Ashes to Ashes

[BeautifulBurnout]

Follow-on series to Life on Mars (http://www.darktrain.org/dirty/forums/showthread.php?t=2288), only this time set in the 80s with the main protagonist as a modern-day female psychological profiler who is in a coma/back in time.

It took me a while to get over the hurdle of "This won't ever be as good because it's silly to have the same characters except for a different lead, and in a different time-period".

But after a few episodes, I am equally as hooked. It is well written, good contemporaneous dialogue of the period, with a lot of good jokes to lighten up the police procedural stuff.

Loving this. Worth a watch. And an excellent soundtrack too, for an old bird like me. Last week's had Vienna - Ultravox and Ghosts - Japan in the same episode. Woohoo! :D

[pafufta816]

"life on mars" and sinatra's "my way" both originate from the same tune.

[BeautifulBurnout]

"life on mars" and sinatra's "my way" both originate from the same tune.

Cheers for that - I knew about the french connection to "My Way" but had no idea of Bowie's involvement with the original french song. Just been checking it out on wikipedia. Thanks :)

[Deckard]

I've not seen any of Ashes to Ashes or Life on Mars even though I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. Expect I'll get hold of the entire series at some point and watch them back to back over a couple of days!

[joethelion]

Cheers for that - I knew about the french connection to "My Way" but had no idea of Bowie's involvement with the original french song. Just been checking it out on wikipedia. Thanks :)


well - he wasn't involved in the original French song - called "Comme D'Habitude" by CLaude Francois, Gilles Thibault & Jacques Revaux. He was working on an English translation, called "Even a Fool Learns to Love"

the demo was basically just david singing english over the french track...

Paul Anka was also working on a translation... which was "My Way", obviously was then picked up and "Even a Fool Learns to Love" was not.

"Life on Mars?" is basically a salvaging of that material, and david trying to use the same chord progression as "My Way"

[BeautifulBurnout]

I've not seen any of Ashes to Ashes or Life on Mars even though I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. Expect I'll get hold of the entire series at some point and watch them back to back over a couple of days!

Cool! They did a Life On Mars week on one of the cable channels not so long ago, and I virtually did that, even though I had seen all of the second series and some of the first.

Imagine a rozzer like Brian Paddick (although not gay) being plonked down in The Sweeney and you are about there.

As a law geek, my fave bit is when, from time to time, Sam has to caution someone on arrest and says "You have the right to remain silent. However, if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court..." and gets interrupted by his colleagues saying "It doesn't GO like that!!!"

Ahhh, misty memories of those wonderful days of the right to silence! ;)

[Spooky Shoes]

I'm enjoying it.

Life On Mars S1 & 2 are available via Virgin Media On Demand service, Ashes To Ashes is available via Catch Up which is pretty much the same thing.

[stimpee]

New series of Ashes to Ashes coming soon...

Soundtrack is already out.. they dont mess about!

http://www.pcworld-entertainment.co.uk/pcw/10038129.product

Disc 1
The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Haircut 100 - Love Plus One
Adam & The Ants - Stand And Deliver
Flock Of Seagulls - Wishing
Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That
Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
Thompson Twins - Lies
Japan - I Second That Emotion
Specials - The Rat Race
Fun Boy Three - Lunatics Have Taken Over?
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
Kraftwerk - The Model
Human League - Mirror Man
OMD - Messages
Duran Duran - Planet Earth
Blondie ? Atomic
Echo & The Bunnymen - Back Of Love
New Order - Temptation
ABC - Look Of Love
Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Korgis - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime
The Jam - Funeral Pyre
Anti Nowhere League - Streets of London
Bauhaus - Harry
Pigbag - Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag26 tracks on 1 cd though!

[spacejunk]

Can't wait for the 2nd season to start!

[//\/\/]

'life on mars' was great because it was a clever way to remake the sweeney, and john simm was brilliant in it. 'ashes' is just cliched, ott nonsense - gene hunt isn't very eighties, and keeley hawes irritates the fuck out of me even before she speaks her unbelievably poor lines. oh, and there's so much soundtrack that it sounds more like an eighties disco for goldfish, rather than adding anything to the show. not a fan.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Aw man! Rio by the Durans in the first 5 mins!

Gotta love this show just for the soundtrack! :D

[//\/\/]

meh - i'd rather listen to the whole thing without some wooden 'actress' speaking or emoting all over it!

[crazysugarboy]

During an interview with Philip Glenister on today's (Fri 24.04) Jo Whiley show on Radio 1, he mentioned, when asked, that the last band he saw in concert was Freur in 1982 at The Marquee. He mentions "Doot Doot". Although Jo namechecks the "squggle band", she utterly fails to mention that they ultimately became u/w. I sent a txt, correcting her, but it was shamefully not read out. Oh well, cheesey Dave Pearce once read out a txt of mine on the much lamented Dance Anthems, so I've already had my 15 seconds :cool: