The essential episodes of Life on Mars
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Life on Mars — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Unsure whether he's in a coma, has really time-travelled or has just gone mad, Tyler's 21st-century attitudes make him a fish out of water in this world of clunky technology and old-fashioned policing. Then he discovers a connection between a murder in 1973 and the 2006 kidnapping case he was working on, and solving this case could be the key to getting home.
- 02
Sam's faith in the criminal justice system brings him head to head with Gene Hunt. Sam decides to embrace his new world but discovers that Gene is planning to plant evidence to secure the conviction of Kim Trent, an elusive criminal. Sam releases Trent, but when a young woman gets caught in the crossfire as a result Sam is forced to question his methods.
- 03
As Sam starts to feel at home in 1973, doctors in 2006 worry that he's losing the will to live. When Sam responds to a fatal stabbing at Crester's Textiles he's shocked to discover that Crester's is the converted mill where he lives in 2006. Sam sets up an investigation but Gene already has a hunch about the murderer. Sam believes he has to stop Gene from sending an innocent man down.
- 04
Sam's principles call into question the ethos of his whole department as he takes on a local gangster in an attempt to stamp out police corruption. Gene believes that criminals and the police can co-exist and that the streets are safer as a result, but Sam knows that in the future police corruption will irrevocably change the relationship between the public and the police.
- 05
The murder of a football fan results in a clash of methods as Sam and Gene go undercover in a local pub to solve the crime. As Gene looks like he's set to drink the pub dry, Sam worries about their chances of finding the killer before Saturday's big match. And his relationship with the young son of the murdered man brings Sam's memories of his own father flooding back.
- 06
The death in custody of drug dealer Billy Kemble pits Sam against CID as he tries to uncover the truth. Sam demands a transparent investigation into Billy's death to encourage public trust in the police. When the evidence of what happened to Billy falls into his hands, Sam has a huge decision to make, which could either tear the team apart or find him an opportunity to get home.
- 07
Sam is finally accepting of this world, until he comes face to face with his 29-year-old dad, Vic Tyler. Vic is a small time gambler who unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a murder enquiry. Gene is convinced that Vic is his link to nailing a new crime syndicate and is prepared to put Vic's life on the line to get to them.As Sam moves to protect his own father he embarks upon an emotional journey as he pieces together a childhood memory and finally uncovers the truth about his father, a truth that will change him forever.
- 08
Sam encounters the young incarnation of Tony Crane, a nasty villain he put away in 2006. He realises he is faced with the chance every copper dreams about - stopping the killer before he kills. Sam fears that since his car accident in 2006, Crane has been released and has found his way to his hospital bedside where he is exacting his revenge on Sam's vulnerable body.
- 09
A spate of armed robberies lead the CID unit to prison, to escort notorious safe-cracker Dickie Fingers for interview back at the station. However, as they transport him they are set upon by a dangerous gang determined to get their hands on Fingers.
- 10
When a bomb warning is reported, A-Division go on red alert. According to the caller, the IRA have brought their mainland bombing campaign to Manchester. Being from 2007, Sam realises the bomb warning reported doesn't fit with his understanding of IRA methods. However when Sam's modern know-how fails and ends up putting his team at risk, they turn their back on him.
- 11
When the body of a young woman is found in wasteland, DCI Gene Hunt fears a serial killer he thought he'd sent down in the late '60s may still be at large. For Sam, the victim, a Beauvoir beauty rep like his own Aunt Heather, triggers vivid recollections of his childhood.Utilising his knowledge of modern surveillance techniques, Sam is led to middle class suburbia where a local car dealer, Roger Twilling, is throwing private parties employing the poorly paid make-up girls to help out when the lights go down and the wife-swapping begins.Sam and Annie go undercover as a young swinging couple to infiltrate the world of vol-au-vents, Blue Nun and lava lamps. Never one to miss out on the fun, Gene Hunt storms in uninvited with a female 'friend' posing as his other half.
- 12
Sam learns a man's wife and daughter have been kidnapped, and are being held hostage. Knowing that time is ticking away on the women's lives, Sam is determined to shake the demons from his head, focus on the investigation and help the desperate family.
- 13
As heroin hits the streets of Manchester for the first time, CID and DCI Hunt want culprits for the smuggling, the dealing and ensuing violence. As Sam tries to get to the source of the influx of this deadly drug, he finds himself intractably drawn to a beautiful young woman who was witness to a heroin-related shooting.
- 14
Sam is awoken in the middle of the night by a drunk DCI Hunt, who thinks he's killed someone. While Sam gets to work on proving his colleague's innocence in the shooting of a local underworld bookie, he is monitored by the stand-in DCI, Frank Morgan, a man intent on doing the internal investigation by the book so thoroughly that Sam can't help but be impressed.
- 15
As Sam questions the dubious ethics behind their methods and motives, he meets Morgan one-on-one - and Morgan has something to tell him. But events unfold disastrously as CID begin to learn the truth about Sam just as the heist is in progress.
Shows like Life on Mars
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of The X-Files1993–2018·FOX
Two FBI agents, Fox Mulder (a believer) and Dana Scully (a skeptic), investigate unexplained cases where the paranormal might be involved while hidden forces work to impede their efforts. - 02Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Sugar2024–present
John Sugar is an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. - 03Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Continuum2012–2015·Showcase
Continuum centers on the conflict between a group of rebels from the year 2077 who time-travel to Vancouver, BC, in 2012, and a police officer who accidentally accompanies them. - 04Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Altered Carbon2018–2020
Altered Carbon is set in the 25th century when the human mind has been digitized and the soul itself is transferable from one body to the next. - 05Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Almost Human2013–2014·FOXAlmost Human is an action-packed police drama set 35 years in the future, when police officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids.
- 06Drama·Crime·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Marvel's Iron Fist2017–2018·Netflix
After his family meets a tragic fate while on expedition in China, a young Rand is adopted by the people of the mystical lost city of K'un-Lun, where he's taught a magical fighting style.
