Trivia / Life on Mars (2006)

• Channel Hop: Almost. When the series was first rejected by The BBC, it was nearly picked up by Channel 4.
• Follow the Leader: The series came right on the heels of Doctor Who's revival. In fact, Sam was named after Rose Tyler.
• Mid-Development Genre Shift: According to Matthew Graham, the initial idea was for a humorous, pre-watershed programme that overtly mocked the styles and attitudes of the 1970s, with the comic actor Neil Morrissey envisaged as the central character.
• Referenced by...:
  • The Rebus novel Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013), in which the main character recalls his early days in the police:
  "You ever see that programme Life on Mars? It felt like a documentary."
  • The Not Going Out episode “Life on Mars Bars” parodies the show. Main character Lee gets run over while “Life on Mars?” plays and later realises he’s in a coma.
  • The Catherine Tate Show had the recurring “Life at Ma’s” segment, starring Tom Ellis as Fish out of Temporal Water policeman Sam Speed.
• Saved from Development Hell: The programme was originally conceived in 1998, when Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah were sent on a break to the English seaside resort of Blackpool by Kudos Film & Television to think up programme ideas.
• Shrug of God: The creators "encourage" multiple interpretations of the ending.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The series finale was originally going to conclude with Sam's jump. It was originally going to cut to black, series over, but the writers decided to give the viewers a bone and let them see him rejoin his friends in 1973.
  • Other endings that were considered: Sam waking up in 2006; Sam staying in 2006 but using things he'd learned in 1973; Gene somehow ending up in 2006 with Sam whether in his imagination or as a legit "time traveller"; Sam finding an old Annie in 2006.
  • The initial geographical setting was to be London; this was then changed to Leeds and finally to Manchester, as part of a BBC initiative to make more programmes in the city.
  • There was originally to be a third series, which would have ended with the truth about Gene. However, John Simm was so burnt out by the fact that his character was in every scene of every episode that the show was wound up after two series, and Ashes To Ashes was created to continue the story.
  • Sam's last name was originally Williams. The name Sam Williams was subsequently used as a plot point in the second series.
• Working Title: Ford Granada. Nick of Time.

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