Daily Grumble

The second series of Ashes To Ashes kicks off on BBC tonight, and it’s fair to say that I’ll probably end up watching it. But not necessarily enjoying – I hated the first series. After an epic end to Life On Mars the creators decided to drag back the characters (well, minus Sam Tyler) and try to do it all over again. The only problem was, they’ve removed almost everything that was great last time around.

Please ignore the quote of the front of DVD box-set. Ashes To Ashes is not better than Life On Mars. Take a look at the back of the Spider-man 3 DVD. You’ll see a belter of a quote from Mr Jonathan Ross – “This is Spidey’s best adventure yet.” It just goes to show that these quotes mean bugger all. Let’s move on. What makes Ashes To Ashes so bloody terrible?

First of all – the main character. Sam Tyler has been replaced with an annoying, stuck-up woman called [Note: I had to look this up. Really shows the kind of impact the character made doesn't it?] Alex Drake. So instead of an interesting character dynamic between Tyler and Gene Hunt as they battle to out-do the other whilst solving the crime, we get a corny love story in which nothing of any real interest happens. It’s just a scene per episode of sexual tension. Maybe this would be OK if the main character was remotely likeable, but she isn’t. I would hope she’s killed off in the first episode of the new series – it might make the remaining episodes a bit better.

Alex Drake is a trained police psychologist studying Sam Tyler’s suicide. OK, we all know he jumped off a building to return back to his fantasy world in 1973, but what happened to him in that world? Is he still alive? No. “Dead”, Ray tells us. And let me guess… his body was never found? What a fantastically written ending. But I’ll let that slide – you never know, more may become of this in series 2.

And now to the rest of the characters. Gene Hunt, who was utterly brilliant in Life On Mars is a shadow of his former self. He just doesn’t have the same spark this time around. Ray has gone from the moody, bullying rival to a curly head fool, and Chris would be fine, it it wasn’t for his relationship with “Shaz” Granger – which is almost has unbearable as Drake and Hunt’s. Even the weird-ass clown that follows Drake about isn’t a chilling as the little girl that haunts Sam Tyler.

The storylines, whilst not horrible, aren’t anything worth shouting about. In fact – I can’t really remember what happens in specific episodes. Whether that is a result of poor memory or poor writing is your call. But the main story revolves around Drake’s attempt to save her parents, who are killed in a car explosion when Drake was a child. Drake survived as she gets out of the car moments before in an attempt to retrieve a balloon. Yes. It’s as ridiculous to watch as it is to read. Throughout the series Drake has flashbacks to the balloon, very similar to Tyler’s flashbacks of a woman in red being chased through the forest. Do you see a pattern forming here? Admittedly – I didn’t see the final twist coming (which I won’t ruin for you), so the writers do earn some points there. Reluctantly.

All in all – the whole thing was so disappointing when you consider how brilliant Life On Mars was. If you’ve never seen the original you might enjoy this. But for everyone else, watch only with your standard for enjoyment set considerably lower.