“SAM. I appear to have killed a man…”
The penultimate episode of Life On Mars highlights a cast and crew working together as a team at the very top of their form.
Screened on BBC1 at 9pm this Tuesday, the mystery of why modern day detective Sam Tyler is in 1973 Manchester continues to unfold.
DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is arrested for murder and asks Sam (John Simm) for help.
Is the arrival from Hyde of acting DCI Frank Morgan, played by Ralph Brown, significant?
Does this spell the end of the Gene Genie?
And why is the CID office so tidy?
One thing is certain – the final moments will have fans counting down the minutes to the last ever episode on April 10.

Written by Mark Greig, there’s much to enjoy in episode seven, when Sam gets to drive the Ford Cortina.
Kieran O’Brien gives a knockout performance as boxer David Mackay.
There’s also a brief, but very funny, cameo appearance by Jason Watkins as Gene’s solicitor Colin Merrick.
As we near the finale, the original series background music and themes by Edmund Butt appear increasingly haunting.
The camera work is, as ever, outstanding – look out for a tracking shot of some 40 seconds around a boxing ring.
Simm and Glenister’s screen partnership has also developed to the point where you feel sorry for any TV awards judge who has to choose between them in the Best Actor category.
I’ll be returning to Life On Mars later next week.
But for now, take some advice from one of the characters in episode seven and just enjoy “what you see in front of you”.
*Happy birthday to The Railway Arms – one of the best fan forums on the web – which is one year old today.
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