Created By Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah
Starring Keeley Hawes, Philip Glenister, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster and Montserrat Lombard
I’ve long held the opinion that Lost should’ve been developed as a BBC series, or with the structure of one, and Ashes to Ashes (and predecessor Life on Mars) serves as excellent proof why. The final season of Lost served, arguably, as an often enjoyable, yet utterly anti-climactic spiralling crescendo of narrative problems – the culmination of six years worth of writers piling riddles upon mysteries and making things up as they went, with no real ability or inclination to tie those questions into a complete resolution. As a result, the final episode was a band-aid trying to cover up a gaping chasm of unanswered questions – a mystery show that barely attempted to resolve its mysteries. By comparison, Ashes to Ashes benefits wildly from the restrictions of British TV; with drastically shorter series (or seasons, to our American cousins), and a significantly shorter overall run, the show is forced to keep its mysteries focused, with a clear, purposeful direction without being able to veer off into extended dead-end cryptic detours, all while bowing out at the height of its quality. The result is a fantastic, intelligent and fulfilling ending to a show that’s escalated in quality with each year, slowly stepping out of the imposing shadow of its amazing parent show Life on Mars with this final series.
Like Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes introduced us to a 21st Century cop injured and rendered comatose in the line of duty who wakes to find herself in the past, working for rule-bending, archaic cop Gene Hunt and his team of officers, Ray Carling (Dean Andrews), Chris Skelton (Marshal Lancaster) along with WPC Shaz Granger (Montserrat Lombard). As Series 3 opens, DCI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) finds herself awoken from her coma after a brief return to 2008 and again trapped in 1983, haunted by ghostly visions of a young, deceased and violently disfigured policeman. With quickly emerging suspicions surrounding Gene Hunt’s possible involvement in the death of Sam Tyler, Alex forms an uneasy alliance with DCI Jim Keats – a slippery bureaucrat from Scotland Yard’s Discipline and Complaints Department, sent to Fenchurch CID to evaluate and dismantle Hunt’s department – in hopes of revealing the truth behind Tyler’s demise, the identity of the policeman haunting her and, ultimately, a way back home to her daughter Molly.
If Ashes to Ashes has a failing, it’s that in its trip back to the ’80s, it managed to pick up some of that decade’s formulaic TV issues to bring back with it (along with the dreaded man-perm). The episodic ‘crime of the week’ formula, while it provides a plethora of great, worthwhile character moments along the way, doesn’t offer especially memorable individual storylines. They’re undoubtedly entertaining while they last, providing a springboard for incredible character work, with the obligatory exceptional production design, car chases, shoot-outs and punch-ups we’ve come to expect, all set to a sensational selection of ’80s tracks. But like the majority of ’80s cop shows, the individual stories are often predictable, and even when faced with a savage beating in a grimy interrogation room you’d be hard pressed to recall the specifics of each episode’s standalone crime plot a while after watching.
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But while you may not find the individual cases especially memorable, the overarching mystery and the characters who populate the show are impossible to forget. Keeley Hawes’ first outing in the role was met with a mixed response from fans, but that’s something that’s always slightly baffled me, and I’ve only ever been able to chalk up as a reaction to the loss of the irreplaceable and perfect John Simm as the lead. But Hawes is fabulous, and has only grown more impressive with time and more substantial writing. Philip Glenister has reaped gargantuan servings of kudos for his portrayal of Gene Hunt, and quite deservedly so – his self-titled ‘Sheriff of Manchester’ is an outstandingly enjoyable, truly iconic mass of archetypal renegade cop bravado and complexities masked by old-school, gruff machismo who only becomes more fascinating as the series reaches its climax. But while Hunt may get all the praise, the supporting characters and cast shine just as brightly without getting nearly enough credit.
Ashes has increasingly given its secondary cast more substance and character progression, and with Series 3, those characters come to the fore with the writers bestowing them with infinitely more depth. Episode 3 gives us a Ray-centric outing that taps into his growing angst and deep-seated anger over his past failings as a potential soldier, and Dean Andrews delivers a truly and completely phenomenal performance that’s just one of many instances in which he shines throughout the series; he’s undoubtedly the unsung star of the cast. Marshall Lancaster and Montserrat Lombard are just as wonderful, with Chris continuing to grow as a character following the meatier material afforded to him last year, while Shaz, like Ray, gets her own episode in which Lombard is amazing. The exemplary quality of acting and writing on display only makes the character development all the more rewarding and the finale that much more emotionally satisfying and powerful.
The finale of Ashes to Ashes has a tough job to pull off, carrying the burden of not just delivering a fulfilling wrap-up of the mysteries laid out through the show’s three years, but providing a pay-off true to the spirit of Life on Mars. Miraculously, the creative team have created a final episode that’s a stunning, poignant, brilliantly crafted, emotional gut-punch of pathos and an astonishingly great capper to two amazing shows, paying off on every subtle hint sprinkled throughout with alarming conviction. Ashes to Ashes has always been seen as the lesser sibling of Life on Mars. This third and final series takes that notion and hurls it off a ten storey building; populated with a cast of fantastic characters who’re blessed with more depth and development than ever before, brought to life by mesmerisingly great actors at the height of their game, and acting on the foundation of a creepy, cryptic and stunningly-crafted mystery with a blisteringly perfect pay-off, Ashes to Ashes expands on the groundwork of its predecessor exponentially, proving to be just as outstanding and wickedly entertaining.
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On the DVD:
Compared to the previous DVD sets, Series 3 is unfortunately a tad sparse on the extras front. There is, unfortunately, only a short featurette titled ‘Dust to Dust’ which is thankfully entertaining, informative and pretty damn funny. There’s a smattering of the fluffy, back-patting, “We all had fun and everyone’s amazing!” soundbites from the cast, but after years of delivering amazing entertainment, at least they’ve earned it.
Featuring interviews from actors Keeley Hawes, Philip Glenister and Dean Andrews, writer/creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah, with a couple of executive producers, the featurette covers a wide variety of subjects in precious little time. The cast and crew touch on everything from fan reactions and theories (with Andrews giving a fun mention of obsessive reaction to even the simplest posts on his Twitter account), reception of the series, the show’s subtly-shifting visual style, to the planning of the climax. Alongside the interviews, there’s clips from the series that offer glimpses of the hints to the ending laid throughout the series, which only solidify the appreciation for how fantastically well thought out the mystery is. It’s also incredibly strange hearing Glenister talk outside of his Gene Hunt persona – he comes across as surprisingly sensitive and soft-spoken during interviews.
The lack of commentaries, especially on the final episode, is unfortunate, but there’s more meaty discussion to be found in the included featurette than is usually included in behind-the-scenes interview segments. After watching, fans will be especially glad they have the set anyway – like all great mystery endings, it gives the overwhelming urge to rewatch the series just to examine every clue to see how expertly each breadcrumb is laid out.
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Ashes to Ashes: Series 3 is available to buy on DVD in the UK on 5th July 2010.
