Funk to funky, We know Danne's now a junky

My love for Life on Mars and its most important character, Gene Hunt has been documented before. The show was intriguing and confusing and compelling. Plus there were car chase scenes and awesome better-than-Arnie one line throw aways.

When I watched the last episode of season 2, the last season I was sad. At the same time I was delighted that the BBC weren't going to keep it going until they were flogging the dead horse with the bones of the other dead horse. I'm happy there was no jumping the shark in this one. They left me wanting more.

So while trawling Google to find images of the Gene Genie for my last post about him, I happened across some info about a SEQUEL!!!!!

Much like with Shameless, I don't want this to end! I am already over half way through and am mourning the loss of this show already.

Ashes to Ashes is also named after a Bowie song (and a very good Bowie song at that). This time the protagonist (who is by NO means the character that I care about the most) is a female - Alex Drake. She's a police psych who deals with negotiations, and has studied Sam Tyler's file so knows his case. She is shot in the first ep, which leads to her time travel/coma hallucinations to 1981 London and the seemy underbelly of the city at this time.

Sure, there are plot holes so big you could drive a semi-trailer through them. Like why are the Gene Genie and his bumbling sidekicks kicking the arse of armed bastards in London now? And where did that freaky Bowie clown come from?

Alex has a perm, and always seems to wear the same off-the-shoulder-shirt-with-brastrap-showing that can't have been the DI uniform for the Met police at the time. She is dealing with some heavy shit, like not dying, and possibly preventing the death of her parents in that same year. She drinks like a college kid, and flirts fantastically with just about everyone.

Gene Hunt is... phenomenal. I actually think there might be a little bit of a whiff of the unhealthy when it comes to my relationship with this character. When I hear his gutteral voice, growling the completely unPC opinions and pushing around underworld figures, it is like a punch in the guts. The sexual tension between he and Alex is great - and pretty much the only thing that makes me identify with her and her pouty, shouty, permed up face. The lines he is given, and the delicious way he delivers them makes me want to go down to the police station to see if I can find myself a portly, pocky fella with a penchant for scotch and sexual harrassment. As I said, this obsession is getting to be a little unhealthy...

I also really appreciate the design of the DVD. The box set is designed to look like an old school VHS case. The DVD menu looks like an Atari game and the opening credits simultaneously pays homage to the 80s icons of veneitan blinds, wailing electric guitar and cop shows. And the closing credits looks like the old Green On Black DOS screen. While I don't think all of these elements of 1981 hang together cohesively, I think points are deserved for effort.

And I think I deserve points for not spending every waking hour glued to the box watching this show on repeat.