involve a massive amount of retcon. I'm sure there are quibbles but they don't bother me much. It's quite an achievement, wrapping up two series with that much riding on them and not pissing off lots of viewers in the process. Sorry your friends didn't like it much, Seska, but judging by the Guardian talkboards they seem to be in the minority .

Heh. I guess the original premise of this thread has been forgotten. If I'm reading the thread description correctly, the white font is unnecessary.

Frank, I don't think it's aired in Australia.

Frank, I don't think it's aired in Australia.

Was Australia really the only un-American location, though? I find that...odd. We used to have a thread for the Canadians specifically, but I don't remember this one being country-specific.

I'll ask in Bureaublahblah.

Was Australia really the only un-American location, though? I find that...odd. We used to have a thread for the Canadians specifically, but I don't remember this one being country-specific.

I think it's rather that we seem to get shows after Canada and the UK. We are, if you like, the backstop of English-language televeision.