Life on Mars is a police drama with science fiction elements that was broadcast on BBC One in two eight-episode series in 2006 and 2007. In it, Manchester DCI Sam Tyler is hit by a car in 2006 and subsequently finds himself in 1973, as a new transfer to the Manchester department. There, he has to contend with boorish, brash commanding officer Gene Hunt, outdated technology, and 1970s social mores, while grappling with a bigger question: Has he gone mad, is he comatose, or has he travelled back in time? Life on Mars won several awards, including the International Emmy for drama in 2006 and the BAFTAs' Audience Award in 2007. An American version of the show is being produced by David E. Kelley. Most of Life on Mars' main characters reappear in Ashes to Ashes, a follow-up series which premiered in 2008 and features a female detective familiar with Sam's story who finds herself in 1981 London.
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