Ashes to Ashes

While I was in London, I picked up the first series of "Ashes to Ashes". I just had a chance to watch the whole series over the last few days. It was only eight episodes -- UK series tend to be shorter than we have here in the US -- but it was absolutely incredible.

I loved "Life on Mars", the original, and I had heard that they were going to be doing a sequel. At some point, it'll come to cable over here, but I've never been very good at waiting. So when I saw the series, I had to pick it up.

It continues with some of the same characters: Gene, Ray and Chris, but they've moved from the outskirts of Manchester to the crime infested city of London. They've continued with the great fish out of motif of the modern day liberated copper dropped into 1981, where many of the social changes that we've taken for granted haven't happened yet. The cops then are rough and tumble: racist, homophobic, alpha males that don't fit into the way we see the world today.

And as we saw in "Life on Mars", the main character (Keeley Hawes as DI Alex Drake) is struggling to understand what's happening and the rules of the new world that she's in. There's also an interesting mystery element throughout the first series having to do with Drake's personal history.

I recommend it highly. I can't wait to see the next season.