'' Ashes to Ashes'' is a British

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series, serving as a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

from the original series, ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

''. The transmission dates given below refer to the original UK broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2008)

In the first episode, Detective Inspector

Alex Drake Alex Drake may refer to: * Alex Drake (Ashes to Ashes) DI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama '' Ashes to Ashes''. The character is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lu ...

(

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Haw ...

), a 21st-century

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, is investigating the notes written by

Sam Tyler DCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/ police procedural drama, ''Life on Mars''. In the original British version of ''Life on Mars'', Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by J ...

(

John Simm John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970) is an English actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Sam Tyler in ''Life on Mars'', the Master in ''Doctor Who,'' and DS Roy Grace in ''Grace.'' His other television credits include '' S ...

). While doing this, Drake is shot and awakes in 1981, where she meets

Gene Hunt DCI Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama ''Life on Mars'' and its sequel, '' Ashes to Ashes''. The character is portrayed by Philip Glenister in both ''Life on Mars'' and ''Ashes to Ashes'', w ...

(

Philip Glenister Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William ...

Ray Carling DC/DS/DI Raymond Milton "Ray" Carling is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/ police procedural drama, ''Life on Mars'' and its spin-off '' Ashes to Ashes''. Storylines ''Life on Mars'' Ray Carling is shown to be similar in ch ...

(

Dean Andrews Dean Andrews (born 6 August 1963) is an English actor. He is known for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC drama series ''Life on Mars''. He continued the role in the sequel series, '' Ashes to Ashes'', until 2010. As of April 2019, he has ...

) and

Chris Skelton PC/DC Christopher Daniel "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, ''Life on Mars'' and its spin-off '' Ashes to Ashes''. ''Life on Mars'' The character of Chris Skelton has been describ ...

(

Marshall Lancaster Marshall Lancaster (born 5 October 1974) is an English former actor. He has appeared in television dramas including '' Coronation Street'', '' Holby City'', '' The Lakes'' and ''Family Affairs''. He is best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in ...

) whom she has read about in Tyler's notes.

Series 2 (2009)

The second series was confirmed to be in production in early 2008. This series takes place in 1982, and is the fourth British series overall in the ''Life On Mars'' franchise.

Series 3 (2010)

Series 3 consists of eight 60-minute episodes. The first episode of the series aired on 2 April 2010. Episodes 7 and 8 were joined as the show's first "two-parter" (i.e. the two episodes form one direct narrative) and was advertised as such.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashes To Ashes episodes Episodes, Ashes to Ashes Lists of British crime television series episodes Lists of British science fiction television series episodes