Life on Mars backdrop
Life on Mars poster

Life on Mars

"Is he mad, in a coma… or has Detective Sam Tyler really travelled back in time?"

7.7
2 seasons
16 episodes
Ended
Crime
Drama
Mystery
Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Plot Summary

A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.

First Aired:January 9, 2006
Last Aired:April 10, 2007
Episode Runtime:1h 0m
Networks:
BBC One
Created By:
Ashley Pharoah, Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan

Cast & Characters

Where to watch free (US)

No free providers found in US.

Seasons (3)

Series 1
7.6

Series 1

8 episodes

Aired: 2006

The first series of Life On Mars focuses on Sam's life following the crash and his arrival in 1973. Elements are thrown in to suggest he is mad, in a coma, or travelled back in time. Also during the first series run, Sam is informed that he is DI (Detective Inspector) to DCI Gene Hunt and the rest of the CID department in Manchester in 1973. This revelation is something that Sam finds hard to understand; he spends most of the series working alone, against his team and Gene.

Series 2
8.0

Series 2

8 episodes

Aired: 2007

Sam learns that an operation is to be conducted on him in 2006 to try and revive him from his coma. However, he believes that to return to the twenty-first century, he has to betray his colleagues in 1973 — but can he regard them as imaginary, or are they real - at least for him?

Production

BBC

Red Planet Pictures