Ashes to Ashes.

When I first heard of this idea my heart sank: What's the point of creating a drama around characters who have been established as the figments of an unconcious man's imagination? How can one worry and feel for characters who in effect cannot die? Would a third season of Gene Hunt result in the character becoming a parody of himself?It was with a mixture of trepidation and intrigue that I sat down with my wife to watch the episode and you know what? I found myself enjoying the episode and thinking my God! it works! I confess that I do miss Sam- indeed I ended up rewatching the final episode of Life on Mars on BBC4 straight after the ending of the show. However, I think it is to be expected that the character of Alex Drake is always going to pale when compared to a character who we have grown attached to over the last two years. I am also willing to give the character time to grow before making a more definitive judgement on her. The winning point of the show: Gene, Ray and Chris- true there are moments when the characters almost fall into the abyss of self parody- the low angle shot of Gene's door anybody? but I don't care- their interactions are a delight. There are also references to Sam, who survives for another seven years or at least that appears to be the case in Alex's subconcious. Will there be a further exploration of the subconcious in this series- it would appear so. This could be an interesting development within the series. However, I do say this with caution- I still think that the main focus should be on a police plot. I also think that the introduction Of Alex will make an interesting dynamic to the team- how will Gene react to her?
Labels: Ashes to Ashes, BBC, Review, Television drama