life on mars

life on mars

genre

From watching the first episode of Life of Mars, we can automatically tell that this show is a crime drama. This is due to the many different codes and conventions shown. For example, the use of iconography such as the notepad, guns, trenchcoat, coffee and many more are very stereotypical of a crime drama tv show. There are other elements which also tell us this is a 1970s crime drama. For example, the car-chases, autopsies, foot chases all happen in an urban backdrop which is conventional for a tv show like this. However, it could be argued that the tv show is a hybrid genre text and has certain elements of a sci-fi genre. We are shown this due to the time travelling element which occurs early on in the show. Steve Neales genre theory states that genres should contain elements that are similar, so that the audience know what genre is being displayed in a text. However, some texts include differences which keep the audience intrested and unaware of what genre is really being shown. This theory can be applied to life on mars as we are aware that it is a crime drama, from the crime drama codes and conventions however the difference is shown through the sci-fi time travel element.

narrative

During this first episode, the plot has been set up for the rest of the series. The first episode contains alot of key scenes, which help us get a narrative to what is going on. At the very beginning of the episode, Sam Tyler, the main character, is knocked out in a accident whilst investigating the disapperance and murder of a young woman. After waking up after this accident, he finds himself transported back in time from Manchester 2006 to Manchester 1973. Throughout this episode, we can see that the main character Sam is unsure whether he has genuinely gone back in time. He also is a detective, in 1973, and throughout this episode Sam is beginning to make connections between the current case he was solving in 2006 and the case he is set to solve in 1973. Sam starts to believe he might be in a coma or maybe hes just imagining all of this. By the end of the episode, we still have alot of unsolved enigmas, which we will have to watch the next episodes in order to discover. This links with Barthes enigma codes theory, which states that most texts, whether thats a tv show or a film, always portrays a mystery at first in order to draw an audience in. This allows the audience to pose questoons and become intrigued and wanting to watch further. With the first episode of life on mars, we can see this theory works by the first few minutes where suddenly the main character, Sam, goes back in time by an accident which most definitely makes the audience intrigued and wants to watch on. By the end of the episode, this is still a mysetry to us and the audience will want to know what happens therefore they will watch more. There is a restricted narrative in this episode, which means we only know what Sam knows and don't know what everyone else does. Therefore we seek answers to narrative enigma codes. 

representations

Sam Tyler- Sam Tyler is a young detective who is determined to keep the manchester streets safe. He is committed to his work and is intrested. We are still shown this side to Sam even after he 'goes back in time' where he still wants to solve crimes and find out 'who did it?'

Gene Hunt- Gene Hunt, Sam's boss in the 1970s, is a strict and rude detective who would rather tell people what to do than be told what to do. He is a contradiction to the modern day, highlighting the social change.

Annie Cartwright- Anne cartright plays the role of a feminist officer in the 1970s, also the only person we see helping out Sam. She makes him believe he may not be going crazy. However, she is not taken at all seriously by the police in the 70s. This shows a change in attitude between police in the 70's compared to police in the modern day where it is normalised for woman to be a police officer and help solve crimes.

Nelson- Nelson is the pub worker in the 1970s. Nelsons first encounter with sam, he speaks in a jamacian accent where the audience assume that this is his normal speaking voice, however later on in the episode when sam and nelson are alone Nelson speaks to him in his normal speaking voice, which is british. This represents the 70's views on ethnic minorities in comparison to the modern views, which is why Nelson felt comfortable enough to open up to Sam.

audiences

The audience demographic for 'life on mars' is most popular with men between 20-60, meaning it is quite broad. This is because of the hybrid-genre where some audience would relate to the 70's era and some would relate more to the modern views. Having this hybrid-genre allows the audience to be more wider. It is also suggested the audience is more male, due to the more male cast, however the female audience might enjoy the romantic sub-plot or the irony of Annie. Most of the sci-fi fans will enjoy this time travelling genre and makes the episode feel more surreal than a typical detective story.