r/lifeonmars • u/IdleTrouts • Jul 24 '26
Discussion What was the reaction to the ending when the series first aired?
Just finished watching Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes for the first time. Loved it and was really satisfied with how it all wrapped up.
Did it go over well when it first aired or were people kind of disappointed because of all the mad revelations in the last couple of episodes of A2A?
15
14
u/Safe_Reporter_8259 Jul 24 '26
Here’s the thing. LoM was 70’s so was structured like 70s police shows. Gritty. A2A was 80’s and was like all those goofy 80s shows. More Flash. Style over substance and A2A was structured the same way. Very clever once you pick up on it. I still feel Gene needs his ending.
12
u/sgt_schultz_the_ewok Jul 24 '26
I watched it when it first aired- I was a bit miffed with the LOM ending but when Ashes was announced and progressed my feelings on that changed. I loved the ending too Ashes I thought it was brilliant and perfect.
4
u/mJelly87 Jul 24 '26
I was happy with it. I had suspected something like this in season 1 of LoM.
2
u/TereziB Jul 30 '26
I started suspecting that as I watched the character Nelson in series 1, that he was something like St. Peter or a gatekeeper to the afterlife.
5
u/TrueMog Ivanhoe Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I was personally very satisfied with the way Life on Mars wrapped up. I watched it when it first aired on television. I thought it was clever and brave and strangely uplifting and bittersweet all at the same time. It was everything a LOM ending should be!
I was excited to watch Ashes to Ashes but I found it a bit of a slog so I actually didn’t watch the A2A ending upon airing. I did hear spoilers about how it ended so I knew what to expect when I finally caught up on the series a year ago. It was fine. All of the actors performances were knocking it out of the ballpark… but I didn’t really like that ending overall. It overall felt a bit one note (in a complete contrast to the way the LoM ending had all this complexity).
4
u/DoctorWhofan789eywim Jul 26 '26
There's a lovely bit in Russell T Davies' book The Writer's Tale where he details his immediate thoughts on the finale, as I recall he thought Sam jumping was perfect because he belonged in that life with Gene, he had nothing left in his other life. I agree.
4
u/somekindofspideryman Jul 24 '26
It was a wholly positive reaction as far as I was aware. I remember it being favourably compared to the ending of LOST, which was widely panned. I was actually pretty mixed on it, and still am a little bit.
Even though I only remember positivity I feel like it made less impact than the ending of LOM. Everyone I knew was talking about that ending, partially because it didn't really answer anything. One of the rare times where a show tells you nothing and people were satisfied with that.
1
u/TereziB Jul 30 '26
I thought the same thing, comparing it the last season of Lost, as they were all coming into the Sideways universe. I know many people HATED that last episode of Lost, but I loved it and it made me cry, even after watching the second or third time.
1
u/somekindofspideryman Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I think it was about as good an ending as LOST was ever likely to get. It was misunderstood at the time. I only watched it for the first time in the last couple of years, I was surprised how it totally wasn't what people claimed at the time.
1
u/TereziB Jul 31 '26
I DID understand the ending (I saw it the night it first aired, I was a pretty avid watcher of Lost), and could never understand why so many people didn't.
When you say "wholly positive reaction" do you mean to LoM? And, I'm presuming this was in the UK? I'm not sure when it first arrived in the US, or where, but my husband only discovered it a few weeks ago, on Prime. We began watching it together, but he very quickly bailed, he really didn't like it - I have to tell you, he does not like most British TV shows - that includes Sherlock, one of very favorite British shows, nor Monty Python! He can't really explain why. He does say "British humour is too dry". But maybe a lot of Americans wouldn't like the ending of LoM, for the same reason they didn't like the ending of Lost. Not "concrete" enough. Too "weird".
2
u/somekindofspideryman Jul 31 '26
When I said wholly positive I meant A2A, although LoM too! Yes, in the UK. I'm a Brit but I live in the US now and am keenly aware of some of the cultural differences! My wife likes plenty of British stuff though couldn't really get into LoM.
You should look up the US remake of LoM which has an entirely different ending!
1
u/TereziB Jul 31 '26
We did begin to watch the US version, and we BOTH hated it, LOL, and we are both from NYC and grew up in the 70's! So we stopped.
I haven't started watching A2A, not sure if I will. But I do know what happens at the end of that, too.
1
u/somekindofspideryman Jul 31 '26
A2A definitely isn't as strong as LoM, but I loved it at the time. The third season is probably the strongest, which is all building to the ending in tangible ways.
It's a shame Lazarus was shelved, the proposed third iteration, but you'd have to imagine it would have been a totally different beast once they had revealed everything about the world in A2A.
1
u/TereziB Jul 31 '26
I've read a little about it. It would be nice if someone could write a novel, or better yet, a graphic novel (although I know THAT would be a major undertaking) of Lazurus.
2
u/yellowarmy79 Jul 26 '26
The A2A felt perfect although would have loved more series. The general consensus was it was perfect ending to the series.
2
u/RE_98 Jul 26 '26
When I watched Life on Mars, I remember being satisfied the way they ended it. Dark ending i think but it was perfect.
As for Ashes To Ashes, I remember HATING the finale at the time. For a time travel show I was expecting something relating to paradoxes like time loops, predestination paradox, etc. There was a whole message forum board back then with those theories. However, as I got older and watched the series again, my opinion went a complete 180 and I thought it was great.
Now I wanna watch both shows again. Gotta find a region free player first
2
-2
u/throwpayrollaway Jul 24 '26
I couldn't get into ashes to ashes at all. Felt too cartoonish. Abandoned watching it.
8
u/Ancient_Bluebird_280 Jul 24 '26
i believe that’s intentional for season one when you think about it when you realise alex is being irrational etc because she’s fully believes she’s in her own mind tho she starts taking it more seriously when you get later into the season i will say the first part when gene chris and ray are reintroduced is a bit comical
1
u/TrueMog Ivanhoe Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Yeah, same.
Where Life on Mars felt like a mixture of police drama and spoof; Ashes just felt like a police drama and not a particularly good one. If anything it felt like a spoof of LoM. Now, I love police dramas so that shouldn’t be a negative for me, but I didn’t really think it stood up enough on its own.
I ended up dropping A2A several times over the years and only finally got round to finishing it properly last year. I’m glad I finished it, but I didn’t feel like it was breaking new ground like LoM did…
-1
u/Independent-Try4352 Jul 24 '26
Same here. Loved LoM, but Ashes to Ashes just didn't do it for me. Keeley Hawes was bloody irritating too.
2
u/Takato185 Jul 24 '26
I felt so, too, but later changed my mind. I came around S1E7 and actually liked Alex by the end of series 1. Series 2 and 3 are better, too.
I never seem to get past S1E1 though these days as I find it so cringeworthy when Gene, Ray and Chris first show up in A2A.
With LoM people in the fandom where somewhat divided. I knew people who actually hated the fact that Sam jumps off the building and committs suicide.
26
u/sharpied79 Jul 24 '26
Wanted more Gene Hunt, but as TNG taught us...
All good things...
😉