Ashes to Ashes- Life on Mars spinoff (spoilers)

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

Ok I have to say a great big "LOL!" to the beginning of this last episode. One up side to ashes over LoM is stuff like that. Gene Hunt and the CID squad doing their rendition of the video to uptown girl. Better than Westlife any day of the week.

And here (at least for UK people) is the vid of that epic moment.
*EDIT Should work for everyone now*

I am really enjoy Ashes to Ashes, if this is its last season, it's been excellent so far.

Oh and this has to be the definition of Crowning Moment of Awesome.

[Major Clanger]

You lot are hilarious...ly young.

BILLY JOEL sang uptown girl and performed in the video with his then-girlfriend (later wife, even later ex-wife) Christie Brinkley...


*rolls eyes*

[P-90_177]

You lot are hilarious...ly young.

BILLY JOEL sang uptown girl and performed in the video with his then-girlfriend (later wife, even later ex-wife) Christie Brinkley...


*rolls eyes*

Lol. I know that. When I said about westlife I meant that Gene Hunts take on it is far better than theirs.

[Catsitter]

So what about the date 6-6-20 on Alex's desk, and the fact that she and Shaz have seen stars in the sky during the day? I really hope I'm wrong but I have a horrid suspicion that

Spoiler:

the explanation for everything is going to be the same as the US Life on Mars

There was another snippet from the song "Life on Mars" in that moment with Ray after Gene gave him the cigar at the end of the latest episode; wonder what that's all about.

[Ian-S]

So what about the date 6-6-20 on Alex's desk, and the fact that she and Shaz have seen stars in the sky during the day? I really hope I'm wrong but I have a horrid suspicion that

Spoiler:

the explanation for everything is going to be the same as the US Life on Mars

hmm yeah could be the

Spoiler:

My speculation includes Spoilers for US Life on Mars ending - click at your own risk

Spoiler:

6-6-20 (6th June 2020) could be the scheduled mission landing date, and the explanation for them all (my speculation) seeing night stars during the day is it's an interactive VR and everybody is the crew and they're all in the same VR world - maybe Sam died during the space flight and Alex is his replacement on the mission? That would explain why everybody elses "world" continued after Sam died until Alex got to the ship - smaller ship could travel faster and catch up but it would still take a while, she arrives, plugs herself in and bingo - Shaz, Annie and the extras are AI provided by the VR program to create the realism of reality.

I dunno, just speculating.

[Wayston]

hopefully it's not that, anything but that

[Jimmylad89]

Shaz had the stars vision aswell so i doubt she wud be AI, my theory is that all of them are in comas and some how they've all found there way into Gene hunts coma which is the oldest/longest in the real world maybe the rest of them are just realising wats happening to them...that my theory anyway

[pbellosom]

Here's my theory:

Spoiler:

So I'm thinking that whatever Keats is doing, it can end two possible ways. One leads to the dead police officer and the other somehow involves the Song Life on Mars, maybe it's two do with whats sending people back in time. The main characters' actions affect which outcome we get, when Shaz and Ray made life changing decisions they got the Life on Mars music, Chris however is siding with Keats which is why we got the dead cop when he made his decision, his choice makes that the more likely outcome. Stupid question, but did we ever find out who actually hit Sam with a car? Maybe PC 6620 did it, which is why we get an outcome where he's dead, and one involving Life on Mars?

Still got no answer for the stars though.

[Madeleine]

Still got no answer for the stars though.

The stars, and the comments Chris made when he heard Ray was seeing stars, might be a dig at the US version LoM, or a red herring to make people who've watched the US LoM wonder if Ashes will have the same ending.

[Ian-S]

or they could be a hint at where the ending is going.
Why take a dig at the US version, and if it's a red herring, how they gonna explain it, group hallucinations?

Nah, why think up something new when you already have an ending available? (no matter how crap it was).

[pbellosom]

Nah, why think up something new when you already have an ending available? (no matter how crap it was).

Because they came up with their ending years ago when LoM was first beginning and was planned to go for three seasons?

[Ian-S]

I think the ending has been set in stone since before it even aired over here (the series was first pitched to the BBC in 1998), they've just stretched it out over 5 series here whereas the American's wrapped it up in 1 because it was obvious from fairly early on that the US version was not going to make the cut so hey had time to write the ending into it.

Technically Ashes to Ashes only exists because John Simm didn't want to carry on, so I consider it still part of the original story just with a different lead shoehorned in.

Remember the UK Life on Mars version came first, then Ashes to Ashes, then Life on Mars US.

[pbellosom]

The point I'm trying to make is that when they came up with the ending way back in 1998, they didn't tell it to the makers of the American show. The writers of the American show just got the original series to work from, no secret memos telling them what was going on behind the scenes.

Tonight's episodes was amazing, possibly my favourite one.

Spoiler:

Right now I'm leaning towards the guy not being Sam, because I can't see them bringing Sam back without Simm, but if he's not Sam who is he? Now that Alex has found the photos in the desk I'm convinced that the dead policeman is Gene. Who else got the impression when Viv was dying that Keats was claiming his soul? Any ideas about Keats really being the good guy are out the window now, I do like the theory that he's a doctor in the present mercy killing coma patients, but I don't think it holds up.

[Wayston]

yeah I also got the impression from the episode that gene is the wandering policeman, maybe Gene's body is beyond all repair in the real world so he chooses to stay in this one; the fact that the supposed sam tyler says that the three musketeers are together as he is with gene and alex also seems to indicate that gene is somehow more real than other characters in the 1980's world

it also seems like for the first time events in the 1980's world have diverged from the real world, because Viv lives in the real world and he seems to have died here plus alex sees that the riots seem to be in a wrong year/place. If there'd have been a riot with press brought in (silly move anyway you never give hostage takers more hostages) and police being held hostage it should have been plastered all over the news.

[Claire]

Yeah. Things are starting to get a lot more interesting. I wanting to know what happened to Sam Tyler since the first series of Ashes to Ashes. Has anyone noticed that Alex has not mentioned her daughter? Well these next two episodes are going to be really good.