A Televisual Feast

Alex, the time traveling cop of this series, might be the most annoying character on any television show I’ve ever watched. It’s an incredible waste of production value, plotting, and the great cast. As Alex, Keeley Hawes is okay and none of the problems are her fault. This episode also kicks off the opener, with the terrible introduction. Ashes to Ashes, at least in how it deals with the Alex character, is idiotic. It’s embarrassing, given the show’s from the same creators as Life on Mars (in many ways, it feels like this series is one of those sequels the original cast and director didn’t want to come back for… except they handle everything with Hunt and the boys perfectly). Mars co-creator Tony Jordan did not come back for Ashes, which–empirically–means he’s the one who made Mars work.

This episode’s greatest fault, plot-wise, is the introduction of Alex’s mother. Lots of silly scenes, lots of impossible dialogue, et cetera, et cetera. The psychotic babbling reaches the point where it’s impossible for the rest of the characters to not lock Alex in a loony bin and when they don’t, the show’s reality suffers. Another problem is the constant use of Gene and the boys without Alex around. Certainly, the creators could explain it as her fantasy of what they’re doing… but she doesn’t know what they know. Big problems. The difference between this one and Mars is on Mars, even though the creators were forcing their interpretation down the viewer’s throat, there was wiggle room. Here there isn’t.

Nice moments are all of the Gene Hunt scenes, obviously, but there’s some good stuff with Chris’s ongoing romance. Unfortunately, Ray’s got very little to do this time out. The mystery’s good, the guest stars are good. It’d be a fine episode if it weren’t for the stupid gimmick. On Mars, it was never a gimmick. Here, it’s literally nothing but… just an excuse for another show.

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