Ashes to Ashes -- the final

Ashes to Ashes had a very satisfactory ending. All emotional lines tied up.

It made a ton of sense. The writers had always said it was about death.

I was delighted to see Nelson again as I always thought he knew more than he let on. I still remember when he says in answer to Sam's question about how do you know when you are dead -- when you stop feeling.

Gene Hunt retains his integrity and you know what will go on...Long live Gene Hunt. next car -- a Mercedes? And sometimes all you can do is to go to the pub.

I had forgotten that the real Annie Cartwright was killed in the first series of Life on Mars in 1973 by Sam's father. It is only the shadow lands that she survives. So she did go into the pub with Sam.

I had been so worried that they were going to ruin it like the US series of Life on Mars. Were the choices made because they didn't think the US audience could handle death and the shadow lands? Thank goodness they felt the British audience was made of stronger stuff.

It is a classic series for many reasons. I suspect when the entire thing is watched again, little clues etc will be there. A much layered series this one.

Ashes to Ashes -- the final season

As anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows I am a long term fan of the series, starting with the first series of Life on Mars just after it came out in dvd. Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is what makes it. Totally unreconstructed alpha male. When I needed a Viking hero for Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife he fit the bill and I thought I was odd. But then other women started coming out of the woodwork -- the reason they watched was Philip Glenister. It has to do with integrity and unswerving loyalty. He is a man who gets justice done but unconventional methods. Underneath his gruff exterior beats a passionate heart. He cares. An early episode where he discusses the merits of various biscuits with an elderly witness showed it. He is a man who hates bureaucracy and this is no bad thing.

It is why I knew that the people leading the Labour advertising campaign were totally out of touch when they tried to smear David Cameron by super-imposing his head on top of Gene Hunt's. People want a leader who leads. Far better to actually watch a show rather than just to assume.

Anyway, I am enjoying the ride and hoping the ending will be far more satisfying than the US version of Life on Mars -- no sleeping spacemen wanted! My fingers are so crossed that Gene Hunt and the rest of the team will keep their inegrity. And because it is supposed to answer questions from Life on Mars, I am hoping Annie will make a reappearance...

Ashes to Ashes means my Friday nights are booked up!

Then tomorrow, the new series of Dr Who starts properly. Matt Smith last week calmed my nerves. So hopefully he will do a good job. It was Amelia Pond who stole the show though.

And I understand there is a remake of The Prisoner starting on ITV1 on 17 April. James Caviezel, Ian McKellan and Ruth Wilson. star. Fingers crossed that it is good. It is not set at Portmerion though. And early reports are not good, but I want to see for myself.

Ashes 2 Ashes final

First of all I am blogging today at the Pink Heart Society about the temptation of border collie puppies.

Last night was the Ashes to Ashes final of series 2. There will be a series 3. Because of the puppies, I have not watched this season as closely. Thankfully, we have sky+ and so recorded it and I was able to watch bits, but when a puppy needs to go outside, they really need to go -- regardless of what is happening with Gene Hunt etc.
I thought this series was much better. Or rather what I saw of it...
Now at the very end, did Alex wake up back in 2009 or did she wake up in a new construct world? I wondered because her daughter Molly in the first series, has a mole on the side of her face and then at the end, she doesn't. Alex also seemed to be far too mobile for someone just out of a coma.
There again, I thought the reason why Sam Tyler jumped was that he had stopped feeling in his world... and the other world had become real to him. I believe the creators of Life on Mars gave a slightly different explanation.

Today is working on my wip and hoping that the puppies do not get into too much mischief. Unfortunately because at the vet's, they lined his carrier with newspaper for the journey home, Hardy discovered newspaper is fun to shred...He remembered this and waited his chance. For awhile during Ashes to Ashes, he was very quietly shredding the sports section. It was only when Tess decided that she wanted to join in the game, that it was noticed. Thankfully my husband had read it.

Ashes to Ashes the second series starts

Ashes to Ashes the second series starts tonight at 9 pm. In honour of this, I have done a post about Philip Glenister for the Pink Heart Society's Male on Monday. Why does he appeal to women?

Now the papers have been concentrating on Keeley Hawes, the woman who plays Alex Drake. Apparently she had some terrible criticism for the last series. Actually, I thought she was fine. It was more the writing and the problems with a Buddy Love (professional love) scenario and introducing a new half to an already working partnership.

Buddy love is the term Blake Snyder uses to decribe the genre -- it is the Buddy Cop. And no matter what the sexes, you do have to build that relationship. It is also the genre that emcompass romance so I know it well. Incomplete protagonist, a coutnerpart and a complication.

In Life on Mars, in some ways, it was a two hander -- both the John Simms and Philip Glenister characters grew and changed. Gene Hunt grew to respect John Simms within the first series. With Ashes to Ashes series one, you had less of that. So Alex Drake was not changing Gene Hunt's perception as explicitly as she could have. Hopefully, the writers will have worked on the relationship and will have ensured that underlying chemistry that is so necessary for a Buddy cop series is there. But I will point out that it was always going to be difficult, simply because of the success of Life on Mars.

So Keeley Hawes had her work cut out and the script writers were less comfortable with a woman as one half of the buddy cop scenario. Hopefully this time the series writers figured out the problem and have actually turned this more into a two hander. Alex Drake needs a reason to stay in the 1980s, but also the audience has to feel that she might be able to get back to her time.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing the series. It is one of the best things on television at the moment.

The necessity of conflict rather than goals

After the end of the first series of Ashes to Ashes, I was left pondering -- why wasn't it as good? Was it because Keeley Hawes is not as talented as John Simm? What was different? And the answer quite simply is conflict.
The Alex Drake character is never placed under pressure or forced to make impossible choices.
Her motivation and purpose is to get back to her daughter, and she feels that if she can discover why her parents died, she can save herself. Sounds great, but the viewer does not see her being put under pressure and forced to make hard choices. Neither does the viewer see the longing for the world she has been forced into.
With Life on Mars, Sam Tyler develops a genuine affection for 1973, and begins to become part of the world. One never feels that Alex Drake is there and that she sliding down the same slippery slope that Sam faced.
Equally the explanation of why the car blew up is not very well foreshadowed. You do not see Alex remembering odd snippets. And things suddenly do not become clear in her head. Her father's actions therefore seem out of character. He is never fully developed. He never gets the chance to play the Shadow. As an aside, the writers were also confused on whether or not her parents were both barristers or her mother was a solictior. In the last episode they are called both called barristers, previously it had been made clear that the mother was a solicitor.
In other words, the conflict was weaker. And yet on the face of it, the need to return to see her daughter should make for a huge conflict. A woman trapped in a world who wants to get back to see her child. But that need to be with a child means that it overwhelms everything and she can not be genuinely conflicted. A conflict only happens when a character wants two separate things. If they choose one, they can not have the other. Alex Drake only has one choice -- she wants to see her daughter. She has a goal, not an over arching conflict. She does not have to choose between her daughter and life. Or her daughter and her parents. Or her daughter and saving the world. Or even her parents who she knows die and a new friend. And one never feels like she might have a chance to make it back. Or at least change her future and make sure that the bullet misses. Or suddenly realise that the man who has taken her daughter away is actually responsible for the death of her parents and the man she has trusted all her life is the true Shadow, and is manipulating her. And that she has to stop him before he can have her killed. But that if she does not return to her own present, she will be dead and her daughter in danger.
Sam Tyler had a genuine conflict that grew and changed through out Life on Mars, Alex Drake doesn't. And that is down to the writers not forcing the hard choices. they have been too kind to her. It was like they had a great idea and it did not go anywhere and so it devolves into a series of vignettes with no overarching plot.
It is also something that I need to remember in my work. The temptation sometimes is to have a lot of sound and fury but to shy away from the hard choices, the choices that reveal true character. It is also important to keep my eye on the spine of the story and to make sure things move forward. And that I do not keep too much hidden for too long.

Fire Up the Quattro one more time

The Telegraph reports today that Ashes to Ashes has been commissioned for a second series. Hooray for the Powers that Be at the BBC for actually understanding and appreciating that this series has legs.

Tonight is the finale of Season 1. I am really looking forward to it. While not being as good as Life on Mars ( and I suspect that is because the individual story lines are not as robust), it remains one of the best things on television, chiefly because of Philip Glenister.

Glenister is a hugely talented actor and it is wonderful to see him getting the recognition that he deserves.

Plus, it is fantastic to have an alpha male character that remains true to his code of honour, instead of being metro sexual or somehow compromising his core beliefs. The appeal of Gene Hunt echoes the appeal of the hero in romantic fiction. And it is not the looks as much as strong integrity. The knowing you can count on him when the chips are down and that he will fight for his beliefs and his team. It is a fantasy as much as anything as the thought of living with an unreconstructed alpha male in real life is quite frightening. But if you can understand the appeal of the uber alpha male, you can understand the appeal of Gene Hunt.

Ashes to Ashes and its quality

The third episode aired last night, and thus far Philip Glenister continues to steal the show. And it continues to be some of the best television I have seen for a long time. That I suspect is down to the quality of the writing and the ability of the actors to bring those characters and situations to life.

What I like about the show is that they are developing the characters, giving them layers. For example, the neanderthal Ray showed he had a heart last night when he dealt with a rape victim. And then helped further the cause of justice. It is the little touches, the unexpected turnabouts in character that help make it. Quietly done and more important subtly foreshadowed, so that when it happens, it is utterly believeable. It did not take up a huge amount of screen time, but that little subplot really helped to make the episode for me. It was a masterclass in how this sort of turnabout can be achieved.

What I also loved about last night's show was the upping of the chemistry between the two leads, but Gene refused to do anything about it. When their lips were very close as she argued with him and he resolutely turned away. Absolutely lovely. He retains his integrity and his code. he also cares about the people under him. There are reasons why I think women are attracted to the character.

The proofs have arrived for A Question of Impropriety so I am up to my neck in those. It is a matter of reading through and checking for the flow. In many ways, QI was a very difficult ms to write and I just want it to be an excellent read.

The Appeal of Gene Hunt

The Radio Times has a wonderful set of front covers this week -- all four on Ashes to Ashes. This is the new Gene Hunt show where he is now in 1981 London and causing mayhem for a female dci transported back from 2008.
The Radio Times wonders why Gene Hunt exerts such sex appeal on women. After all he is uncouth, neathanderthal and his opinion of women is not very PC. He should be the sort of man that women from 2008 run from, shouldn't he? But Gene Hunt has a huge female following. What is it about him?
Having used Philip Glenister as a model for Vikkar in Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife (out in the UK June 08), I think I can answer that -- it is his core of integrity and his devotion to his team, his family that appeals. He is the sort of man who once he gives his heart, gives it all without reservation. He is willing to fight for the people he cares about. He demands their loyality in return, but he givens no less of himself. He is a man of action and a man of his word. It takes a lot to earn his respect and trust, but once someone has, he is willing to listen and to protect and defend. And when the chips are down, and the whole world has deserted you, if you are part of his team, Gene Hunt will be there, fighting along side you, protecting you.
In other words, he is an unreconstructed alpha male.
I can well understand the appeal.
Ashes to Ashes starts on 7 February, BBC 1, 9 pm. My family are taping it for me as I have to be at the M&B cocktail party. To ask them not to watch it until I get home is asking far too much. They are all far too excited. Life on Mars was a fantastic show and fingers crossed, this will be as well. AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT MESS WITH GENE HUNT and he gets to keep his integrity. Oh please God, let him keep his integrity and devotion to his team.