Life on Mars: The Overview
'Gay Boy' Science of the Noughties vs. The Armed Bastards of the Seventies. Who will win or will they be able to co-exist?
Show Overview:
It's a British buddy cop show, set in 1970's Manchester. Only there's a twist. In 2006, a copper gets knocked down by a car on the Mancunian Way while he is upset over the kidnapping of his girlfriend. Next thing he knows, he's got big collars, Cuban heels and a Rover 3500. Yup, he's back in 1973. Only, why is he there? Is he, in the words of Sam Tyler himself, "mad, in a coma, or back in time?"
More pertinently, how on Earth (or Mars) could such a crack-pot idea work on TV? The creators, Ashley Pharaoh, Matthew Graham and Tony Jordan, freely admit it was an excuse to re-write The Sweeney, but hard-hitting crime drama PLUS wild fantasy? Surely that cannot work!
Well, it does. In a big way. The main element to keeping it this side of believable is the sheer quality of the programme. It's beautifully shot, perfectly lit and amazingly acted. The writing walks a fine line between hard-hitting, gritty drama, serious amounts of angst, witty lines and slapstick. Yup, a very fine line. Furthermore, the question of "what exactly is going on" is never fully answered. This means that fans are able to speculate quite broadly, and quite often do.
Almost the entire show is from Sam's point of view. We don't get to experience anything that Sam doesn't (and a lot that he does, which can get a little interesting at times). The over-arching theme is that of culture clash between 2006 and 1970's policing in the UK. Each episode deals with hard-hitting subjects such as football hooliganism (1.05), a hostage situation (1.06), racism (2.02 and 2.06), terrorism (2.03) and corruption in the police force (1.04 and 2.02). The unlikely team of Sam and his 'Guv', Gene Hunt, work well together, when they do work together, yet can beat themselves (literally) to a standstill when they don't.
But, don't forget that in all these hi-jinks and car chases (and one, very memorable, chase in period swimsuits), that Sam is displaced. And you won't. 2006 seems to bleed through to 1973 on a regular basis, whether it's the sound of his mother saying "goodbye", Open University lecturers arguing over potential treatments, or a flash of Britney Spears on the radio, Sam is definitely hearing things nobody else can. This serves to keep Sam believing that the world he is in is not real and causes confusion and a lot of anxiety.
Throughout the first series Sam therefore is looking to solve the case of how to get back. In the very first episode, he believes finding the serial killer who kidnapped Maya (his girlfriend and fellow police officer), having worked out he was also at large in 1973, would send him back. In episode seven of the first series breaking up the team by exposing everyone's guilt in the death of a suspect in custody may be the thing. In the final, explosive, episode of the first series, a chance to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance also figures. Suffice to say, it's a lot more complicated than that.
By series two, Sam seems to have settled more into his 1973 world. He's grown his side-burns and even bought a pair of pyjamas. But he then starts to get mysterious messages from 'Hyde' and it seems that Sam has been sent back to do something in particular. In the meantime he has to go to swingers parties undercover, catch armed robbers (complete with stockings over their heads) and attempt to function in the face of being unwillingly given hallucinogenic drugs (again).
And through it all, a deep vein of seventies life runs. Whether it's pink wafers or garibaldis; famous seventies football players; children's television shows (including one infamous sequence where Sam and Gene are turned into Camberwick Green puppets); old bottles of Lucozade; Blue Nun; or the ubiquitous Watney's Party Seven, each episode is guaranteed to raise a feeling of nostalgia.
Series one, eight one hour episodes, was aired at the beginning of 2006 in the UK (and subsequently in Canada and the USA). Series two, also eight one hour episodes, was aired in Spring 2007 in the UK, and aired in the USA the following winter. While Life on Mars ended at two series, a spin-off show 'Ashes to Ashes', set in the early eighties in London is currently on its second series. The show sees Phil Glenister reprise his role as DCI Gene Hunt, while both Marshall Lancaster (Chris) and Dean Andrews (Ray) are also back and joined with Keeley Hawes as DI Alex Drake, sent back in time to a time of big hair, shoulder pads and wide boys.
There have been two remakes of the series so far. A seventeen episode version aired in the US in the Winter of 2008/09 starring Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler and Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt. This was cancelled in the Spring and there are currently no plans to continue this.
A Spanish version, called La Chica de Ayer, was made and aired on Antena 3 in 2009. One series of eight episodes was commissioned. Set in post-Franco 1977, it stars Ernesto Alterio as Samuel Santos and Antonio Garrido as Quin Gallardo and has been well received by fans and critics alike.
The Characters:
DCI / DI Sam Tyler
[Sam] My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.
Played by the ultra-talented John Simm, Sam is your quintessential modern copper, doing everything by the book and believing that his gut instinct shouldn't have a place in modern police work. This therefore sets up nicely the culture shock Sam experiences when he walks into Gene Hunt's world; where finger-prints take weeks to come back, blood-typing alone identifies suspects and the quickest way to get an arrest is to lean on a suspect until he squeals.
Add to that the visual and auditory hallucinations of 2006, and the creepy Test Card Girl (more below), and Sam's got a lot of problems. Most of his colleagues think he's a lunatic and Sam's not quite sure whether he's in a position to contradict them.
The narrative of the series follows Sam completely, which is probably why there is so much fic which focuses on the other characters. Sam is very important of course, and there is very little fic out there that does not mention him at all, but with sixteen hours of 1973 from Sam's view, there are plenty of writers that have decided to give contrasting views from the other characters.
DCI Gene Hunt
[Sam] An overweight, over the hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding.
Played by the amazing Philip Glenister, Gene is your typical 70's hard-nosed copper. He rules his town like a sheriff, knowing exactly where to draw the line. Only, the line seems to be creeping towards him without him noticing. Until Sam turns up, that is.
The by-play between Gene and Sam is what makes the series so interesting. Sam is appalled by Gene's physical approach to policing, Gene is distrustful of anything Sam comes up with unless it suits him (e.g. going undercover in a pub). However, Gene is smart. He lets Sam try out his theories when he can see a reason to and, on occasion, when he can't, but can't think of an alternative either.
Gene features a lot in the fic out there, either as back-story, Gene/Sam slash or plain Gene 'n' Sam taking on the world.
DS / DC Ray Carling
[Gene] Ray Carling catches more villains than the rest of this department put together. I boot him out, dozens of villains in this city go uncollared.
Ray, played by the adorable Dean Andrews is Gene's old right-hand man and was hoping to be made up to DI. Displaced by the arrival of Sam, whom Ray detests at first glance, Ray harbours simmering resentment through the rest of both series. Sam being the cause of Ray almost being blown up near the beginning of the second series only adds to the friction between them.
Ray, in fic, is most often Sam's antagonist. Unlike Gene, who is prepared to listen to Sam, Ray embodies everything bad about 70's policing. However, don't think that this necessarily makes him the villain of the piece. Ray is hard-working and still brings in the collars, even if Sam severely disapproves of his methods.
DC Chris Skelton
[CHRIS] Time of death. Tea, one sugar. Bourbons. Multitasking.
Chris, played by the youthful Marshall Lancaster, is the baby on the team, looking up to Sam and his new ways of thinking and taking them on board. Whether or not Chris is, as Ray puts it, a 'div', is debatable. While Chris comes across as slow, he is a very quick learner and occasionally can put one over on Sam.
Chris is most likely to paired with Sam or Ray in fic, although there are also fic where he and Annie come together over the mutual loss of Sam.
WPC (later WDC) Annie Cartwright
[RAY] Hey, there's that nice little plonk on the next floor. Cartwright.
[CHRIS] Oh aye. She can kiss it better.
Annie, played by the gorgeous Liz White, is Sam's confidante. Initially part of the "Women's Unit", she would never get involved in CID work, except for Sam, who does not have the sexist 1970's views that the rest of the team do. With babysitting a witness, working undercover as a barmaid and as a nurse, certainly things have gotten more interesting for Annie since Sam arrived. In series two she's promoted to Detective Constable, a move she doesn't necessarily relish all the time.
Annie is the love-interest for Sam in canon, although it doesn't always come out that way. This is the major pairing in the fandom, though many fans can't see this working out, what with Annie thinking Sam is barking mad. This, obviously, leads to some excellent fic.
Other Characters:
DI Maya Roy
Sam's girlfriend in 2006, her kidnapping is the catalyst that sends Sam into Gene Hunt's world. Very little is known of her as she is seen so briefly on screen, although we do know that Sam and Maya were having relationship problems at the time of the accident. Maya does turn up again towards the end of series two, when Sam meets her mother, Lesley, in 1973.
In fandom, Maya features prominently as the girl Sam goes back to 2006 for or provides a nice source of guilt on Sam's part for any fan-fic pairing.
Phyllis
Phyllis is the scary desk sergeant at the station. Hard-nosed and harsh-toned, she rules her domain with an iron hand, just like Gene. She takes no nonsense from anyone, including Sam and heaven help anyone who crosses her. Phyllis, however does have a warm heart, even if some of the other characters believe she keeps it in a box somewhere.
In fandom, Phyllis is the voice of reason, as well as being a verbal sparring partner for Gene.
Nelson
Nelson runs The Railway Arms, CID's local haunt. He's Jamaican by genetics, Mancunian by accent, though he only lets Sam in on that one. He plays very hard at the stereotype in an effort to let the public's gaze slide off him. Oh, yes. There are hidden depths in Nelson.
A lot of the series ends up in The Railway Arms, and therefore a lot of the fic end up in The Railway Arms as well. Nelson, in fic, can be anything from a part of the furniture to the uber-villain.
Jackie Queen (Series One)
Jackie is a journalist that crops up in episode 1.06, when she is held hostage along with other members of the Manchester Gazette. She and Gene have History, and this is generally used to great effect in fic that she turns up in.
Stephen Warren (Series One)
The crime lord that rules Gene's patch, Stephen Warren tests Sam's tendency towards corruption, before Sam, and Gene, bite back. In fandom Stephen's place is to give Gene pause over taking the kick-backs over the years, and also, being "As gay as a bloody Christmas tree", he's there to either provide the motive for angst, if Gene is being homophobic or a reason for Gene and Sam to 'bond'.
Ruth and Vic (and little Sam) Tyler
Ruth is Sam's mother, bringing four-year old Sam up with little help from her salesman husband Vic. We run into the family a couple of times during the series, as 1973 was the last year that Sam saw his father. Is this the reason why he is there? Vic certainly is in a lot of trouble. With Stephen Warren toppled, is Vic attempting to be the next big fish in Gene's pond?
Ruth can also be heard in the 2006 voice-overs as she sits at Sam's bedside in the hospital. This, predictably, causes quite a bit of distress for Sam.
Superintendent Harry Woolf (Series Two)
Harry is Gene's mentor, his old DCI from the days when Gene was still a DI. Initially, Sam and Harry get on well over a mutual respect for procedure. However soon Sam's natural distrusting nature extends to his doubting Gene's idol, and that this threatens to drive a wedge between them.
Harry tends to feature strongly in any Gene-centric back-story in fic.
DCI Frank Morgan (Series Two)
Frank Morgan is a shadowy figure only turning up towards the end of the second series, though he has been there all the way through. He is Sam's previous boss, from Hyde, and who transferred Sam to 'A' Division. But there is something more sinister about DCI Morgan. What connection, exactly, does he have to 2006? May be the name is a clue. The actor Frank Morgan famously played the eponymous Wizard of Oz in the 1939 film.
Frank Morgan, understandably, receives a lot of bashing on the part of fandom as he is the man who comes between the Sam/Gene dynamic in the series.
Oswald Spear
Oswald is the resident pathologist and rules over his domain with a genial sense of bewilderment. With a lot of fic taking place in the morgue at some point in the proceedings, he crops up quite a bit in fiction.
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is little Sammy’s pet cat, whom we meet in series one. With an increasing number of fic involving Sammy and/or his mother, Ivanhoe is becoming a more important character in the fandom.
The Test Card Girl
The creepiest character on the television ever, the Test Card Girl is based on "Test Card F", the still image that would be aired on British Television when no programmes were broadcast.
In Life on Mars, she regularly appears to Sam, taunting him regarding his impotence to act or gently asking him to give up.
In the fandom, she is generally used to creep the reader out. Oh, and it works.
The 'Ships and Fiction
By an overwhelming majority, the major ‘ship in the fandom is Sam/Gene, with Sam/Annie a distant second. Other pairings include Ray/Chris, Sam/Chris, Ray/Gene, Gene/Annie, Chris/Annie, Gene/Litton, Sam/Litton and Gene/The Missus can be found. Sam/Maya is canon and does crop up occasionally in fic.
Rarer pairings (and more a reflection on the type of fan that populates the fandom, in my opinion) we have Sam/Mobile Phone, Sam/Tufty and Cortina/Everyone. There is a lot of crack fiction out there, as you can imagine.
There is fic out there for everyone, from smut (an annual Porn Festival held in October is now traditional) to light-hearted crack. Angst is a staple in this fandom, mainly because the series revolves round Sam's uneasiness at being so displaced. Plus John Simm does 'distressed' so well.
There are also an increasing number of dark-fic out there, where Sam gives up, goes crazy and/or becomes a serial killer. Certainly, with the ambiguity as to the ending of the show, anything and everything is possible.
The Cortina Rating System
The Life on Mars fandom widely uses a rating system based on the colour of Ford Cortina, as invented by starlaces the maintainer of lifein1973. The full explanation can be found here (complete with pretty pictures), but basically, the categories are:
White Cortina
Generally corresponds to PG, or as near to PG as a show about an insane copper who gets beaten up for a living can be PG. You'd expect fluff, basic character studies, banter and light crack to be rated White Cortina.
Green Cortina
Generally corresponds to PG-13 (12 in the UK). Mild swearing, a little bit of physicality, perhaps a kiss or cuddle may be featured. You'd expect non-explicit romance or general case-fic to be rated Green Cortina.
You might also want to be aware that Slash will NOT always be automatically rated higher than Het. Man-cuddling is assumed to be as normal as Man/Woman-cuddling in the fandom.
Blue Cortina
Generally corresponds to the UK rating of 15, the lower end of R. Some sex scenes, most swearing and non-gory violence all may be featured. You would expect to see the majority of case-fic as Blue Cortina.
Brown Cortina
Corresponds to NC-17 (18 in the UK). Explicit sex, a high level of violence, kidnapping, mild kink (we've handcuffed sex in canon, but this is more love bites and mild restraint) and drug-taking. You'd expect nice, fluffy PWP, bad guys getting beaten up or Sam getting beaten up (as he does on a regular basis) rated as Brown Cortina.
Red Cortina
This also technically corresponds to NC-17, but as we're a kinky bunch, we really need a separate rating to include all those really nasty things that we tend to write about. This category includes gory character death (which will be warned for), rape, torture, incest, hardcore kink and general deviance. Expect to see the darkest of dark stories rated Red Cortina.
Communities and other websites:
The fandom, like the series, is small but perfectly formed and is growing day by day. It is certainly tight-knit, but is also very welcoming, with differences of opinion just being fuel for debate rather than starting flame-wars.
Most folk can be found in The Railway Arms, a forum in which virtual beers will be (virtually) bought for you if you pull up a chair. Everything from character discussion to fan-fic to merchandise is discussed there. The main emphasis on the community is now Ashes to Ashes, but Life on Mars fans are welcome too.
The official BBC Life on Mars Site has all the details of both series, including full synopses of each episode.
The Collators’ Den is the main archive of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes on the web.
Archive of Our Own also has a large selection of Life on Mars fic.
The Annotated Martian is a complete transcript of the first series, with notes. So, if you've not understood something (or are required to write an overview of the series with quotes) you can go and check what was really said.
Both series transcripts can also be found at Life on Mars Transcripts.
The Life on Mars Wikipedia page has a brief summary of each episode and a list of all the anachronisms spotted in the series.
The Life on Mars IMDB page.
The Life on Mars Fic Master List. dorcas_gustine has done a brilliant job of collating links to all fic posted on the web. This is no longer updated, November 2007
mikes_grrl has delicious tagged all the Life on Mars crack_van recs.
severa's Slasher's Guide to Life on Mars is a humorous look (or completely true, depending on your preference) at all Sam/Gene moments in the show.
The Life on Mars Fanlore Wiki is also a good resource for the fandom surrounding Life on Mars.
On Livejournal:
lifein1973 - a general discussion community, with a large number of fic posted to it.
1973flashfic - a fiction challenge community, a new challenge is posted approximately every two weeks.
lifeonicons - an icon community.
lom_workshop - a resource community for Life on Mars fan fiction writers. Both questions and information welcome.
martianholiday - a seasonal fiction community.
TunedInto1973 - a discussion community regarding the songs played in the series, all 1970's vintage.
ihasacortina - Life on Mars style cat macro community.
A discussion community for those who were disappointed with the ending (name withheld to reduce spoilers).
mars_daily - the thrice weekly newsletter collecting all Life on Mars commentary from around livejournal.
writersonmars - a spotlight on the writers in the Life on Mars fandom.
zomromcomlomcom - The Life on Mars Zombie Romantic Comedy Community.
lom_usa - Livejournal Community for fans of the US version.
a2ashes - Livejournal Community for fans of Ashes to Ashes.
lcda and marsinalicante - Livejournal communities for fans of La Chica de Ayer.
With many thanks to lozenger8 for use of the screen-caps and to all on lifein1973 for helping me make this overview comprehensible!
Show Overview:
It's a British buddy cop show, set in 1970's Manchester. Only there's a twist. In 2006, a copper gets knocked down by a car on the Mancunian Way while he is upset over the kidnapping of his girlfriend. Next thing he knows, he's got big collars, Cuban heels and a Rover 3500. Yup, he's back in 1973. Only, why is he there? Is he, in the words of Sam Tyler himself, "mad, in a coma, or back in time?"
More pertinently, how on Earth (or Mars) could such a crack-pot idea work on TV? The creators, Ashley Pharaoh, Matthew Graham and Tony Jordan, freely admit it was an excuse to re-write The Sweeney, but hard-hitting crime drama PLUS wild fantasy? Surely that cannot work!
Well, it does. In a big way. The main element to keeping it this side of believable is the sheer quality of the programme. It's beautifully shot, perfectly lit and amazingly acted. The writing walks a fine line between hard-hitting, gritty drama, serious amounts of angst, witty lines and slapstick. Yup, a very fine line. Furthermore, the question of "what exactly is going on" is never fully answered. This means that fans are able to speculate quite broadly, and quite often do.
Almost the entire show is from Sam's point of view. We don't get to experience anything that Sam doesn't (and a lot that he does, which can get a little interesting at times). The over-arching theme is that of culture clash between 2006 and 1970's policing in the UK. Each episode deals with hard-hitting subjects such as football hooliganism (1.05), a hostage situation (1.06), racism (2.02 and 2.06), terrorism (2.03) and corruption in the police force (1.04 and 2.02). The unlikely team of Sam and his 'Guv', Gene Hunt, work well together, when they do work together, yet can beat themselves (literally) to a standstill when they don't.
But, don't forget that in all these hi-jinks and car chases (and one, very memorable, chase in period swimsuits), that Sam is displaced. And you won't. 2006 seems to bleed through to 1973 on a regular basis, whether it's the sound of his mother saying "goodbye", Open University lecturers arguing over potential treatments, or a flash of Britney Spears on the radio, Sam is definitely hearing things nobody else can. This serves to keep Sam believing that the world he is in is not real and causes confusion and a lot of anxiety.
Throughout the first series Sam therefore is looking to solve the case of how to get back. In the very first episode, he believes finding the serial killer who kidnapped Maya (his girlfriend and fellow police officer), having worked out he was also at large in 1973, would send him back. In episode seven of the first series breaking up the team by exposing everyone's guilt in the death of a suspect in custody may be the thing. In the final, explosive, episode of the first series, a chance to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance also figures. Suffice to say, it's a lot more complicated than that.
By series two, Sam seems to have settled more into his 1973 world. He's grown his side-burns and even bought a pair of pyjamas. But he then starts to get mysterious messages from 'Hyde' and it seems that Sam has been sent back to do something in particular. In the meantime he has to go to swingers parties undercover, catch armed robbers (complete with stockings over their heads) and attempt to function in the face of being unwillingly given hallucinogenic drugs (again).
And through it all, a deep vein of seventies life runs. Whether it's pink wafers or garibaldis; famous seventies football players; children's television shows (including one infamous sequence where Sam and Gene are turned into Camberwick Green puppets); old bottles of Lucozade; Blue Nun; or the ubiquitous Watney's Party Seven, each episode is guaranteed to raise a feeling of nostalgia.
Series one, eight one hour episodes, was aired at the beginning of 2006 in the UK (and subsequently in Canada and the USA). Series two, also eight one hour episodes, was aired in Spring 2007 in the UK, and aired in the USA the following winter. While Life on Mars ended at two series, a spin-off show 'Ashes to Ashes', set in the early eighties in London is currently on its second series. The show sees Phil Glenister reprise his role as DCI Gene Hunt, while both Marshall Lancaster (Chris) and Dean Andrews (Ray) are also back and joined with Keeley Hawes as DI Alex Drake, sent back in time to a time of big hair, shoulder pads and wide boys.
There have been two remakes of the series so far. A seventeen episode version aired in the US in the Winter of 2008/09 starring Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler and Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt. This was cancelled in the Spring and there are currently no plans to continue this.
A Spanish version, called La Chica de Ayer, was made and aired on Antena 3 in 2009. One series of eight episodes was commissioned. Set in post-Franco 1977, it stars Ernesto Alterio as Samuel Santos and Antonio Garrido as Quin Gallardo and has been well received by fans and critics alike.
The Characters:
DCI / DI Sam Tyler
[Sam] My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.
Played by the ultra-talented John Simm, Sam is your quintessential modern copper, doing everything by the book and believing that his gut instinct shouldn't have a place in modern police work. This therefore sets up nicely the culture shock Sam experiences when he walks into Gene Hunt's world; where finger-prints take weeks to come back, blood-typing alone identifies suspects and the quickest way to get an arrest is to lean on a suspect until he squeals.
Add to that the visual and auditory hallucinations of 2006, and the creepy Test Card Girl (more below), and Sam's got a lot of problems. Most of his colleagues think he's a lunatic and Sam's not quite sure whether he's in a position to contradict them.
The narrative of the series follows Sam completely, which is probably why there is so much fic which focuses on the other characters. Sam is very important of course, and there is very little fic out there that does not mention him at all, but with sixteen hours of 1973 from Sam's view, there are plenty of writers that have decided to give contrasting views from the other characters.
DCI Gene Hunt
[Sam] An overweight, over the hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding.
Played by the amazing Philip Glenister, Gene is your typical 70's hard-nosed copper. He rules his town like a sheriff, knowing exactly where to draw the line. Only, the line seems to be creeping towards him without him noticing. Until Sam turns up, that is.
The by-play between Gene and Sam is what makes the series so interesting. Sam is appalled by Gene's physical approach to policing, Gene is distrustful of anything Sam comes up with unless it suits him (e.g. going undercover in a pub). However, Gene is smart. He lets Sam try out his theories when he can see a reason to and, on occasion, when he can't, but can't think of an alternative either.
Gene features a lot in the fic out there, either as back-story, Gene/Sam slash or plain Gene 'n' Sam taking on the world.
DS / DC Ray Carling
[Gene] Ray Carling catches more villains than the rest of this department put together. I boot him out, dozens of villains in this city go uncollared.
Ray, played by the adorable Dean Andrews is Gene's old right-hand man and was hoping to be made up to DI. Displaced by the arrival of Sam, whom Ray detests at first glance, Ray harbours simmering resentment through the rest of both series. Sam being the cause of Ray almost being blown up near the beginning of the second series only adds to the friction between them.
Ray, in fic, is most often Sam's antagonist. Unlike Gene, who is prepared to listen to Sam, Ray embodies everything bad about 70's policing. However, don't think that this necessarily makes him the villain of the piece. Ray is hard-working and still brings in the collars, even if Sam severely disapproves of his methods.
DC Chris Skelton
[CHRIS] Time of death. Tea, one sugar. Bourbons. Multitasking.
Chris, played by the youthful Marshall Lancaster, is the baby on the team, looking up to Sam and his new ways of thinking and taking them on board. Whether or not Chris is, as Ray puts it, a 'div', is debatable. While Chris comes across as slow, he is a very quick learner and occasionally can put one over on Sam.
Chris is most likely to paired with Sam or Ray in fic, although there are also fic where he and Annie come together over the mutual loss of Sam.
WPC (later WDC) Annie Cartwright
[RAY] Hey, there's that nice little plonk on the next floor. Cartwright.
[CHRIS] Oh aye. She can kiss it better.
Annie, played by the gorgeous Liz White, is Sam's confidante. Initially part of the "Women's Unit", she would never get involved in CID work, except for Sam, who does not have the sexist 1970's views that the rest of the team do. With babysitting a witness, working undercover as a barmaid and as a nurse, certainly things have gotten more interesting for Annie since Sam arrived. In series two she's promoted to Detective Constable, a move she doesn't necessarily relish all the time.
Annie is the love-interest for Sam in canon, although it doesn't always come out that way. This is the major pairing in the fandom, though many fans can't see this working out, what with Annie thinking Sam is barking mad. This, obviously, leads to some excellent fic.
Other Characters:
DI Maya Roy
Sam's girlfriend in 2006, her kidnapping is the catalyst that sends Sam into Gene Hunt's world. Very little is known of her as she is seen so briefly on screen, although we do know that Sam and Maya were having relationship problems at the time of the accident. Maya does turn up again towards the end of series two, when Sam meets her mother, Lesley, in 1973.
In fandom, Maya features prominently as the girl Sam goes back to 2006 for or provides a nice source of guilt on Sam's part for any fan-fic pairing.
Phyllis
Phyllis is the scary desk sergeant at the station. Hard-nosed and harsh-toned, she rules her domain with an iron hand, just like Gene. She takes no nonsense from anyone, including Sam and heaven help anyone who crosses her. Phyllis, however does have a warm heart, even if some of the other characters believe she keeps it in a box somewhere.
In fandom, Phyllis is the voice of reason, as well as being a verbal sparring partner for Gene.
Nelson
Nelson runs The Railway Arms, CID's local haunt. He's Jamaican by genetics, Mancunian by accent, though he only lets Sam in on that one. He plays very hard at the stereotype in an effort to let the public's gaze slide off him. Oh, yes. There are hidden depths in Nelson.
A lot of the series ends up in The Railway Arms, and therefore a lot of the fic end up in The Railway Arms as well. Nelson, in fic, can be anything from a part of the furniture to the uber-villain.
Jackie Queen (Series One)
Jackie is a journalist that crops up in episode 1.06, when she is held hostage along with other members of the Manchester Gazette. She and Gene have History, and this is generally used to great effect in fic that she turns up in.
Stephen Warren (Series One)
The crime lord that rules Gene's patch, Stephen Warren tests Sam's tendency towards corruption, before Sam, and Gene, bite back. In fandom Stephen's place is to give Gene pause over taking the kick-backs over the years, and also, being "As gay as a bloody Christmas tree", he's there to either provide the motive for angst, if Gene is being homophobic or a reason for Gene and Sam to 'bond'.
Ruth and Vic (and little Sam) Tyler
Ruth is Sam's mother, bringing four-year old Sam up with little help from her salesman husband Vic. We run into the family a couple of times during the series, as 1973 was the last year that Sam saw his father. Is this the reason why he is there? Vic certainly is in a lot of trouble. With Stephen Warren toppled, is Vic attempting to be the next big fish in Gene's pond?
Ruth can also be heard in the 2006 voice-overs as she sits at Sam's bedside in the hospital. This, predictably, causes quite a bit of distress for Sam.
Superintendent Harry Woolf (Series Two)
Harry is Gene's mentor, his old DCI from the days when Gene was still a DI. Initially, Sam and Harry get on well over a mutual respect for procedure. However soon Sam's natural distrusting nature extends to his doubting Gene's idol, and that this threatens to drive a wedge between them.
Harry tends to feature strongly in any Gene-centric back-story in fic.
DCI Frank Morgan (Series Two)
Frank Morgan is a shadowy figure only turning up towards the end of the second series, though he has been there all the way through. He is Sam's previous boss, from Hyde, and who transferred Sam to 'A' Division. But there is something more sinister about DCI Morgan. What connection, exactly, does he have to 2006? May be the name is a clue. The actor Frank Morgan famously played the eponymous Wizard of Oz in the 1939 film.
Frank Morgan, understandably, receives a lot of bashing on the part of fandom as he is the man who comes between the Sam/Gene dynamic in the series.
Oswald Spear
Oswald is the resident pathologist and rules over his domain with a genial sense of bewilderment. With a lot of fic taking place in the morgue at some point in the proceedings, he crops up quite a bit in fiction.
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is little Sammy’s pet cat, whom we meet in series one. With an increasing number of fic involving Sammy and/or his mother, Ivanhoe is becoming a more important character in the fandom.
The Test Card Girl
The creepiest character on the television ever, the Test Card Girl is based on "Test Card F", the still image that would be aired on British Television when no programmes were broadcast.
In Life on Mars, she regularly appears to Sam, taunting him regarding his impotence to act or gently asking him to give up.
In the fandom, she is generally used to creep the reader out. Oh, and it works.
The 'Ships and Fiction
By an overwhelming majority, the major ‘ship in the fandom is Sam/Gene, with Sam/Annie a distant second. Other pairings include Ray/Chris, Sam/Chris, Ray/Gene, Gene/Annie, Chris/Annie, Gene/Litton, Sam/Litton and Gene/The Missus can be found. Sam/Maya is canon and does crop up occasionally in fic.
Rarer pairings (and more a reflection on the type of fan that populates the fandom, in my opinion) we have Sam/Mobile Phone, Sam/Tufty and Cortina/Everyone. There is a lot of crack fiction out there, as you can imagine.
There is fic out there for everyone, from smut (an annual Porn Festival held in October is now traditional) to light-hearted crack. Angst is a staple in this fandom, mainly because the series revolves round Sam's uneasiness at being so displaced. Plus John Simm does 'distressed' so well.
There are also an increasing number of dark-fic out there, where Sam gives up, goes crazy and/or becomes a serial killer. Certainly, with the ambiguity as to the ending of the show, anything and everything is possible.
The Cortina Rating System
The Life on Mars fandom widely uses a rating system based on the colour of Ford Cortina, as invented by starlaces the maintainer of lifein1973. The full explanation can be found here (complete with pretty pictures), but basically, the categories are:
White Cortina
Generally corresponds to PG, or as near to PG as a show about an insane copper who gets beaten up for a living can be PG. You'd expect fluff, basic character studies, banter and light crack to be rated White Cortina.
Green Cortina
Generally corresponds to PG-13 (12 in the UK). Mild swearing, a little bit of physicality, perhaps a kiss or cuddle may be featured. You'd expect non-explicit romance or general case-fic to be rated Green Cortina.
You might also want to be aware that Slash will NOT always be automatically rated higher than Het. Man-cuddling is assumed to be as normal as Man/Woman-cuddling in the fandom.
Blue Cortina
Generally corresponds to the UK rating of 15, the lower end of R. Some sex scenes, most swearing and non-gory violence all may be featured. You would expect to see the majority of case-fic as Blue Cortina.
Brown Cortina
Corresponds to NC-17 (18 in the UK). Explicit sex, a high level of violence, kidnapping, mild kink (we've handcuffed sex in canon, but this is more love bites and mild restraint) and drug-taking. You'd expect nice, fluffy PWP, bad guys getting beaten up or Sam getting beaten up (as he does on a regular basis) rated as Brown Cortina.
Red Cortina
This also technically corresponds to NC-17, but as we're a kinky bunch, we really need a separate rating to include all those really nasty things that we tend to write about. This category includes gory character death (which will be warned for), rape, torture, incest, hardcore kink and general deviance. Expect to see the darkest of dark stories rated Red Cortina.
Communities and other websites:
The fandom, like the series, is small but perfectly formed and is growing day by day. It is certainly tight-knit, but is also very welcoming, with differences of opinion just being fuel for debate rather than starting flame-wars.
Most folk can be found in The Railway Arms, a forum in which virtual beers will be (virtually) bought for you if you pull up a chair. Everything from character discussion to fan-fic to merchandise is discussed there. The main emphasis on the community is now Ashes to Ashes, but Life on Mars fans are welcome too.
The official BBC Life on Mars Site has all the details of both series, including full synopses of each episode.
The Collators’ Den is the main archive of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes on the web.
Archive of Our Own also has a large selection of Life on Mars fic.
The Annotated Martian is a complete transcript of the first series, with notes. So, if you've not understood something (or are required to write an overview of the series with quotes) you can go and check what was really said.
Both series transcripts can also be found at Life on Mars Transcripts.
The Life on Mars Wikipedia page has a brief summary of each episode and a list of all the anachronisms spotted in the series.
The Life on Mars IMDB page.
The Life on Mars Fic Master List. dorcas_gustine has done a brilliant job of collating links to all fic posted on the web. This is no longer updated, November 2007
mikes_grrl has delicious tagged all the Life on Mars crack_van recs.
severa's Slasher's Guide to Life on Mars is a humorous look (or completely true, depending on your preference) at all Sam/Gene moments in the show.
The Life on Mars Fanlore Wiki is also a good resource for the fandom surrounding Life on Mars.
On Livejournal:
lifein1973 - a general discussion community, with a large number of fic posted to it.
1973flashfic - a fiction challenge community, a new challenge is posted approximately every two weeks.
lifeonicons - an icon community.
lom_workshop - a resource community for Life on Mars fan fiction writers. Both questions and information welcome.
martianholiday - a seasonal fiction community.
TunedInto1973 - a discussion community regarding the songs played in the series, all 1970's vintage.
ihasacortina - Life on Mars style cat macro community.
A discussion community for those who were disappointed with the ending (name withheld to reduce spoilers).
mars_daily - the thrice weekly newsletter collecting all Life on Mars commentary from around livejournal.
writersonmars - a spotlight on the writers in the Life on Mars fandom.
zomromcomlomcom - The Life on Mars Zombie Romantic Comedy Community.
lom_usa - Livejournal Community for fans of the US version.
a2ashes - Livejournal Community for fans of Ashes to Ashes.
lcda and marsinalicante - Livejournal communities for fans of La Chica de Ayer.
With many thanks to lozenger8 for use of the screen-caps and to all on lifein1973 for helping me make this overview comprehensible!