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Series 2: Episode 5 (Life on Mars)
Encyclopedia
The fifth episode of the second series of the British
time travel
police procedural
television
series, Life on Mars
, was first broadcast on 20 March 2007. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television
for BBC One
.
of a young woman and her daughter, who are being held prisoner by somebody who wishes the team to release a prisoner arrested on a murder
charge a year ago. At the same time, Sam
faces a life or death situation in 2006 when he thinks he has accidentally been given an overdose. As the deadline draws closer, Sam collapses into a deeper coma, leaving his colleagues to tackle the mystery on their own.
on his television - but featuring plasticine versions of himself and Gene Hunt as the main characters. He then receives a call from Chris at the police station asking if he can return to work to help investigate a couple of kidnappings. Sam looks up and sees Chris now appearing on his television as he participates in the conversation.
Still delusional, Sam runs to work and is bombarded with imagery that suggests he has suffered an apparent overdose in hospital back in the present day world. Arriving at the station, Sam witnesses a distraught man called Simon Lamb threatening to hang himself unless a convicted murderer named Graham Bathurst is released from prison.
For Lamb, soon freed from his noose, has had his wife and daughter abducted with the kidnappers threatening to kill them by the afternoon if their demand is not undertaken. Bathurst had been found guilty of murdering a 14 year old girl called Charley Witham, with Lamb claiming to have vaguely known both.
Sam struggles at work, constantly sweating, but demands that Gene talk him through the previous investigations that led to youngster Bathurst’s conviction. It becomes clear that Gene was very heavy-handed and desperate to find someone to blame for the murder. He coerced Bathurst into confessing by making threats about longer prison sentences unless he complies.
Chris then speaks to Sam about his own part of the investigation, including the initial discovery that Bathurst was seeing Charley. During a visit to the dead teenagers school, he was told about their relationship by Stella Lamb - the girl being held by the kidnappers. Sam thinks this is the reason why the Lamb family has been targeted.
The coppers pay a visit to Graham’s mother and find his brother Mitch hiding away. Gene believes that he must be behind the kidnapping but Sam maintains that his only crime is being Absent With Out Leave from the Navy.
At the police’s behest, Simon Lamb launches a radio appeal to the kidnappers, which prompts a distressed phone call from captive daughter Stella. In a bid to ensure the release of Bathurst, Lamb tries to confess to killing Charley but his hysteria is ignored.
Annie starts to believe that there were major flaws in the murder investigation and a lack of focus on the details. Ray refutes this, explaining how the forensic evidence of an oily rag he found meant that they had caught the right man.
Sam learns, via a phone call from the present day, that he will temporarily slip into a deeper state of coma due to new medication to fight the overdose. Moments later the lights in the office fade to black suddenly. Sam awakens on a couch in a darkened room and sees his police colleagues on the television discussing the case. Gene is suggesting they search Lamb’s bins in case the kidnappers had sent him an earlier warning that he didn’t pick up. He also says that Sam is still out cold.
Sam keeps watching on the television, with the action flitting from Lamb’s house - where the male coppers are investigating - to Annie’s work back at the station. Chris finds a photo at the house where it appears that Stella has been cropped out of a photo with Simon Lamb and his wife.
Annie finds a letter of complaint from Charley’s mother about the police’s handling of the case and pays her a visit. It transpires that her husband Don wrote the letter, believing that there would be more impact if it came from the mother. She then says that Don felt the recent kidnappings were ‘natural justice’, which alerts Annie’s suspicions, as does the fact that he’s a photographer and an expert in manipulating images.
Annie visits Don’s shed and finds the two kidnapped women. Don Witham, Charley's father then turns up and tells her that it was Simon Lamb that killed his daughter. As the policewoman tries to escape, Don threatens her with a gardening implement. Gene and the others then turn up at the house in the nick of time and apprehend the culprit.
Sam wakes up to be comforted by Annie and tells her how good he feels. After a hug, he asks her out to a Roxy Music concert. She teasingly says she’ll think about it…
Chatting with Gene, Sam randomly finds out that the oil from the rag was tung oil, a substance used by Simon Lamb on the night of Charley’s murder for cleaning gym gear. Sam and Gene realise that this was the oil Ray saw on the rag, and Simon Lamb is arrested.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
time travel
Time travel in fiction
Time travel is a common theme in science fiction and is depicted in a variety of media. It simply means either going forward in time or backward, to experience the future, or the past.-Literature:...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, was first broadcast on 20 March 2007. It was produced by Kudos Film & Television
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
Synopsis
The team investigates the abductionKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of a young woman and her daughter, who are being held prisoner by somebody who wishes the team to release a prisoner arrested on a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
charge a year ago. At the same time, Sam
Sam Tyler
DCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.In the original British version of Life on Mars, Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara....
faces a life or death situation in 2006 when he thinks he has accidentally been given an overdose. As the deadline draws closer, Sam collapses into a deeper coma, leaving his colleagues to tackle the mystery on their own.
Plot
Sam lies ill in bed, suffering from apparent hallucinations that cause a surreal episode of cartoon Camberwick GreenCamberwick Green
Camberwick Green is a British children's television series, originally seen on BBC One, featuring stop-motion puppets. It was one of the first British television series to be filmed in colour.-Background:...
on his television - but featuring plasticine versions of himself and Gene Hunt as the main characters. He then receives a call from Chris at the police station asking if he can return to work to help investigate a couple of kidnappings. Sam looks up and sees Chris now appearing on his television as he participates in the conversation.
Still delusional, Sam runs to work and is bombarded with imagery that suggests he has suffered an apparent overdose in hospital back in the present day world. Arriving at the station, Sam witnesses a distraught man called Simon Lamb threatening to hang himself unless a convicted murderer named Graham Bathurst is released from prison.
For Lamb, soon freed from his noose, has had his wife and daughter abducted with the kidnappers threatening to kill them by the afternoon if their demand is not undertaken. Bathurst had been found guilty of murdering a 14 year old girl called Charley Witham, with Lamb claiming to have vaguely known both.
Sam struggles at work, constantly sweating, but demands that Gene talk him through the previous investigations that led to youngster Bathurst’s conviction. It becomes clear that Gene was very heavy-handed and desperate to find someone to blame for the murder. He coerced Bathurst into confessing by making threats about longer prison sentences unless he complies.
Chris then speaks to Sam about his own part of the investigation, including the initial discovery that Bathurst was seeing Charley. During a visit to the dead teenagers school, he was told about their relationship by Stella Lamb - the girl being held by the kidnappers. Sam thinks this is the reason why the Lamb family has been targeted.
The coppers pay a visit to Graham’s mother and find his brother Mitch hiding away. Gene believes that he must be behind the kidnapping but Sam maintains that his only crime is being Absent With Out Leave from the Navy.
At the police’s behest, Simon Lamb launches a radio appeal to the kidnappers, which prompts a distressed phone call from captive daughter Stella. In a bid to ensure the release of Bathurst, Lamb tries to confess to killing Charley but his hysteria is ignored.
Annie starts to believe that there were major flaws in the murder investigation and a lack of focus on the details. Ray refutes this, explaining how the forensic evidence of an oily rag he found meant that they had caught the right man.
Sam learns, via a phone call from the present day, that he will temporarily slip into a deeper state of coma due to new medication to fight the overdose. Moments later the lights in the office fade to black suddenly. Sam awakens on a couch in a darkened room and sees his police colleagues on the television discussing the case. Gene is suggesting they search Lamb’s bins in case the kidnappers had sent him an earlier warning that he didn’t pick up. He also says that Sam is still out cold.
Sam keeps watching on the television, with the action flitting from Lamb’s house - where the male coppers are investigating - to Annie’s work back at the station. Chris finds a photo at the house where it appears that Stella has been cropped out of a photo with Simon Lamb and his wife.
Annie finds a letter of complaint from Charley’s mother about the police’s handling of the case and pays her a visit. It transpires that her husband Don wrote the letter, believing that there would be more impact if it came from the mother. She then says that Don felt the recent kidnappings were ‘natural justice’, which alerts Annie’s suspicions, as does the fact that he’s a photographer and an expert in manipulating images.
Annie visits Don’s shed and finds the two kidnapped women. Don Witham, Charley's father then turns up and tells her that it was Simon Lamb that killed his daughter. As the policewoman tries to escape, Don threatens her with a gardening implement. Gene and the others then turn up at the house in the nick of time and apprehend the culprit.
Sam wakes up to be comforted by Annie and tells her how good he feels. After a hug, he asks her out to a Roxy Music concert. She teasingly says she’ll think about it…
Chatting with Gene, Sam randomly finds out that the oil from the rag was tung oil, a substance used by Simon Lamb on the night of Charley’s murder for cleaning gym gear. Sam and Gene realise that this was the oil Ray saw on the rag, and Simon Lamb is arrested.
Cast
- Sam TylerSam TylerDCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.In the original British version of Life on Mars, Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara....
— John SimmJohn SimmJohn Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television... - Gene HuntGene HuntDCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, whereas in the American version he is portrayed by Harvey Keitel.The...
— Philip GlenisterPhilip GlenisterPhilip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:... - Chris SkeltonChris SkeltonPC/DC Christopher "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.- Life on Mars :...
— Marshall LancasterMarshall LancasterMarshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a... - Ray CarlingRay CarlingDC/DS/DI Raymond Milton "Ray" Carling is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.-Life on Mars:...
— Dean AndrewsDean AndrewsDean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars... - Annie CartwrightAnnie CartwrightWPC/DC Annie Cartwright is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars. The character is portrayed by Liz White...
— Liz WhiteLiz White (actress)Liz White is an English actress, best known for her regular role as WPC/WDC Annie Cartwright in the BBC time travel drama Life on Mars, which began in January 2006... - Nelson — Tony Marshall
- Phyllis DobbsPhyllis DobbsWPC Phyllis Dobbs is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars. The character is portrayed by Noreen Kershaw, whereas in the American version the character does not exist except for a very minor capacity....
— Noreen KershawNoreen KershawNoreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director.She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play Shirley Valentine, later made famous by Pauline Collins... - Test Card Girl — Harriet Rogers
- Simon Lamb — Reece DinsdaleReece DinsdaleReece Dinsdale is an English actor of stage, screen and television.-Acting career:He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1977 until 1980...
- Stella Lamb — Hayley McGroarty
- Mrs Bathurst - Lesley Clare O'Neill
- Mitch Bathurst — James Peter Wells
- Graham Bathurst — Adam Beresford
- Charley Witham — Georgia FooteGeorgia May FooteGeorgia May Foote is a British actress. She is best known for playing Alison Simmons in the school drama series Grange Hill. She is currently starring in Coronation Street as Katy Armstrong, sister to Izzy Armstrong and daughter to Owen Armstrong.Foote has played many minor roles during her career...
- Mavis Witham — Olwen May
- Don Witham — Jonty Stephens
- School Girl 1 - Alicia HallAlicia HallAlicia Hall is an American model and winner of NBC's 2005 reality TV show Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search.- Biography :...
- School Girl 2 - Jodie Hamblett
Cultural references
- The opening sequence starts with the line: "This is a box, a magical box…" In the original Camberwick GreenCamberwick GreenCamberwick Green is a British children's television series, originally seen on BBC One, featuring stop-motion puppets. It was one of the first British television series to be filmed in colour.-Background:...
, the opening poem goes: "This is a box, a musical box. Wound up and ready to play. But this box can hide a secret inside. I wonder who's in it today?" - Gene says "Theft and fencing – and I don't mean the sort that Steed does in The Avengers." The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
was a fantastical spy series whose hero, John SteedJohn SteedJohn Steed is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the popular British series The Avengers and The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee and Ralph Fiennes in the movie....
, was something of a dab hand at fencingFencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
– both with an épée and with his trusty umbrellaUmbrellaAn umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
. - Ray says "I reckon the Munich games1972 Summer OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
will be one for the history books." Carling was not wrong – but not because of the games, rather because the Black SeptemberBlack September (group)The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
terrorist group kidnapped and murderedMunich massacreThe Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
the IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i team and officials and GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
police. The Munich games were in 1972 and the show takes place in 1973. This statement is not an anachronism, however, because it takes place in a flashback from the previous year. - Gene says "Well done, Van der Valk!" Van der Valk was a detective drama series based on the novels by Nicolas FreelingNicolas FreelingNicolas Freeling, born Nicolas Davidson , was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels...
. The series was set in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and the hero was a DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
policeman – although all the parts were played by BritsUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Ford GranadaFord Granada (Europe)The March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German P7-series as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet and...
still featured strongly! - Gene says "I've come at this from more angles than Linda Lovelace!" Linda LovelaceLinda LovelaceLinda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...
was the star of infamous 1972 porn film Deep ThroatDeep Throat (film)Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....
.
Music
- You Shouldn't Do That - HawkwindHawkwindHawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
- Just Like You - Roxy MusicRoxy MusicRoxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
- 10538 Overture10538 Overture-Song history:The song, written by Jeff Lynne, was intended to be a B-side on one of The Move's singles. Rick Price of The Move played bass on the track originally but was never credited, apparently with all the overdubs and layers that were added to the track the bass line 'got lost' in the mix...
- ELOElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
External links
- Episode 5 at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Episode 5 at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Episode 5 at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...