12 months of Gene Hunt

Had I but known that such a thing was available then I'd have put it on my Xmas list but I only spotted it today in the shops:


It seems to be out of stock at many online retailers, amazon marketplace has one at £99.99...

Philip Glenister interview on Radio 5

Philip Glenister was Simon Mayo's guest on Monday talking about all things Gene Hunt.

If there is a third series of Ashes to Ashes then that will be the last.

They discussed the US version of Life on Mars and what Philip's up to next.

Listen or download the podcast here.

Ashes to Ashes series 2 - ever closer

No exact date yet for the new series of Ashes to Ashes but it looks to be around the middle of the month. The BBC have placed a trailer on their otherwise blank Ashes to Ashes website. There is a lot more information in the recent press pack though.

Ashes to Ashes series 2 - the lowdown

Digital Spy has an interview with Ashes to Ashes producer Beth Willis which begins:

The storyline with Alex and her parents found its resolution at the end of the last series. Is there a new mystery to see us through this series?

"Yes there is. Alex had a lot of certainty last time: as soon as she landed in 1981 she knew she was there for a reason , which was to see her parents. At the end of the series, she realised that that wasn't why she was there. It wasn't about saving [her parents] or stopping what happened because as far as she's aware, you can't change things in this world. It was actually about learning something about herself. In series two she starts off with a lot more uncertainty. It's been about six or seven months since we left her - it's now 1982 - and nothing's happened for a long time. But in episode one she gets news which alters her view of what's going on in 2008 and what's happened to her. And she also gets some news in 1982 which makes her think this world is not as straightforward as she thought it was!"

Read the whole article, here.

Ashes to Ashes - series 2

I've finally got round to watching Ashes to Ashes and I thought 6 of the 8 episodes were smashing and I'm not missing Sam Tyler as much as I'd thought. Googling away to see when the next series will be out - it looks to be October 2009 with filming beginning this summer.

On TV Scoop in June, writer Ashley Pharaoh had this to say about the next series:

"We've just handed in episode one. It's set in 1982, so the Falklands have just happened. We're taking it slightly darker this time, now the characters have been established. The first episode is about a murder in a strip club in Soho, and there's a lot of the 80s left and it's a good excuse to get the music off iTunes. I'd like to do another series after this one too; Matthew and I have a big story we want to tell when the whole thing ends."

There's a longer interview with the writers of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes on the Manchester Evening News site.

Ashes to Ashes DVD - coming soon...

The first* series of Ashes to Ashes will be out on DVD on 5th May. The main online shops are selling it at about £26.

The DVD extras include:
Car explosion featurette
Set tour featurette
Life After Mars - behind the scenes of Ashes to Ashes
Audio Commentary on Episodes 1 &2

Watch a trailer for the DVD on amazon.co.uk

*"The Gene Genie will be back next year in a brand new series featuring even more 1980s classics, Quattro action and blue eyeliner".(source BBC website)

Philip Glenister Interview on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross

I finally got to watch Ashes to Ashes last night and caught the announcement at the end that Philip Glenister would be on the Jonathan Ross show (he wasn't listed as a guest in the tv guide) so I watched the segment on the BBC iplayer. You can watch it for the next 5 days, here, about 42 mins in.

Ashes to Ashes - the verdict

From the BBC website:

Seven million viewers tuned in to watch the first episode of Ashes to Ashes, the sequel to BBC drama Life on Mars.

Set in 1981, the series sees DCI Gene Hunt, played by Philip Glenister, join forces with female time-traveller Alex Drake, played by Keeley Hawes.

Like Life on Mars, the show takes its title from a David Bowie song.

It impressed most TV critics, with The Independent saying it was "the mixture as before - a bit of pop culture, a bit of sci-fi [and] a bit of weirdness".

"Much of the humour and charm of the original series remains," agreed the Mirror's Jane Simon.

The Sun's Ally Ross described it as "a television programme to treasure", while the Telegraph said the show's 1980s setting "opened up a cornucopia of new possibilities".

The Guardian's reviewer was less welcoming, however, describing the show as "a big mess" with a "muddled" plot and a premise that "is now stretched to breaking point".

The Digital Spy interview with Philip Glenister and Keeley Hawes, reveals their hopes for a second series:

Are there plans for a second series of Ashes To Ashes?

P: "We hope so."

Ashes to Ashes - one day to go

The BBC website has a short video of the squad room in Ashes to Ashes:

Sarah Campbell goes behind the scenes to meet cast members Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster and Montserrat Lombard.

and Digital Spy has Ten Things You Never Knew about Philip Glenister.

Ashes to Ashes - countdown to 7 Feb...

An article in The Telegraph today about Ashes to Ashes has the writers giving their point of view:

'We knew we couldn't have Sam Tyler, considering Life on Mars was all in his head,' Pharoah says. But early last year, he and Graham were travelling to London from their homes near Bath for a meeting with Kudos, the production company that had made Life on Mars. 'I remember vividly, we were on the train between Swindon and Reading and we had the idea: what if a senior female police psychiatrist was so obsessed with Tyler's suicide that somehow she gets in trouble in the present and her mind throws her back to a time and place that was incredibly important to her? Which was London in 1981, when her parents died in a car bomb. Then we got excited and giggling about television shows from the early 1980s. We were off then…'

as well as Philip Glenister on Gene Hunt:

'Gene Hunt sees Alex Drake, thinks he wants to shag her brains out, but knows he never will.' Glenister admits he is 'a bit defensive' about Gene, and was worried when he heard the one-liner that was issued to the press when the new series was announced last year: 'a cross between Miami Vice and Moonlighting'. He recalls thinking with a wince, 'Gene Hunt doesn't do romance.'

Read the whole article here and you can also read producer Beth Willis's diary written as the first few episodes were shot.

Ashes to Ashes..coming soon to BBC1

The BBC is gearing up for the launch of Ashes to Ashes (the 'sequel' to Life on Mars) in February. The trailer was shown before last night's Messiah and a BBC webpage is already up. You can watch the trailer here.

Even though the show's not even started yet, the press reviews have begun...The Times isn't too impressed. Digital Spy also give their verdict (a contrary opinion to The Times).

Ashes to Ashes - sneak peak

Tube Talk over on Digital Spy is now a blog and is updated more frequently. Today they they have a photo of the cast of Ashes to Ashes (Life on Mars II) in their 80s get up as well as answers to a few questions eg:

So no Sam Tyler? No, John Simm is gone (and, according to the show's creator, he really has gone from Ashes To Ashes). In his place is Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes), a "modern and independent" detective inspector who suddenly finds herself catapulted back to 1981.

Read more a couple of pages down.

Ashes to Ashes - casting news

Digital Spy reports that Gene Hunt's new nemesis in Ashes to Ashes, the follow up to Life on Mars, has now been cast:

Former Spooks actress Keeley Hawes has announced that she is going to play a lead role in the BBC drama Ashes To Ashes, the sequel to the highly successful Life On Mars.

Hawes left the MI5 drama in 2004, where she found fame as the character Zoe Reynolds.

Ashes To Ashes is expected to follow a similar story structure to that of Life on Mars, except it will be set in the 1980s, a decade on from the previous series.

She will play Alex Drake, an up-and-coming member of the police force in 2008, who finds herself trapped in the '80s alongside Life On Mars character DCI Gene Hunt, played by Philip Glenister.

Hawes said of her role: "I'm thrilled to be playing Alex. She's a fantastic character and will be a force to be reckoned with as far as Gene Hunt is concerned; the two of them locking horns in the Eighties will certainly be a sight to behold, never mind the shoulder pads."

Read more about Keeley Hawes on the BBC's website.