My Review of Life On Mars 2x08: "Episode 16"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Annie: “Tell me what’s hurting you?”
Sam: “I can’t.”
Annie: “You’re gonna leave us, aren’t you?”
Sam: “I was always gonna leave you.”

And here it is the final episode in Sam’s two year (TV wise, not actual chronology) tenure in 1973. Frank Morgan set everything in motion last week and with Sam hearing voices that he could be coming outside of his coma very soon, he’s only too eager to do his part to get out of there.

There was no misunderstanding in Morgan’s need to nail Gene. Sam learns pretty quickly that Morgan wants Gene out of the police force and used as an example to usher in modern policing. Not only that but Sam is also a little too happy to help along which later adds some validity to Ray’s Judas comparison.

From the moment they clapped eyes on each other, Sam and Gene have tired of the other’s policing methods. With Sam it’s now gotten to the point where he can no longer tolerate it and Gene’s latest act of rash behaviour only has him too willing to spy on his colleagues for Morgan.

In some ways Gene did have this coming. Despite being repeatedly warned by Sam that his methods (in spite of their results) are too extreme, Gene has no qualms in using some torture along with Ray in order to get Sykes to spill a name on a planned train robbery. This is of course, after Gene’s previous act of recklessness caused the death of another informant.

Sam tries reasoning with Gene only for Gene to ignore him for the umpteenth time and with the likes of Ray always complaining about Sam, it does feel like Sam doesn’t have anyone to point out that he’s right. Chris never stands up to back Sam and even Annie doesn’t try and warn Gene off his plan to nail cop killer Leslie Johns.

Frank on the other hand seemingly represents everything Sam aspires in the police force. Sam wants to be a world where the police aren’t treated with contempt by the public and do genuinely help uphold the law instead of abusing it. It’s also not a shock that in 2006, the name Frank Morgan also means a surgeon who can operate on Sam’s tumour and bring him home.

In 1973 the Frank there is also promising to bring Sam home there as well and that’s enough to make Sam turn traitor. Watching the scenes where he’s uncovering information on Gene’s recklessness still cause a divide. By right, people like Gene shouldn’t be in the police force but at the same time, even I have to admit that Gene does want to do the right and get results regardless of the brutal approach he takes to accomplishing it.

Another thing on Sam’s mind is Annie. He’s been lusting for her for quite some time and they share enough intimate scenes to get tongues wagging. Annie’s clearly so in love with Sam that her refusal to spend one night with him must be her way of dealing with the idea that she could lose him forever.

Annie even begs Sam at different points in this episode not to leave. At first Sam is insistent that he can’t stay but the more the episode progresses, you can see that he’s wavering. He did tell her repeatedly that she was one of the few things about 1973 that he didn’t hate after all.

However the sting in the tail comes when Sam is confronted with some grim information from Morgan. With Sam’s work not being so complete, it’s then a shock to the system when Morgan tells Sam that his real name is Williams and that Ruth and Vic were never his parents.

John Simm was always gonna up his game in the last episode of the series but the series where Sam begins to realise that he really might in 1973 sees him pull in a tremendous performance. Sam’s total despair of thinking that he might have amnesia instead of being in a coma is riveting.

There’s even a wonderful scene where Nelson tells him the difference between knowing and feeling when a person is alive. Sam has acted like he’s been stuck in a dream world but it’s also one where he’s felt very alive in as well in spite of his protestations.

Of course knowing that he’s been betraying everyone all along makes for an awkward confrontation. Although it’s typical of Ray, who’s never accepted Sam anyway to lose his temper, both Chris and Annie had more powerful reactions. Both of them looked up to Sam in different ways and it’s easy to sympathise with them.

As for the train robbery itself, it’s amazing how quickly things can turn life threatening. Sam had a vision (thanks to the Test Card Girl) that Gene, Ray, Chris and Annie were going to be casualties and when it became apparent that Morgan had every intention to let them, Sam finally realised that he had been played big time.

The funny thing is that it was this moment when Sam finally woke up from his coma. Frank had just about managed to save him and Sam talked openly about what he was dreaming all that time. The scene with his mum was the most powerful. As soon as she told him that he always kept his promises, I knew exactly what Sam was going to do next.

Maybe it’s depression, post traumatic or even clarity but whatever the case may be, Sam thought that 1973 was a better time period to live in than 2006. As his colleagues droned on about improving the police force, Sam went to a roof and threw himself off and saved Chris, Annie, Gene and Ray from being murdered.

Would I have done the same thing if I had experienced what Sam did in that period of time? I don’t know if I can answer that question but I get the allure to a degree. By coming back, Sam redeemed himself in everyone eye’s (even Ray) and better still, after sixteen episodes of relentless teasing, Sam also finally got Annie.

Also in “Episode 16”

The Hyde that was alluded to so much in the series was the ward in which Sam was at while in hospital.

Frank (re Gene): “He’s out of control. He’s like a cancer. The sooner we cut him out.”
Sam: “The sooner I can go home.”

Gene’s comment about Sam wanting to read an article in Jugs reminded me of the fact that there are actually articles in straight men’s magazines.

Frank (to Ruth): “Let’s hope he’s strong enough.”
Sam: “I’m strong enough, Mr Morgan. You cut that cancer out.”

Sam: “It has to be done.”
Test Card Girl: “But it’s a very messy job, Sam. Are you strong enough?”

The actress Judi Jones who played the older Ruth Tyler has a very similar sounding voice to Joanne Froggatt who played the younger Ruth in Season One.

Ray: “Doddle, Guv. It’s not Hamlet.”
Sam: “It’s a good job because Hamlet is a tragedy.”
Ray: “Trust you to know that, poof.”

Frank: “You have amnesia, Sam.”
Sam: “I’m in a coma, Frank.”

M.A.R.S. in this episode stood for Metropolitan Accountability And Reconciliation Strategy.

Sam: “I need more time. I can’t think.”
Frank: “You can’t uphold the law by breaking it. It’s what you always said.”

Nelson: “I can see a darkness in you, Sam.”
Sam: “Oh you can see into me, Nelson? Well, go on then. Tell me, am I mad? Is this real, cause I want to know the truth?”

The Ruth and Vic that Sam saw gravestones died in 1862 and 1870 respectively whereas the “Sam Tyler” died in 1881.

Sam: “I’m trying to save your lives here. I am not your bloody enemy.”
Ray: “Cut the crap. You’ve been our enemy since day one.”

Annie (to Sam, after slapping him): “It hurts, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s real.”

There was a nice bit of continuity here with the roof. In Season One Sam threatened to jump to return home and now he actually jumped to return here.

Sam: “You can call me a traitor all you want, Guv but I’m the only one who can get us out of the shit you created. Morgan!”
Gene: “Looks like lover boy isn’t coming.”

Frank (to Sam in 2006): “It’s amazing I got you back at all. Quite an achievement.”

Okay to further prove that I watch way too much Doctor Who but I did keep thinking of John Simm as The Master when Sam was all suited up. Then again, he did take on that role not long after this episode actually aired.

Sam (to Ruth): “I went to some place, Mum and I woke up everyday in that place and I told myself I was alive and I was, in some ways more than I’ve ever been.”

Standout music: Well there was the repeated use of David Bowie’s “Life On Mars” and “Changes” but I also think “Decision/Indecision” by Atomic Rooster, “I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You” by Tom Waits and the score music were also noteworthy.

Sam: “Tell me.”
Annie: “Tell you what, Sam?”
Sam: “Tell me what I should do, Annie.”
Annie: “Stay. Here. Forever.”

Sam: “If you injured somebody in this car, it’s technically a criminal offence.”
Gene: “Oh shut up, you noncey arsed fairy boy.”

Chronology: It’s about August 1973/2006. Sam’s been in a coma for at least five to six months give or take.

As a series finale go, I was undecided about this episode. A lot of people voiced disappointment and I allowed that to cloud my judgement when I originally watched the episode but when I sat down reviewing this series, I found myself enjoying it more than when I originally watched the episodes. It was the same for this but as last ever episodes go, I found it satisfying. Also now that I’ve completed Life On Mars, that means I can get round to reviewing Ashes To Ashes now.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x07: "Episode 15"

Written by Mark Greig
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Gene: “The last thing I remember is taking a swing for you in the pub. Look, I know it looks bad.”
Sam: “Well, that’s the understatement of the century. You may remember threatening the victim’s life … in front of a dozen or so witnesses … at the courthouse.”

Instead of a case of “who done it”, this episode is more a case of “how do we prove he didn’t do it” when it comes to Gene. For a man who loves enforcing the law, it’s gotta be tough for someone like Gene to be on the other side of it for once. Still, it always did seem inevitable.

Gene’s policing methods have always been questionable at best and this week during court, he decided to do the right thing by giving evidence against boxing manager Terry Haslam. Come on, it had to have been obvious at the start that him and Gene had some sort of an arrangement that Gene decided to back out of.

Even worse is that Terry gets away with beating the living daylights out of his prized boxer Davie Mackay and Gene doesn’t react to this well. Nope, he hurls abuse at Terry in court and then decides to hurl a brick through his window while completely. Then Sam makes the error of leaving Gene to go find his gun alone.

I know Gene can be extremely annoying at times but Sam really should’ve gone with him during that point. A dream then pointed out that Sam would be called and Gene is then found next to a dead Terry. That automatically makes him a murder suspect and even worse for him is the fact that he doesn’t remember anything.

I won’t pretend that I thought Gene killed Terry. It’s less of a belief in the character and more of a realisation of a plot but it just felt like Gene didn’t kill the man. Sam believed that as well due to the trust he has in Gene but bringing in Hyde man Frank Morgan meant that some doubt could be instilled.

While Ray, Chris and Annie all seemed to believe that Gene was innocent, Frank didn’t think he was. I quite like Frank as a character but as soon as Hyde was mentioned, I immediately assumed that we’d finally get some progress on that dangling little mystery. Sam must’ve too given that he tried his hand at file snooping.

Frank did make a good impression on Sam. He wanted a thorough investigation, actually took an interest in Sam’s belief in Gene’s innocence (despite thinking the contrary) and as far as I’m concerned if Ray takes an active dislike in someone, it’s usually a good sign of that person being reasonably alright in my book.

Of course Ray’s problem was the progressive thing and the fact that Frank had no problem for reprimanding him and Chris for being reckless. Ray also came across as a major dick with the aggressive manner he took with Sam in Railway Arms. Ray can hate Sam all he wants but acting like it was his fault for Gene’s predicament was pathetic.

Annie also had some issues with Frank but thankfully she was less petty and at least her issue was valid. Given how brilliant she’s been in solving cases, you can’t blame her for being slightly annoyed that she would then have to teach Road Safety to kids. Still there’s an amusing little scene between her and Sam.

As the episode progressed it did seem like evidence was stacking up against Gene. It wasn’t too shocking that he was taking more backhanders and the fact that he had a confrontation with Pete Wilkes also made him look bad. Then again trying to evade police custody also played its part but with Ray and Chris being exceptionally dense, more power to Gene for his escape methods.

There are some really defining moments in the episode. Ray and Chris were Gene’s biggest defenders and as much as Ray irritates the crap out of me, I have to respect his loyalty. I could also easily see how that even he and Chris would then begin to doubt Gene’s innocence, although Annie conveyed the doubt a lot more effectively.

The best part of this episode however was Gene’s need for Sam to bail him out. He wanted Sam to lead the investigation and acted hurt when it was his brief that got him bail. He also then turned to Sam to help prove his innocence and the two of them went to hilarious methods to snare crime scene photos.

Sam and Gene alone retracing the latter’s steps also made for some good moments. I knew when Gene started going on about TVs while in Haslam’s house; there’d be a point to. Sam also came up trumps by realising that Terry had been killed hours before the time Morgan believed him to be dead.

Another interesting note is how quietly this got resolved. Gene figured out that Davie had the motive to kill Terry and opportunity to frame him. Better still was Gene’s sympathetic reaction when Davie admitted the truth. A man frames Gene and not a mark, whereas Sam has been repeatedly punched, insulted and locked in the boot of a car for answering Gene back.

The best bit is that with Gene officially free from jail time, he gets his own back by giving all of his colleague one hell of a lecture. Of course while they might feel guilty with themselves, Gene then goes and throws a big party. As office parties, this one looked like a lot of fun, minus Chris making a bit of a tit out of himself.

As for Sam and Annie, I really thought they might have actually kissed in this episode. It looked so painfully near and then Frank interrupts them at exactly the wrong moment. I suppose with the next episode being the last, the writers will also resolve that dangling plot as well.

The Hyde stuff meanwhile comes back to Sam when Morgan reveals himself to be a spy for them. What exactly do Hyde want Sam in the position and why did Frank want to see Gene in prison? He sounded disappointed when Gene managed to prove his innocence and even more determined to nail him.

Also in “Episode 15”

The court had a “Without Justice, Courage Is Weak” sign outside. Gene got to find his own justice but once again alluded to backhanders being weak.

Terry (re Davie): “I made him, I broke him. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last.”
Gene: “I’m gonna bloody kill you.”

At one point in this episode, Gene had to dress up as the Road Safety squirrel. Sam didn’t waste a moment comparing him to a rat.

Sam: “You need my help?”
Gene: “Just be the picky pain in the arse you normally are and I shall be fine.”

Colin: “It’s a pleasure doing business with you. You know where to find me.”
Sam: “Yeah, the nearest sewer.”
Gene: “He got me out.”

I think stinky Colin might have had a little crush on Gene. His singing however was a monstrous moment in the episode.

Ray (re Gene):“That’s his wife.”
Chris: “She’s put weight on.”
Ray: “She carries it well though.”

Annie (to Sam, re Gene): “Then he did it. He crossed a line and he killed a man. You always said that Gene didn’t know when to stop.”

I noticed that both Sam and Frank were wearing purple, a regal colour and also something that identifies them as different from the other police in this episode.

Sam: “What made you change your mind?”
Gene: “A rare attack of doing the right thing.”

Gene: “You seriously think I’m capable of murder?”
Sam: “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

Standout music: “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music and “Done Me Wrong Alright” by The Sweet.

Sam: “Could you?”
Annie: “Well if you haven’t got trust, what do you have?”

Chronology: July 17th 1973, specified by Frank in the episode.

An absolutely brilliant penultimate episode for the series, made more interesting with the appearance of Frank Morgan from Hyde. Gene’s story was predictable but it’s build up and resolution never slacked and it was nice to see the moments between him and Sam of friendship.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x06: "Episode 14"

Written by Guy Jenkin
Directed by Andrew Gunn

Gene: “What the bloody hell are you playing at?”
Sam: “A bit of good cop, bad cop.”
Gene: “No, no, no, no, no, you’re more like absolutely gorgeous cop.”

Oh that while that exchange might be a delightful little bit of HoYay to satisfy the slash bunnies out there, this is another episode where Sam and Gene come into conflict with each other. It’s also one that adds a bit of race issues along with the rise in heroin to boot.

With Maya suddenly preying on Sam’s mind, this is something of a topical episode. Without sounding like a horrible person but I’ve almost forgotten Maya seeing as we’ve experienced Sam’s family issues, the Hyde conspiracy and his growing closeness towards Annie.

This episode somewhat brings Maya back like a thunderbolt. Prior to being stuck in 1973 it did look like working together was having a negative effect on their relationship as a whole. Sam going after Maya was part of the parcel that has his in his current predicament.

Readdressing their relationship is an interesting touch. Sam can hear her wanting to let him go and naturally enough he doesn’t react to such news well. Instead he freaks out during the airing of a Bollywood movie and even startles one of the main characters from her sleep at one point.

Still you could argue that even if Sam hadn’t gone back in time, he and Maya would’ve drifted away. Listening to Maya abandon Sam at his bedside in 2006 makes her come across as cold and while it’s not Sam’s fault for his current predicament, I can’t entirely find fault Maya’s decision to leave him. I’m saying she’s right either but I can understand where she’s coming from to an extent.

The interesting part of this episode is that Sam spends a good part of the episode determined to keep his 2006 girlfriend only to later accept that she needs to move on. In fact he even tries to move on himself by making it explicitly clear to Annie that he’s available. By letting Maya go, it’s becoming apparent that Sam is beginning to lose his desire to go back home as well.

I suppose this was inevitable. He spent so much time protesting and trying to wake himself up to the point where it got tedious. Even though his relationships with everyone else are stormy at best, I can see why the lure of Annie might enough to make him reconsider leaving so quickly. She is after all quite brilliant and has really come into her own over the last couple of episodes as a character.

The best part of the episode is Sam getting to meet Maya’s mother. In 2006 Layla isn’t the most approving of potential mother in laws but in 1973, not only is she a person Sam needs to care for but someone he can be a little more honest. She also brings up the issue of unconditional love following her interracial relationship with suspected drug dealer Deepak.

Layla doesn’t do herself favours by helping Deepak with his books and initially trying to protect his brother Ravi but she is a sympathetically written character and for once, Gene’s intolerant attitudes even made me want to beat the living daylights out of him. Unsurprisingly enough, Gene isn’t particularly receptive to the idea of interracial relationships.

Worse than that is that Gene’s intolerance even usurps the crap we’re used to coming from Ray’s mouth. Sam was a better man than me because I think I would’ve throttled Gene if he had made cracks about anyone I was seeing that he made about Maya. Still the fact that Sam admitted to dating an Asian woman gave him and Layla something bond over.

The part that wasn’t really shocking in all of it was the reveal of Layla being Maya’s mother. It didn’t feel contrived either and I did like that one point she told Sam to lay off the touchy feely stuff. However with the likes of the NF firebombing her house, the big fear Sam had was that she would abort Maya.

Luckily for Sam, Layla chose to keep her unborn daughter and the last scene between the two of them was just lovely. I had to laugh at Sam planning Maya’s future, mainly for the surprised reaction it generated from Layla. Even Sam can get a little carried away with himself from time to time.

As for the drug plot, really wasn’t the most interesting one of the bunch. Gene’s refusal to consider that it could’ve been racially motivated was annoying but hardly a shock. Sam was in the right to push but Layla’s comments about the police not caring were too true.

Toolbox turning out to be responsible wasn’t a big shock either. Both him and his wife Big Bird looked dodgy enough and they certainly know how to brandish their own torture techniques. At one point a bound and gagged Sam nearly got roasted with an iron save for a power cut and even Ravi was about to have a world of pain inflicted.

The usually idiotic Chris was the fella who saved the day by shooting Big Bird. Gene spent a good portion of this episode reminding Sam that Chris was gloriously thick yet it was Chris’ quick shooting that saved Gene from becoming a corpse. I think it’s safe to say there’s hope for Chris yet.

Another interesting aspect of the episode was Gene revealing more about his family. Although he tested my patience with this episode, I felt for him when he was explaining about his junkie brother. Would it take much of a shrink to realise that his less than warm childhood is part of the reason why he’s so inhuman at times. Even Gene realises that the man he used to be is long gone.

Also in “Episode 14”

It’s been a few episodes since we’ve had development on both the Test Card Girl and Hyde, though it looks something on the latter is finally coming up.

Sam: “You know Starsky And Hutch have a lot to answer for.”
Gene: “Who?”

Layla told Sam at one point in the episode that Deepak cherished the brilliance of British music.

Sam: “Whichever strange place you find yourself in make that your home.”
Layla: “Are you really a copper?”

Annie: “Why are you so angry?”
Sam (re Layla): “She lied.”
Annie: “That’s what we do to people, Sam. Haven’t you noticed?”

Ravi had business in places such as Kampala, Istanbul and Turkey.

Sam (re Maya): “We got a bit of that. Worst thing was her Mum. She wanted her to marry a doctor.”
Layla: “Don’t we all want that?”

Sam (to Gene, re Ravi): “Have you got any sense of humanity left because in spite of everything, no-one deserves to have their brother’s death rubbed in their faces?”

We also found out in this episode that Gene’s father was abusive and that his grandmother had a stroke.

Skinhead: “What are you doing? You’re one of us.”
Sam: “What, a dyslexic moron like you?”

Gene (to Sam): “You throw another hammer in my hand and I swear I’ll smash someone’s face and it might be yours, Tyler.”

Who were the people that knocked out Sam and Annie and why did they leave him behind? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stash him somewhere?

Layla: “Are you talking to my baby? Anyone would think she’s yours.”
Sam: “No.”

Standout music: It has to be Elton John’s “Rocket Man” given how brilliantly used it was here.

Definitely one of the series strongest episodes to boot, this polemic tale succeeded in showing that not everything is as it seems. Sam’s time is drawing to a close both for him and for viewers but at least we’re getting memorable moments as we approach it.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x05: "Episode 13"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by Andrew Gunn

Annie: “I’ll get cracking.”
Sam: “Remember God is in the details.”

For a guy as methodical as Sam, coming out with a statement such as “God is in the details” may be a bit too on the nose. He’s done nothing but try to introduce modern policing in 1973 since his arrival and this is the week where someone really takes it seriously.

The episode opens up on a rather insane note with Simon Lamb barging into the station and threatening to hang himself. The day in which Sam’s compassionate side might have been an asset is the same day he’s more into abusing Gene to notice Simon’s suicide attempt.

So what would inspire some random bloke to go into the cop shop and do himself in? For Simon, it’s the simple fact that his wife Bea and his daughter Stella have been kidnapped by a man who wants Graham Bathurst to be released. Sam of course is unfamiliar about who Graham is so it’s up to everyone else to fill in the blanks for a change.

With the previous episode we had the death of a woman and this one sees the resurrection of Charley Witham’s death. From the start Gene explains to Sam that she was only fourteen and was killed by her boyfriend Graham who was three years older than her. Gene seemed determined that Graham was his man.

In fact Gene even went as far as to promise Charley’s parents at the time to nail her killer. He chose a 48 hour period in order to achieve this aim and through various flashbacks and different points of view we see how Gene came to believing that Graham was Charley’s killer.

This episode showed an emotional side to Gene. He was clearly distressed when Charley’s parents showed them a home video of the girl and at one point he even snapped at Ray. Given that Ray is a general idiot that Gene seldom reins in; it’s brilliant to see Gene lose his temper with him.

The interviewing process with Graham was also intense. From Gene’s perspective, Graham was already guilty and the lad did very little to convince Gene that he might be innocent. In fact a few brutal moments got Gene his result but given that someone out there believed that Graham wasn’t guilty, perhaps Gene was wrong.

The only real suspects in a kidnapping had to be Graham’s family. Given that Graham’s mother came across as a mouthy pain in the arse, Gene’s little comedown about Graham did illicit many laughs from me. I suppose in another way you had to feel sorry for her too but damn, she was annoying to watch.

Equally annoying was Graham’s Cousin Mitch who Sam and Gene later arrested. It was obvious that he would be a false lead and given that he was more concerned with the navy catching him than his cousin in prison, Mitch didn’t have to suffer too much from Sam and Gene’s interrogation.

Gene’s point of view isn’t the only thing that ignited some interest. On the least focused side you did have Chris interviewing a bunch of school girls. Chris is always a bit of a div but even the younger sets are able to make an eejit of him. However on the plus we did find out that it was Stella who told Chris about Charley being involved with Graham. That little nugget certainly helped with things.

Annie however had the most pivotal of point of views. She remembered the stress of nailing a killer for Charley and the recklessness that it might have caused with filing and statements. For once Sam’s influence came across in a positive light when she was able to start jogging back.

Even better was that one point she even stood up to Gene. We know that Annie isn’t that much of a wallflower but there is some joy in seeing her challenge Gene and not lose her recent status within the station. Gene must’ve known that she had a point because her investigating lead to the real kidnapper.

I guess I should’ve seen that it was Don who took both Stella and Bea hostage. He clearly blamed the police for not taking too long to get Charley’s killer and even blamed Simon for her death. Annie was lucky that Gene and company arrived or else she would’ve been killed by Don.

With Annie being the one that saved the day, some further progress seemed to be made with her and Sam. In flashbacks we got to see her wanting to ask Sam out on a date and when he ended up trying to do it, she halted him. It’s quite nice to see less tension between them in this episode compared to others we’ve had.

As for Sam, this episode was certainly a strange one. He starts acting like he’s on the way out earlier on this episode and comes close to fainting. Midway through when he does, it’s Phyllis who discovers that he’s been drugged up. This also played into his current medical condition back in 2006 as well.

However while it was interesting to see Sam become a spectator and hope that Gene, Chris and Annie solved the case, it’s him who realises that Simon was responsible for Charley’s death. Simon did make it obvious with his outbursts at the station over the radio and it’s great that despite the lack of emphasis, he still was unable to evade justice thanks to Sam’s quick thinking.

Also in “Episode 13”

I loved the start of the episode with the puppet Sam and Gene beating a nonce. Thankfully it was only brief as it could’ve been naff if it was too long.

Sam: “Chris, what the bloody hell are you doing there?”
Chris: “I’m working boss.”

Annie is a fan of Roxy Music and luckily for her, Sam seems to be one too. I thought it was neat that she wasn’t suspicious when he later suggested the concert.

Gene (to Chris): “Right add this. Your son, Mrs Bathurst is a cold hearted killer and if there’s a hell he’s going there to be poked up the arse with fiery sticks, forever and forever amen.”

Sam: “Tell me about Charley Witham.”
Gene: “She’s what every copper dreads – a dead child. Parents looking to you for answers.”

Annie remembered that Graham was less aggressive with his grandmother and was confused by Gene’s sense of humour during interrogation.

Gene (re Annie): “You’ve got a babysitter son. Do let her know if you need burping.”
Graham: “I might even need breastfeeding.”

Mitch: “Up my arse, copper.”
Gene: “Do you want me to take a look?”

Sam and Gene were pretty much on the same page with the way they treated Mitch. Sam was quite hostile with the bloke as well.

Simon: “Why can’t I do this? If I confess they can let them go. Wouldn’t you happily go to prison to save the ones you love?”
Sam: “It doesn’t work that way.”

Ray (re Gene): “Blimey Cartwright, the next time why don’t you go the whole hog and pull a gun on him.”
Chris: “That was out of order, Annie.”

Standout music: “Just Like You” by Roxy Music and “10538” by E.L.O.

Annie: “No more visions?”
Sam: “No, they’re all gone now. I feel good.”
Annie: “Good.”

Chronology: Not much has been really specified in the longest time, except that we know it’s 1973.

Easily one of the more inventive episodes of the season, it’s great to see the series jazz up the format a little with taking Sam out of the fray and the nice use of flashbacks. Plus it’s good that the Hyde stuff resurfaced once again.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x04: "Episode 12"

Written by Ashley Pharaoh
Directed by Richard Clark

Heather: “Maybe he can’t even hear me. You don’t need to hear my voice to know I’m always there. You’re my favourite nephew Sam and it breaks my heart to see you like this.”

Halfway through the second season, the writers have decided to take another look into Sam’s family. Last season we got see his parents at different occasions and now it’s time for Sam to start thinking about his Aunt Heather.

Aunts are usually brilliant and as a kid you can definitely get away with more with them than your parents. Heather’s clearly a significant person for Sam but oddly enough she’s peripheral to what’s really going on here.

With Sam being in a brooding mood, it’s not a great time for a killer to be on the loose. The death of a young woman had Gene remembering the deviant Terrence Finn who notably left a signature piece with his victims. When the same piece turns up on this body, Gene wonders if he caught the wrong fellow all those years ago.

For some reason (perhaps Sam’s influence?), Gene seems a little less brutal in his efforts to try and sort this case out. When Sam keeps sniffing the corpse, Gene even indulges Sam’s notions of trying to find a lead on the victim’s killer.

It also helps for Sam that a young girl named Denise happens to come flying out of a car in his direction. That’s enough to illicit any level of suspicion but when she darts off and is also wearing some distinct perfume, Sam realises that there’s a decent connection.

Just like his Aunt Heather, Denise is a Beavoir girl. These ladies just seem to be a 70’s version of Avon and given that the earlier body worked for the same company, Sam gets Denise in to get some answers. Denise naturally doesn’t want to help out until she realises that the dead woman was her best friend.

If the world of cosmetics doesn’t generate much appeal then the world of swinger parties just might. Denise’s friend Sandra was one of the toga waitresses of the place and the man who chucked Denise out of his car seemed to be rather possessive of Sandra. This also give Sam a chance to use policing methods he’s more accustomed to.

Of course Gene isn’t best pleased that Sam wants to bug Roger’s place of business but at least it gets results when they overhear Roger and his wife Carol discussing a troublesome woman. Still this is one of those episodes where Gene’s complaining about modern policing is both minimal and rather funny.

It’s also funny that it takes Gene quite a while to deduce the severity of Roger’s actions but Sam at least manages to get a plan into action as soon as him and Gene deal with a tense interview with Edith. With Denise now a missing person, it’s good to see a more sensitive side to Gene as well. In fact it might be one of the rare episodes where Sam and Gene seem to agree more than usual.

Sam’s plan however is just more surveillance but it works no less. Both him and Annie pose as a new couple and immediately manage to gain the trust of Roger and Carol within seconds. Then again, Annie is just a little too good at the old undercover routine that it’s Sam you end up worrying more for.

She’s flirtatious and friendly and is able to handle sleazy Roger with ease while maintaining a cordial stance with Carol. Sam on the other hand comes across as more frosty that it’s amazing that Roger didn’t smell a rat. Still his attempts to protect Annie are sweet even though she blatantly can take care of herself.

Also it’s because of her that some progress in the case is made. She decides to get herself and Sam invited to a swingers party. Sam even attempts to back out at one point and Annie has to put him in his place. Liz White is a good actress but this episode really saw her shine the most.

It was her we had to thank when things were looking bad for herself and Sam. Gene’s method of gate crashing the party with Sookie nearly blew their cover. However I did love Gene’s interruption – he was actually worried for Sam and Annie and was also on his witty best as well. That being said Annie was the quick thinker in this episode.

Sam made a good effort to pry on Carol’s insecurities about swinger parties to get some information but Carol seemed too determined not to help. Annie however whipped Roger into a literal frenzy and began to get some answers. I bet she had a lot of fun with that more than Roger.

Of course the ending was a bit mellow by comparison. It turned out that Carol was planning to do in Denise but once again, we can thank Annie for the day being saved. To think this episode had started with her getting bested by a petty thug and ended with her preventing another death.

Maybe it’s not that amazing but it shows just good of a copper Annie is and also highlights that she’s more than a love interest/unwilling confidant for Sam too. Even Sam was impressed with her quick thinking this week but with four episodes left, how much longer are they going to tease out this love arc?

Speaking of love, you got to feel for Chris. Okay so he is quite thick and while he should grow a backbone and tell Ray where to get off, I did like that in the end he was able to tell Sam what he really felt about his date. As for Ray, given his approach to women, I’m surprised the guy has ever actually gotten laid.

The Heather plot of the episode then caps things off intriguingly. Real life Heather in 1973 might not be a fan of her nephew but at least the fantasy one hates seeing Sam in pain. Katherine Kelly might be better known as Corrie’s loud mouth Becky but she did a good job here despite not having very much to do.

Also in “Episode 12”

I just realised we had three fairly big Corrie actresses in this episode with Katherine Kelly as Heather, Georgia Taylor as Denise and Eva Pope as Carol.

Chris: “Woman in her twenties found dead.”
Gene: “I didn’t think she was sunbathing.”

The only Hyde mention in this episode was from Annie. Sam did lay it on a bit too thick about how much he was appreciated in his old station.

Sam: “You’ve got lovely hands.”
Denise: “Are you sure you’re a copper?”

Ray (re surveillance):“You’re right boss. It works like a treat.”
Sam: “People are sick.”

Another thing that was laid thick in this episode was Sam’s luck with women. Gwen and Carol seemed attracted to him, Phyllis was civil with him and even Chris asked him for advice about women.

Gene (to Sam, re surveillance): “I don’t like it. Gene Hunt smashes doors down. He does not pick girly locks.”

Annie: “Can I be really forward?”
Roger: “Oh I love forward women.”
Carol: “Roger, behave.”

Sam and Annie pretended to be Tony and Cherie Blair, with Sam also being a virgin and looking for a soul mate and Annie nearly losing her dog.

Sam (re Sookie): “She’s a prostitute?”
Sookie: “I am here you know.”
Gene: “You didn’t think I was going to fetch my wife, did you?”

Carol: “Nothing more stupid than a man who thinks he knows everything.”
Gene (to Sam): “I think she means you.”

Standout music: “Coz I Luv You” by Slade and “Aladdin Sane” by David Bowie.

Wow, this is definitely one of the best episodes of the show. This was pretty dark if not exactly mystery advancing but it boasted some of the most entertaining moments in the series as well as some brilliant moments for Annie.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x03: "Episode 11"

Written by Julie Rutterford
Directed by Richard Clark

Gene: “How do you think I spend my time here, Tyler?”
Sam: “Building a death star?”
Gene: “You what?”
Sam: “Nothing.”

If there are some things that have been predictable about Life On Mars, it’s that Sam and Gene will spend a good dose of each episode arguing like spoiled brats and that one of them will be proven right. Failing that you might get the occasional episode where they are both right to a degree.

This episode opens up with a bomb scare and sees the two of them at loggerheads from the get go. Gene’s convinced that it’s the IRA but Sam isn’t. Worse still is that Sam’s goading of Ray winds up seeing the sexist copper nearly blown to smithereens before the opening credits.

Eleven episodes into the series, it was about time that something would happen to Ray that would illicit some sympathy for him. Dean Andrews is a good actor but Ray’s been a mostly repugnant character and while Sam does indulge in the Martyr act a little too much, I always end up siding with him when him and Ray go head to head.

I even still side with him in this episode. While it was reckless of Sam to dare Ray to go near the car that blew up, it’s not like Sam knowingly tried to harm him. Even at the police station, Sam’s actions see him largely out of favour with his colleague. Annie even rejects his attempts to donate some cash to Ray’s kitty.

Gene also goes overboard into reminding Sam just how reckless his actions were. However for all the grilling he gives Sam, it’s still the two of them who visit Frank Miller’s yard when trying to see if any of the Irish workers were responsible for the explosion. The fact that dynamite has also been stolen from Miller is more than coincidental as well.

Sam is more or less adamant that the IRA isn’t responsible for the planned attacks. It’s less to do with sympathy and more to do with his own knowledge that no-one else in 1973 possesses. However given that Annie continues to dismiss Sam’s insider knowledge nearly every episode, wouldn’t it be better if he just kept it to himself?

Gene meanwhile is convinced that Patrick O’Brien is the bomber and has more than a good time in trying to prove this. Given that Patrick wasn’t at work the day after the dynamite was taken and seems to be politically active, Gene totally believes that it has to be him. Sam as per usual thinks differently.

However to stick with the tried and tested format, Gene spends his time beating the crap out of Patrick in order to get a confession and even though you could guess that Patrick is innocent, he does himself little favours by being hostile with Gene.

At one point the vitriol both men have for each other descends into even more extreme violence. Gene might not appreciate it, but Sam did him a favour by getting away from Patrick. Gene did come close to actually beating the man to death and that definitely would’ve been a wasted kill.

With more threats being made and Ray out of hospital, the tension does amp up. Sam does his best to be civilised and him and Ray even work together when chasing down a potential suspect. Unfortunately for them the would be suspect is unarmed and Ray inadvertently kills the man.

Usually if Ray does something like this, I would be less sympathetic to the character’s plight but it was different. Both Ray and Sam got separated and Sam wasn’t audible enough for Ray to follow his instructions. Gene also doesn’t make the situation any better either by constantly blaming Sam.

The intriguing part of the episode is having Sam go to a priest and confess all his professional angst. The reason why this is so good because it’s Patrick who he ends up disclosing information to. I think there’s a good chance that Sam was bluffing when he said he knew it was Patrick all along.

On the plus side by snooping around Miller’s yard again he was able to figure that it was Miller who’s been setting up all the bombs. Doubly funny that Annie went from dismissing Sam’s crackpot theories into actually helping Sam figure out where Miller was going to strike next on his list.

The last couple of minutes of the episode are fairly middle of the road though. Ray being held hostage by Miller and his fears of being killed are interesting. Sam did try to warn Gene that Ray was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and this scene proved that Sam was right with that.

However both Sam and Annie using the family card to get Miller to surrender was a bit maudlin. Okay it did work and there was good acting but it did feel a little too easy after the big set up. Then again it does go to further that not all bombers are evil to the core and there’s even a great scene where Patrick lays into Gene about his family woes.

Elsewhere Sam’s still getting cryptic phone calls about his progress. For now he seems to be doing well but is still nowhere near waking up. On top of that he also has to deal with that creepy Test Card Girl. Her first appearance this season and her joy for driving Sam around the bend still doesn’t seem to be sated.

Also in “Episode 11”

Speaking of the Test Card Girl, it looks like there’s a different actress playing the role this season.

Chris (re bomb): “I make it nearly 10.”
Ray: “I make it nearly 11.”
Annie: “I make it 11.03.”

Sam made some offhand comments about Lorraine Kelly and even Dana when Gene went on the Anti-Irish rant.

Gene: “Take your own advice – wake up and smell the cocoa. Let’s search this shithole and nail these Paddy bastards.”
Sam: “It’s coffee.”

Phyllis: “What if I need to go to the ladies, Guv?”
Gene: “Cross your legs.”

Annie got upset at the end of the episode when she thought Sam called her chunky. He was referring to the brand of Kit Kat bars of course.

Sam (re Patrick): “You’re condemning a man for Christ’s sake.”
Gene: “Because I know he’s guilty.”

Sam (re Ray): “Guv. He shouldn’t be here, he’s got PTSD.”
Gene: “The man’s a bloody hero and you’re accusing him of having the clap.”
Sam: “Post traumatic stress disorder. I’ve seen it before. He needs counselling, he needs to talk to someone.”
Gene: “He’s a policeman, not a fairy.”

Sam also mentioned the use of CCTV to Gene and then backtracked by mentioning Hyde. We still don’t know what Sam is supposed to be doing for them.

Sam: “I’m not walking away. I need time to think.”
Gene: “You haven’t got the time to piss about thinking.”

Patrick (to Sam): “If it’s any consolation my instincts about you were never wrong. I knew you were a complete Nutjob when I saw you but at least you might be a Nutjob on my side for once.”

We learned that Patrick’s grandfather came from Connemara. Gene also made some comments about an Indian family moving into the same area.

Annie (re women leaders): “Maybe we'd be better off if a woman did run the country. She couldn't make a worse job of it than the fellas have done.”
Sam: “I have a feeling you might regret saying that one day.”

Standout music: “The Big Spell” by Audience and “When The City Sleeps” by Barclay James Harvest”.

For an episode themed on the IRA, it’s refreshing to discover that it isn’t entirely filled with stereotypes beyond Gene’s less than receptive attitude towards the Irish. It’s not the best episode the show has produced but it’s solid no less.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x02: "Episode 10"

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Sam: “I’ve seen it a dozen times. Look, half of CID will be alcoholics by the time Maggie Thatcher becomes Prime Minister.”
Woolf: “If Margaret Thatcher ever becomes Prime Minister, I’ll have been doing something a lot stronger than whisky.”

Corruption within the police is something that every cop shows, some a lot better than other. It only makes sense that the already corrupt policing of 1973 would go one further by shattering some of the beliefs in characters like Sam and Gene about their profession.

Harry Woolf was introduced in the last episode as Gene’s mentor. He’s one of the very few people that someone like Gene would aspire to as a cop and also one of the very few people that Gene would happily break bones in defending as well. So because of that, there must be something very dirty about this Harry. Okay terrible pun but you get the point.

The episode opened with Sam, Chris and Ray collecting Dickie Fingers and before we even got to the opening credits, a few armed men made sure that the three of them were minus a criminal. We could suggest bad luck or a combination of Chris’ crappy driving skills but conspiracy is the more likely option.

Sam himself even thinks that there was nothing coincidental with Dickie’s abduction and soon enough, he’s unsuccessfully trying to get various contacts to squeal on where the petty crook is being stashed. Only Gene is able to come up with some better solutions.

The first is hauling in Arnold Malone, one of the biggest nemeses of Harry but it’s a good call. Aside from the cat and mouse antics between Harry and Malone, the latter does give Sam and Gene heads up on a particular robbery. Sam’s naturally suspicious of Malone’s sudden co-operation and to be honest, how could anyone not be?

Predictably enough the robbery goes off and Gene has everyone prepared in advance. There’s a really fun moment however where he curses himself when both Annie and Phyllis are openly hostile with the robbers in question but it’s not much of a shock to learn that one of the robbers happens to be Dickie as well.

Like many of the petty crooks on this show, while Dickie is probably not the worst human in existence, he’s still downright unlikeable and when he demands alone time with Sam, a part of me assumed he wanted to use Sam’s more empathetic nature for his own benefit.

That feeling only intensified when he told Sam that it was Harry responsible for springing him out of jail and for the series of robberies. I like that Sam didn’t instantly believe Dickie because I actually wanted Dickie to be lying. I like Harry as a character so I didn’t want him to be corrupt.

More importantly is that Sam didn’t keep this to himself. He talked about it with Annie and even she tried to get him to consider that Dickie could be lying. Sam not believing that Dickie was felt typical for him but at least he told Gene about what the petty crook had told him.

Gene’s response was delightful. Okay so it’s looking at this point that Dickie is telling the truth but I still didn’t mind Gene using his own methods to test that theory. Then Sam had to challenge Harry about the accusations made against him. The fact that Harry seemingly supported the idea of Sam taking these accusations into account was a clever move.

It should’ve been enough to make Sam doubt himself and when it didn’t work, Harry sort of used Gene to put Sam in line. Even locking Sam in the boot of a car wasn’t enough of a deterrent for him. Once again Sam knew he was right about Harry and Gene also didn’t want to believe him.

It was when Gene and Sam confronted Malone that the truth really began to sink in. Rarely do we get any scenes where true sympathy can be conveyed for Gene, despite the series succeeding in making him more than a brute. However seeing a part of Gene’s belief system shattered is quite devastating to watch.

Harry was probably one of the few people genuinely left in his profession that wasn’t tarred with some form of scandal or compromise. Annie herself even gave Sam a rundown of the man’s strengths and legacies. Of course it also meant that Sam was right, which makes you wonder is Gene going to just trust Sam on something?

The confrontation between the three of them is beautifully written. Harry’s motivations for trying to frame Malone are plausible. Every day we see less than savoury characters more financially solvent than those who struggle to make ends meat so the desire to get one less scumbag off the street regardless of means is believable.

Another thorny issue in this episode comes in the arrival of black police officer Glen Fletcher. Not much tends to make me uncomfortable but watching morons like Ray making racist remarks is up there. Worse still was witnessing Glen making similarly disparaging comments about himself. I don’t think I’ve ever been more disgusted by anything else than I was with that scene.

Sam spent a good time during this episode trying to get Glen to stand up for himself. I can understand why Glen would prefer to stay in the background and while he did say and do things in this episode that frustrated me as a viewer, I’m glad that Sam’s words did actually make a difference towards the end of the episode.

As for the Hyde material, it seems that Sam is at Gene’ precinct in an undercover capacity. Except that Sam isn’t aware of this and is equally confused when told by Hyde not to call them again. I do like this angle to Sam’s ongoing saga and hopefully there will be a satisfying payoff to everything here.

Also in “Episode 10”

As much Ray’s racist remarks disgusted, I didn’t mind him and Chris teasing Dickie about sheep. Sam even privately laughed about it.

Chris: “I can’t do five years. I’m not that strong.”
Sam: “Chris, you don’t even have a life.”

I think this might have been the first episode in the series without Nelson. I did miss him seeing as him and Sam get great scenes together.

Dillis: “Ain’t talking in front of your pansy.”
Gene (to Sam): “I think she means you.”

Woolf (re Sam): “He knows his onions this lad.”
Gene: “Oh he’s a right little smartarse.”

So two people in this episode actually thought that Sam was gay. Aside from one gangster, we haven’t exactly been awash with gay characters.

Annie: “Thanks for being so sympathetic sir. Just hope you don’t end up in my firing line.”
Gene (to Sam): “Did she just threaten to shoot me?”

Glen: “Why should I fight all the battles?”
Sam: “Because if you don’t, who will?”

We learned in this episode that it was Glen who was Sam’s mentor in the future. Without Sam’s intervention, I wonder what motivated Glen into becoming more proactive.

Gene: “Talk me out of it. Tell me it’s untrue.”
Woolf: “I can’t. I made you too good.”

Woolf: “How many villains have I put away? Does that not earn me something?”
Gene: “No.”

Sam saw an ad about Glen’s death in 2006 presumably.

Woolf: “Don’t remember me like this.”
Gene: “I’ll call you an ambulance, Guv.”

Standout music: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John stood out the most for me.

Another in a series of thematic episodes for the successful and one that continues to get better on repeated watching. Chris Chibnall packs in a great character driven script with brilliant performances from all concerned.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x01: "Episode 9"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Tony (to Sam): “It’s over. You’re no longer the hero. You’re powerless. Look at you. You couldn’t save Eve and no-one can save you.”

Season Two of any show is make or break time and with the first episode in, it safely looks like this series wasn’t a flash in the pan. This is a good thing seeing as this episode threw something to confound our expectations on the nature of Sam being in 1973.

The episode opened on a really creepy note with someone back in 2006 trying to kill him. Not that it takes much to freak Sam out but this did genuinely come across as menacing and once again, it was Annie who Sam ended up spilling the beans to about his nightmare.

Of course Sam’s nightmares had to take a backseat with Gene when a bus full of dead people had the journalists in a frenzy. We’ve seen Gene and journalists interact so it’s no surprise that there is still some hostility there. However while Sam might not approve of Gene’s attitude towards the press, he does gain an upper hand.

All through Season One, Sam has been banging on at large about things being done by the book. Meeting up with Gene’s former DC (and now Supt) Harry Woolf meant that Sam was able to see Gene be on his best behaviour. Sam didn’t hold back in his pride of seeing fellow officers doing things professionally either.

That being said, everytime Sam gets a moment to be smug, there’s at least another few that knock him down. When Annie discovers a chip linked to George’s corpse, a certain trip into the Wild card club stirs some pretty bad memories for Sam when the proprietor Tony Crane makes his presence.

Marc Warren is one of those actors who’s virtually been in every show and as a guest villain; Tony is one of the best ones we’ve had. It’s established that in 2006, an older version of Tony is mentally torturing a comatose Sam and in 1973, Sam is determined to stop Tony before he can grow into a criminal mastermind.

It’s funny that for all of Sam’s preaching about doing things by the books that this episode would be able to use that concept against him. Even Gene seems to take a little satisfaction in denying Sam the pleasure to stitch Tony up. Then again as right as Sam is about Tony, he can be a bit annoying about it too.

The constant use of jumping into the future at different moment to emphasise Tony’s terror on Sam is good. Dramatically it works well in Sam’s motivations but isn’t it about time he stopped confiding in Annie about his future insight? I know its part of the writer’s attempts to forge them together but Annie is getting pretty sick of Sam going on about being a time traveller.

Sam seems to be getting on everyone’s wick in this episode. Both Gene and Ray aren’t best pleased with him trying to make things complicated and even when he’s able to get Tony arrested for lying about a chip, he still fails to convince everyone that the man is an evil monster.

Even Tony’s long suffering girlfriend (and abused/murdered wife in 2006) Eve doesn’t want to help Sam out. I suppose I can understand why she thinks he might be a madman. That being said, it’s not like she’s entirely unaware of what Tony’s really like and even when Sam does get his way, Eve still slaps him across the chops for sticking his nose.

As for the cat and mouse between Sam and Tony, definitely the best part of the episode. John Simm and Marc Warren work brilliantly in their many scenes together and although this Tony isn’t as menacing as his future version, he’s still an incredibly effective baddie to have.

That being said, Sam is beginning to seriously play with fire. It’s bad enough that he keeps insisting to Annie that he’s from the future but telling Tony all about it seemed insane. Maybe Sam was hoping that Tony would slip up with this information but there are so many other ways that it could’ve gone.

For instance Tony’s henchmen nearly had Sam and Gene killed. The silly last request for a smoke managed to save Sam and Gene from the henchmen. Annie’s skills with the stinger managed to stop Tony from running Sam down. As per usual that girl is excellent in a crisis and given that Sam was having serious headaches throughout the episode he should be grateful for both Gene and Annie in this episode.

The best scene however was in the police station. Tony came out and told everyone that Sam thought of them as figments and himself as a time traveller. If Annie had backed up Tony, then Sam would’ve been deeply screwed. Instead she said nothing as Sam made out that Tony was imagining it all.

Sam might not have gotten Tony sent down for murder but shoving into a psych ward for the rest of his days ended up changing history. Perhaps Eve fared better off too even if she didn’t appreciate Sam’s interference. Sam needs to tread more carefully though as his own mental state will be looked at.

Also the thing that turned this episode on its head was that Sam seems to be in 1973 for a reason and Hyde are responsible for it. It’s a satisfying throw in and hopefully we’ll get a brilliant answer to it. Either way it does look like that Sam could be getting closer to going home but whether or not he’ll want to when the time comes is the other thing.

As for the other characters, while Ray wasn’t unbearable in this episode I don’t blame Sam for objecting to him getting a promotion. Having Annie taking over Ray’s position as DC is a nice move. I also loved the way Annie was able to combat Ray. She might look sweet but she’s clever and that’s more interesting than her cuteness or affections toward Sam.

Also in “Episode 9”

No Test Card Girl in this episode. Maybe she’s not needed anymore or will just recur from time to time.

Woolf (re Gene): “You’ve got the best here.”
Sam: “I weep with happiness every morning.”

This episode actually showed us Sam back in 2006 in a nightmare sequence. Given that the second season was the last, the end is definitely nigh.

Tony: “Are you feeling okay?”
Sam: “Don’t you touch me.”

Sam: “Up all night.”
Chris: “Oh aye, what was her name?”
Sam: “Migraine.”

It’s nice to see that Chris is still a little clueless as to when Sam is being sarcastic. Ray still hates his guts as well.

Annie: “If it’s so awful then why are you still here?”
Sam: “Believe me I wake up every morning and ask myself that same question.”

Tony (to Sam): “Your life is in my hands and your luck is running out.”

Yasmin Bannerman who played Eve was Jabe in Doctor Who’s “The End Of The World” and Kathy in Torchwood’s “They Keep Killing Suzie”.

Tony: “Come on Tyler, beg for your life.”
Sam: “No.”
Tony (re Eve): “Like she did.”

Gene: “Go on, walk out. Give me a reason to knock the crap out of you.”
Sam: “I’ve wasted enough time already.”

That guy Russell Askey was going on about the world not being real. Does he actually feel the same as Sam? Probably not as he did seem genuinely insane.

Tony: “I’m not a killer.”
Sam: “Oh come off it, Tony. You were a born monster. You just don’t know it yet.”

Tony: “Go on Sam, get it off your chest. You know you want to.”
Gene: “Get what off your chest Sam?”

Standout music: “Spooky” by Dusty Springfield, “Star Man” by David Bowie and of course, “Bring Me Sunshine” by Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.

Tony: “No doctor will sign that.”
Gene: “They always do what I tell them.”

Chronology: None is specified since the first season finale and this episode. I don’t think it’s too long though.

As openers go, this was a good one. Life On Mars is definitely not a flash in the pan in terms of series. The show is adding more elements to Sam’s ongoing mystery and continues to flesh him out as a character. This is also a brilliant start to what looks to be a good final season for the series.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Angel - Season 5 Review

US Airdate on the WB: October 1^st 2003 – May 19^th 2004.

The axe has finally fallen on the brilliant series as Season Five sees the gang taking over Wolfram And Hart with disastrous results. Then add the additions of Eve, Harmony, Spike, a few returns, a couple of deaths and a final episode that’s hugely debateable and see what you get.

In Control Or Being Controlled – You Decide: Season Five of Angel was never intended to be the last season and right from the very first episode of this tricky season, any viewer could tell that storylines were being seeped for a sixth season. So why did it end?

It can’t be because of ratings because Angel was generating more ratings in its fifth season than before and Joss Whedon and his staff writers certainly weren’t running out of ideas.

In fact the more you think about it; the less just cause there was for the series to end. Whedon foolishly gave in to the WB’s demand of adding Spike to the series and the show adopted a dramatically less arc driven season and there are a string of impressive episodes so for the series to end so prematurely is disappointing to say the least.

The season opened with “Conviction”, an episode where right off the bat you could see that the gang working for Wolfram And Hart was destined for disaster, especially when Gunn is getting scumbags like Corbin out of jail, Harmony is a temp, Spike is unfortunately raised from the dead and a bland little liaison by the name of Eve is just plain annoying. Okay so I would take her over Linwood and Gavin any day of the week but unlike Lilah Morgan, Eve is a charisma free zone whose cat and mouse antics with Angel are not so well handled. And you think the gang in Torchwood are shite at their jobs!

Spike’s addition to the series in my book is definitely one of the worst elements to the series. Nothing against the character or even James Marsters but when you look at it realistically, what does Spike really add to the season? Is there any episode where his interactions or input don’t come across as contrived? More importantly if the WB were so desperate for a Buffy verse character to add some spice to the series, why not Faith? There are actual storylines that could’ve been explored with her, she works a hell of a lot better with the regulars than Spike does, her and Gunn would’ve made an interesting pairing and seeing as this season lacks interesting females, she would’ve been a Godsend. Also it would’ve kept Eliza Dushku away from Tru Calling and she’d have less pressure here than if she were given a Faith spin-off.

Having the bleach blond and on occasion why isn’t he gagged Spike back in the mix it means both Gunn and Lorne are surplus to requirements and the first few episodes deal with his resentment towards Angel (“Just Rewards”) and teaming up with Fred in a bid to become corporeal in werewolf tale “Unleashed” and the creepy “Hell Bound”. The season though is a lot lighter than Season Four and hilarity does rear its head in the cracking Lorne piece “Life Of The Party” but the dull “The Cautionary Tale Of Numero Cinco” reaps havoc by now having Spike as a candidate for the Shanshu prophecy.

“Lineage” gives the brilliant Alexis Denisof a powerful role to play when Wesley and his overbearing father come to a violent showdown but the impact is almost ruined when the episode’s twist is something that feels more at home on Alias than Angel.

As much as Spike grates my cheese in Season Five, the only episode in which he and Angel are actually given stuff of true substance is the rocking “Destiny”. Having more Intel on the twisted ménage a trios with these two and Drusilla in the day provides some of the most riveting flashbacks since Season Two and also the shock of dumbass Eve being in cahoots with Lindsey in an effort to bring Angel down is nicely played at the end.

The light hearted stuff is then back for “Harm’s Way”, the only instalment that bothers to make viewers try and care for Harmony. Granted Harmony isn’t quite as dreadful as you’d expect but like Spike and Eve, a lot of her scenes do ring hollow and overall these three have you missing Lilah, Cordy and Connor all the more.

Thankfully “Soul Purpose” with its Farscape hallucinatory sequences gets the series on track as Eve’s pretty obvious mind fucking seems to be unravelling while a neat exploration of a psychotic slayer and Spike’s past actions makes “Damage” hugely watchable, even if it does inflict us to the awful Andrew and has the stupid logic of the Scooby Gang turning their backs on Angel Investigations.

With the Angel gang not doing any real good at Wolfram And Hart and increasingly being undermined by the very law firm they’ve fought against in the previous four years, we really needed someone to call them out and it needed to be someone who actually had an idea of what they are talking about. Not a nerdy little freak whose loyalties could be easily swayed under certain circumstances or even a “shouldn’t he have stayed dead” vampire who really doesn’t need to be in LA but like a co-dependant puppy lingers on no less.

The person in question had to be Cordelia and with eleven episodes deprived of her, Charisma Carpenter’s one episode stint in the series 100^th episode “You’re Welcome” was the perfect opportunity to do this. Everything you loved about Cordelia was perfectly executed in easily the best episode of the season (a part of me wonders with a little tweaking that this could’ve been the series finale) – her humour, abilities to put people down at the drop of a hat, the way she scolded Angel on his choices regarding Wolfram And Hart, apologising to Wesley, taking on Lindsey (who got his own desserts) and that gorgeous, tear-jerking farewell kiss. Too bad she only appeared in one episode but at least she left Angel a more than potent parting gift.

Of course with an episode as spectacular as that, the next one was obviously going to be a disappointment and the predictable and somewhat bland “Why We Fight” disappointed in spades. I didn’t care about some guy Angel sired when he had a soul or the same guy threatening a bound and gagged Wesley, Fred and Gunn. I didn’t even care about the contrived manner in which Spike featured in the flashbacks or the way that once again, Lorne had bugger all to do. I wanted continuity on Cordelia, the gang being informed of her death, an actual funeral sequence and an exploration into both Angel and the gang’s grief over losing her. These are the things we should’ve gotten with this episode. The lame A-plot could’ve been a subplot, I think most viewers would’ve appreciated that one.

Luckily though the bitterness subsided enough for me to enjoy the hilarious but for me not the best episode of the season – “Smile Time”. Puppet Angel was fine, even funny but it was Wesley and Fred’s pairing at the end that was great.

Then came “A Hole In The World”, which was an exceptional tour de force and all, but was it really necessary to kill Fred off three weeks after Cordelia? I know Joss likes a death but there are things called limits and seeing as Season Five did lack interesting females, this latest demise while a great showcase for Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker was unjust.

Then again we should be lucky, at least Acker was still on the payroll even if she was now playing a fallen God named Illyria who has to come to the crappy realisation that she’s in a world where no-one is actually scared of her and her only faithful companion, the disturbed Knox is shot by a grief stricken Wesley in “Shells”.

Grief does funny things to Wesley such as making him shoot a random employee in the leg who wasn’t concerned about Fred’s condition, it also had him stab Gunn (who inadvertently signed the sarcophagus into Wolfram And Hart) and of course the killing of Knox.

However these are nothing compared to Wesley taking on Illyria as a pet project with varying degrees of results “Underneath”, “Origin” and “Time Bomb”. Through these episode as Illyria makes her own ham fisted way of adjusting to humanity, Gunn takes Lindsey’s place in a hellish suburban nightmare, Eve is replaced with much nastier and effective Hamilton (another Firefly alumni in Adam Baldwin), Connor reappears and so does everyone’s memories of last year while Illyria is at the receiving end of the ultimate emasculation and Gunn is brought back to the fold.

Sadly though as we get towards the end of the series, the series hits an all time low with the downright awful “The Girl In Question”, a lame assed tale (complete with embarrassing Darla/Drusilla flashbacks) where Spike and Angel head to Europe to save Buffy from The Immortal but are told from Andrew of all people to move on. Even if the series had gotten a sixth season this would still be a bad episode – you don’t even see Buffy or The Immortal and the comedy between the Rome hi jinks is too stupid for its own good. The only thing watchable about this is the cat and mouse antics with Wesley and Illyria and even that’s flawed.

The last two episodes have an arc set in place – Angel taking down both Wolfram And Hart and The Circle Of The Black Thorn and while “Power Play” is a little anti-climatic, I did enjoy learning about Angel inheriting Cordelia’s visions (why didn’t the writers bring her back for the last two?).

“Not Fade Away” is our big series ender and while I prefer Buffy’s more upbeat ending in “Chosen” a year prior, as last ever episodes go, this is good (although Six Feet Under’s “Everyone’s Waiting” is so much better).

Wesley’s death affected me, Connor and Angel teaming up to beat on Hamilton was nice as was Wolfram And Hart coming down (is Eve dead?), though things like Harmony being a traitor and Lorne coerced into murdering Lindsey was a little disappointing. Angel’s final line as he, Spike, Gunn and Illyria stood side by side to take on a hoard of baddies is also effective. This isn’t the most ideal way the series could’ve ended but unlike other series, we did get an ending that does provoke thoughts and feelings, if not entirely positive ones. Goodbye Angel, while Torchwood may be vying for your crown you were the original and you still are the best.

DVD EXTRAS: It’s the last season so the extras really had to go all out and you know what, they totally did. Disc1 has an amusing commentary for “Conviction” by Joss Whedon the “Hey Kids: It’s Smile Time” featurette to back itself up but Disc 2 was even better with both Steven S. DeKnight, David Fury, Skip Schoolnik and Juliet Landau offering their own thoughts on Angel and Spike’s chequered history in their commentary for “Destiny”. Similarly effective is the dream team of David Boreanaz, Christian Kane and Brent Fletcher for “Soul Purpose” on Disc 3. Disc 4 gives us commentaries on two of the best episodes with “You’re Welcome” (David Fury/Christian Kane/Sarah Thompson) and “A Hole In The World” (Joss Whedon/Alexis Denisof/Amy Acker) as well as pulling in Charisma Carpenter for the “Angel 100” feature while Disc 5 has Adam Baldwin, Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft and Skip Schoolnik for “Underneath” and a blinding feature on stunts for the episode “Shells”. Disc 6 rounds things off nicely as Jeffrey Bell talks fondly of “Not Fade Away”, while other features include the usual set of bloopers, an informative overview of the fifth season, a nice run down of Angel’s best episode (though one or two choices are mystifying) and Recurring Villainy is great for fans of Darla, Drusilla, Lilah and Lindsey. With extras as comprehensive as this, no wonder the likes of Lost and Doctor Who go all out. There is a standard here of quality and quantity that only recently TV shows on DVD are beginning to strive for.

EPISODE RATING FROM 1 TO 10:

5x01: Conviction = 9/10, 5x02: Just Rewards = 8/10,
5x03: Unleashed = 6/10, 5x04: Hell Bound = 9/10,
5x05: Life Of The Party = 8/10, 5x06: The Cautionary Tale Of Numero Cinco = 4/10,
5x07: Lineage = 9/10, 5x08: Destiny = 10/10,
5x09: Harm’s Way = 7/10, 5x10: Soul Purpose = 9/10,
5x11: Damage = 8/10, 5x12: You’re Welcome = 10/10,
5x13: Why We Fight = 5/10, 5x14: Smile Time = 8/10,
5x15: A Hole In The World = 10/10, 5x16: Shells = 9/10,
5x17: Underneath = 8/10, 5x18: Origin = 9/10,
5x19: Time Bomb = 7/10, 5x20: The Girl In Question = 3/10,
5x21: Power Play = 8/10, 5x22: Not Fade Away = 10/10.

Season Five is currently available on VHS and DVD.

Angel - Season 4 Review

US Airdate on the WB: October 6^th 2002 – May 7^th 2003

The Apocalypse hits LA and it has big intentions on staying put as our gang through further life changes. Cordelia sees herself as a paramour to both Angel and Connor as an entity named Jasmine takes control of her, Fred and Gunn head for Splitsville, Wesley and Lilah’s affair ends in death, Lorne is dragged back from Las Vegas and a slew of baddies reign supreme.

The Lights Are Out And They’re Not Alone – To a lot of people, Season Four might be the most jarring season of Angel and for some odd reason, it happens to be the best. This is strange because there is a fair amount of stuff I can pick fault with but even when I do, even I have come round to this season in particular after some repeated airings and watching it as a whole on DVD and to enjoy this particular season on Angel, I strongly urge watching it on DVD as opposed to the TV format.

As Season Three left off with an interesting cliff hanger, the first episode “Deep Down” manages to actually surpass it with some deliriously uncomfortable fantasy sequences that would be more suited to either Farscape or Six Feet Under but mainly three months later, it goes to show that Fred and Gunn are just about holding on, Connor is sullen personified, Justine is a pathetic mess (no wonder she was kept in a closet), Wesley is getting his rocks with Lilah, who does everyone a major favour and gets rid of Linwood while keeping the equally bland Gavin in line and oh yeah, Cordelia is in Higher Plane heaven and Angel at the bottom of the sea.

Angel’s rescue to me in a way more or less validates Wesley and should reaffirm the gang’s trust in him but for some reason not everyone wants him back and the spat between Angel and Connor sets the tone for this season – Angel will try to be a father while Connor will choose to believe everyone but his father. Once or twice you can understand it but Connor’s consistent gullibility will test the patience of a Saint at times.

With Angel back in the fold, both “Ground State” and “The House Always Wins” are key in pulling both Cordelia and Lorne back into the mix and while they’re not the strongest of episodes, moments like Fred going Pylean, Gunn’s near death experience and moderately okay mutant thief Gwen. Lorne’s return isn’t exactly excitement central but Cordelia’s is every bit as mysterious as it’s arbitrary and the convenient amnesia that bestows her in “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” has a certain amount of emotional resonance but once again Lorne gets the shit beaten out of him when he uncovers something about Miss Chase and a triangle between Angel, Cordy and the nihilistic Connor is yuck beyond words. After all Cordy played surrogate mom to this kid last season and seeing the two of them fornicate in “Apocalypse Nowish” isn’t a pretty sight by any means.

Better handled is the quadrangle between Wesley, Lilah, Gunn and Fred, mainly due to the leaps and bounds of Alexis Denisof, Stephanie Romanov, J. August Richards and Amy Acker. As plots go this is so riveting. It’s nice to see Gunn and Fred’s relationship actually be challenged, especially in the rather boring “Supersymmetry” when Fred contemplates murdering the man who sent her to Pylea and Gunn alleviates her conscience by carrying it off. Wesley and Lilah’s affair may not have lasted as oh say Buffy/Spike but it’s similar in tone and oddly somewhat more effective. I hate to admit it but some sympathy is drawn for Lilah as she feels more for the world weary former watcher than he does for and their break-up in “Habeas Corpses” has Lilah come out with the most perceptive comment and best way of describing Angel the series as a whole.

Of course personal dynamics aside, Season Four actually has an ongoing plot and it involves and as the “Tabula Rasa” influenced “Spin The Bottle” showed in its very last moments, The Beast is making his way to LA and he has every intention of blocking out the sun and there’s not a thing Angel and company can do about it. “Apocalypse Nowish” had The Beast rise from where Connor was born, Angel battered and the sky raining fire in one of the most breathtaking sequences of the show as “Habeas Corpses” had Wolfram And Hart slaughtered, Lilah made into a fugitive and Cordelia getting a hell of a dressing down from Angel.

The next three episodes proved pretty potent as “Long Day’s Journey” threw in the bomb about The Beast and Angelus being former allies as the sun was blocked out and the Ra Tet was destroyed while “Awakening” pulled the “it’s all but a dream” when Angel and Cordy bonked and the former became Angelus. Of course this didn’t actually happen but for an episode which is more in line of the bait and switch tactics of Alias, it works pretty damn well. It’s a shame then that “Soulless” is nothing more than long speeches, pissing contents between Wesley and Gunn over Fred, Angelus taunting the disillusioned crew and moderately okay flashbacks because Lord Of The Rings’ Sean Astin does a good directorial job no less.

But being into the second half of the season, “Calvary” provides some truly inspired shockers in its wake. First off all it’s beyond great to know that both Angelus and The Beast are pawns in this big apocalypse but it’s also quite eerie to realise our big bad is Cordelia of all people. Hasn’t Joss had enough of turning his good guys evil? Apparently not as a reported feud between him and Charisma Carpenter saw the latter’s real life pregnancy in the show written in a way that not only devolves Cordelia but does Connor little favours in the process as he gets sucked into her mind games and evil schemes.

With Lilah getting a particularly violent death and Angelus on the loose (along with Connor being a pain in the ass), “Salvage” saw the most welcomed character return as Faith busted herself out of the big house and once Eliza Dushku positively sparks with everyone she encounters, particularly when she faces Angelus and the two of them go all out to best the other in pretty gruesome “Release”. Angelus may be clever but it seems so is Faith and Wesley as “Orpheus” has both slayer and vampire sharing an inspired coma and not even Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” can put you off this. This is easily the best episode of the season, especially when a bright and bubbly Willow has her own magic fight with Cordy who ends the episode in spectacular fashion by revealing to all and sundry that she’s knocked up and this is after we get Angel back.

With only seven episodes left in the season, you do wonder how many more surprises we can be inflicted to and although neither Cordy or Connor benefit well towards the end both Charisma Carpenter and Vincent Kartheiser do give it their all so more a case of bad Joss when “Players” and “Inside Out” show the extremes both of them take in order for Goddess Jasmine to be born. Dark and disturbing the latte episode also sees the return of Darla and the arrival of Gina Torres.

Fresh from Firefly, Torres has a wonderful ethereal quality that makes you understand why so many people have no qualms in succumbing to Jasmine’s thrall. Physically Jasmine is a stunner and “Shiny Happy People” sees her as something genuinely compassion and it’s the first time all season that Angel and Connor agree on anything to be honest.

However you just know that something doesn’t add up with Jasmine. After all, why all the darkness and slaughter to be born and Fred being put against her friends when she becomes privy to Jasmine’s true intentions (devour humans more or less) in “The Magic Bullet” showcases more of Amy Acker’s talents.

One by one everyone except Connor begins to realise that Jasmine is bad news and with them all getting captured at the end of “Sacrifice” while Angel blurts out Jasmine’s true name in “Peace Out”, Connor’s ongoing struggle to find a good lie to believe is creepy. You feel bad for the lad but at this rate you can’t help but want to scream at him to side with his father.

The season delivers the best ending with the ambiguous “Home”, originally designed as a prelude to Season Five or a series finale if the WB didn’t renew the show (and they really fucked with the scheduling for this season). I loved Lilah’s return, could deal with the way both Cordelia and Connor were exited (that doesn’t mean they should’ve been) and the gang taking the reigns of Wolfram And Hart had potential. This season was so brilliant and exhausting to watch that an ending less action packed worked in its favour.

DVD EXTRAS: Again more brilliance on this front. Starting with Disc 1, there’s a fairly interesting commentary on “The House Always Wins” with David Fury and Andy Hallett while Disc 2 has commentaries for “Spin The Bottle” (Joss Whedon/Alexis Denisof) and “Apocalypse Nowish” (Steven S. DeKnight/Vern Gillum) as well as a featurette regarding the apocalypse. Disc 3 has Buffy/Angel trailers for both shows on DVD while Disc 4 has a commentary for “Orpheus” director Terrence O’Hara and oddly Jeffrey Bell. Disc 5 is only commentary filled with ones for “Inside Out” (Steven S. DeKnight) and “The Magic Bullet” (Jeffrey Bell). Disc 6 finishes proceeding off with Tim Minear providing all on his last episode “Home” and there are featurettes regarding a Season 4 overview, a look at Wolfram And Hart, Monsters, and The Hyperion etc.

EPISODE RATING FROM 1 TO 10:

4x01: Deep Down = 9/10, 4x02: Ground State = 7/10,
4x03: The House Always Wins = 7/10, 4x04: Slouching Toward Bethlehem = 8/10,
4x05: Supersymmetry = 6/10, 4x06: Spin The Bottle = 8/10,
4x07: Apocalypse Nowish = 10/10, 4x08: Habeas Corpses = 8/10,
4x09: Long Day’s Journey = 7/10, 4x10: Awakening = 9/10,
4x11: Soulless = 7/10, 4x12: Calvary = 9/10,
4x13: Salvage = 9/10, 4x14: Release = 8/10,
4x15: Orpheus = 10/10, 4x16: Players = 7/10,
4x17: Inside Out = 8/10, 4x18: Shiny Happy People = 7/10,
4x19: The Magic Bullet = 8/10, 4x20: Sacrifice = 7/10,
4x21: Peace Out = 9/10, 4x22: Home = 10/10.

Season Four is currently available on VHS and DVD.

Angel - Season 3 Review

US Airdate on the WB: September 24^th 2001- May 20^th 2002

New faces, new enemies as Angel gains a son, Darla sacrifices herself, Cordy gets elevated, Gunn and new girl Fred get it on, former enemy Holtz succeeds in turning Connor against his father, Lorne finds his business blowing up and Lilah is still the best bitch in town! The love I have for this season knows no bounds.

You Know What They Say – Things come in three and when it comes to excellence, Angel’s third season is a near paragon of television perfection. With Season One largely being standalone and Season Two losing the plot midway, Season Three doesn’t boast either obstacle as the various arcs are set up from day one, with an array of interesting pay offs during the Buffy-less season (network wise as the series stayed put on the WB).

If I am being honest season premiere “Heartthrob” (not an allusion to David Boreanaz, I think) is easily the weakest premiere but there are many moments throughout the opening episode that warrant attention. The central plot, aside from being a connection to Angelus, Darla and new bad guy/tortured hunter Daniel Holtz with another vampire coupling and it’s grieving present day version as the male tries to avenge the female that Angel killed is less interesting when you look at new girl Fred writing gibberish on her hotel room walls, Angel admitting that while he felt incredible loss for Buffy, it ended up not killing him after all as some obvious feelings between him and the wonderful Cordelia (the season’s best character) began to surface.

Angel and Cordy – whether you’re a Buffy/Angel shipper or not, it seemed the idea of Angel having feelings for the former Sunnydale resident were inconceivable but to be honest, every season of Angel that has preceded and past this one, David Boreanaz’s chemistry with Charisma Carpenter has gotten better and better, so I’m probably in a minority of viewers who actually was intrigued over the idea of these two hooking up.

Angel certainly has deep feelings for Cordelia even if it isn’t true; he proves more than willing to let a loose cannon like Billy Blinn escape in “That Vision Thing” when Lilah hires help to inflict pain on our Vision Girl and the consequences for that deed gets explored in the somewhat topical episode “Billy” (misogyny bad – got that!).

Between these two stunning episodes the writers make an effort to finally get Gunn to choose between his gang and Team Angel in the disjointed “That Old Gang Of Mine”, some randy old coot body jacks our hero in “Carpe Noctem” while Amy Acker’s science girl Fred is finally given a reason to stay in LA and move past her Pylean experiences in the fairly good “Fredless”.

With the first six episodes hinting at arcs, ensuring Wolfram And Hart still are a pain in the behind and asserting dynamics within the team, “Offspring” delivers the big ones – a pregnant Darla carrying a human child and an 19^th Century Holtz in 2001 LA thanks to the meddling demon Sahjan. Both “Quickening”, “Lullaby” and “Dad” then deliver more shocks as the gang try to assess what kind of a threat a child born to two vampires will pose to the world as Wolfram and Hart are ready to dissect Darla and her unborn kid, while Holtz simply wants the vampire version to Bonnie and Clyde dusted. It seems Angel and Darla offed his family and turned his youngest child into a child into a vampire, forcing Holtz to kill her so making a deal to be frozen for over 100 years and now in the present day, Holtz is one pissed off bugger. As prophecies about the child are coming like locusts, Julie Benz gives a heart wrenching performance as a soulless Darla scared of hurting her own child, ultimately kills herself and with the baby born, it’s up to the gang to wipe out enemies and pick a name, which they do by choosing Connor (since being used on Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me), while a vindictive Holtz recruits embittered rogue hunter Justine (Tina from The L Word) as his new slayer. In other words a rather fucked up version to Giles and Buffy with these two nasty co-dependants determined to make Angel pay for past crimes. I understand the impulse and Holtz is a fascinating character but I still side with Team Angel. Is there something wrong with me?

Taking a break from the arc, the season hits another high with the insane ‘what if’ scenario of “Birthday” when her latest vision saw Cordy choosing between her friends or the lifestyle she originally clamoured when arriving in LA two and a half years ago while the somewhat fun “Provider” had the gang spread too thin in a ludicrous attempt of providing for Connor.

With all this, we needed an episode to explore the two love arcs of the season and the Whedon penned “Waiting In The Wings” does this in spades. On one side, Wesley gets his heartbroken as Fred decides to choose Gunn and on the other side the attraction between Angel and Cordy has two spanners in the works – one being the duo possessed by spirits on unrequited lovers and the other would be the return of the Groosalugg who Cordy decides to comshuck with after all. The episode also boasts some interesting ballet and an appearance from Firefly’s Summer Glau.

“Couplet” then lives up to its title and sees Cordy off on holiday with Groo as Angel contains his envy while Fred and Gunn get ensnared by trees and a prophecy regarding Angel and Connor ensures that the next three episodes are unmissable.

Yes, the biggest shock from the episodes “Loyalty”, “Sleep Tight” and “Forgiving” is Wesley doing the ultimate betrayal. Fearful that Angel will kill his son, Wesley hands the boy over to Holtz who thanks to Sahjan fecks off to Quor Toth as Lilah spikes Angel’s blood to get him to act aggressive towards him own flesh and blood and Wesley not only get his throat slit by Justine and a pillow in his face by a feral Angel. It’s a shame that Cordy is missing for these episodes as I would’ve loved her reactions to what Wesley did and to losing Connor whom she acted like a surrogate mum to as well. While Holtz’s actions are atrocious, it’s easy to see why he behaves and acts the way he does. In fact it’s almost hard to call him a full on villain so thankfully Stephanie Romanov is on fine form with Lilah in cahoots with Sahjan, bluntly explaining to Angel her need to survive in a world where sexist twats like Gavin and Linwood (two of the least effective characters in the whole season, you’ll miss Lindsey and Holland even more) constantly undermine and humiliate her and poor Wesley has to learn his misguided heroics were all for nothing as there was no real prophecy of Angel killing Connor – Sahjan made it up so in the future Connor wouldn’t kill him, although Justine did a decent thing by containing the bastard in an urn. These episodes put you through the ringer as much as they did with the characters on board.

Sadly though as much I like Gunn and don’t mind his relationship with Fred, they’re not exactly excitement central and “Double Or Nothing” is a dull episode in which the only highlight is Cordy’s return, despite that disgusting blond haircut, which mid Season Four got rid of.

The last four episodes are a mixed bag. Both “The Price” and “A New World” have significant moments such as the consequences for using a spell to get Connor, an extension of Cordelia’s half demon nature and of course, the returns of both an aged and haggard Holtz and a surly teenage version of Connor, an ultimate killing machine, played to absolute perfection by Vincent Kartheiser. You would think he and David Boreanaz were related and their onscreen father/son rapport is great.

The latter of the two episodes doesn’t really deal with as great given that not much really happens except for Connor beating on everyone within a two inch radius and seriously hating Angel’s guts (Holtz worked wonders on him then).

The last two are great though, especially after repeated runs. “Benediction” has Holtz kill any chance of Angel and Connor becoming close when faithful puppet Justine kills her mentor as part of his twisted scheme, Cordelia can calm the hysterical lad and Lilah preys on a vulnerable Wesley.

Season finale “Tomorrow” isn’t my favourite season ender but it’s better than when I originally saw it and the culmination of Angel and Cordelia’s attraction to be interrupted with Connor and Justine sinking Angel to the bottom of the ocean and Cordelia ascending to a higher plane is interesting if arbitrary to say the least. There is also the low key exits for Lorne (savagely underused this season) and Groosalugg but only one of them never surfaces again as Wesley and Lilah become fuck buddies (Best! Toxic! Relationship! Ever!) and Fred and Gunn are left to hold the fort. When it comes to cliff-hangers, this may not be 24 but damn, this leaves you craving for Season Four like an addict.

DVD EXTRAS: A huge improvement on the first two seasons, which is great given the superiority of this season. Disc 1 is empty but two provides a neat commentary from Jeffrey Bell and Tim Minear for “Billy”. Both Minear and Mere Smith do the same then for “Lullaby” and there’s a deleted sequence from “Birthday” on Cordelia’s comedy Cordy) and a commentary from both those two again. The “Darla: Deliver Us From Evil” feature has Julie Benz, various cast and staff writers commenting on the vampire’s impact on the series while the Outtakes are pretty funny. These are all on Disc 3. Disc 4 provides similar material with Joss Whedon on both “Waiting In The Wings” and a deleted scene from the same episode (watch Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof bust a move). Disc 5 is devoid of other material but Disc 6 has a wonderful “Season 3 Overview”, a couple of Stills, screen tests for Amy Acker and Vincent Kartheiser as well as a “Page To Screen” feature. All in all, a nice array of stuff to keep you satisfied.

EPISODE RATING FROM 1 TO 10:

3x01: Heartthrob = 7/10, 3x02: That Vision Thing = 8/10,
3x03: That Old Gang Of Mine = 6/10, 3x04: Carpe Noctem = 8/10,
3x05: Fredless = 8/10, 3x06: Billy = 9/10,
3x07: Offspring = 9/10, 3x08: Quickening = 7/10,
3x09: Lullaby = 10/10, 3x10: Dad = 7/10,
3x11: Birthday = 10/10, 3x12: Provider = 7/10,
3x13: Waiting In The Wings = 9/10, 3x14: Couplet = 7/10,
3x15: Loyalty = 9/10, 3x16: Sleep Tight = 10/10,
3x17: Forgiving = 9/10, 3x18: Double Or Nothing = 6/10,
3x19: The Price = 7/10, 3x20: A New World = 7/10,
3x21: Benediction = 8/10, 3x22: Tomorrow = 8/10.

Season Three is available on both VHS and DVD.