Brilliant series. Loved every minute of it. Funny, thought provoking, at times hilarious. Great characters.

My two cents: We are led to believe initially that the 1973 life is a lucid coma dream, occurring in the subconscious of Sam Tyler who is alive in 2006 and suffers a serious traumatic brain injury.

However, for me, as the show goes on, the detail, vividness, strong sense of reality of the "dream" made me wonder if Sam had entered a temporary afterlife or some sort of limbo land. A land hovering between life and death. Sam is going back and forth between life and death. Going back and forth between his old life in 2006 and his new life in 1973.

I saw the Maya leaving him issue as a point in favor of 1973 being reality. It is harsh, but a reality that a person would have to move on and leave a long time coma patient. Not many people could stop their life indefinitely for someone who is no longer among the active living. This would not come from Sam's subconscious or his dream, it comes from reality.

The final scene gives us the answer. After coming to full consciousness in 2006, recovered from his injury, Sam decides he cannot abide his life in 2006. He longs for his 1973 life and therefore commits suicide. He returns then to his new life in 1973. This is confirmation that 1973 had been the after life, the other side. Karma, reincarnation, etc.

Frank Morgan is like the Wizard of Oz. Both were dual characters, played the same two roles. One role was mundane, the other of puppet master. I will have to think more about the meaning of Gene Hunt....

I started watching Ashes to Ashes, but the first scene was so hokey, I stopped. Let me know what you think of it.

I'll have to rewatch it at some point, I entirely missed the frank morgan / wizard of oz connection.

Great show indeed.

Yes he made an interesting choice. Initially police life in 1973 horrified and disgusted him. He kept trying to bring them up to 2006 standards. He tried so hard to return to 2006, but when he did succeed, he realized he was miserable. Life seemed sterile, meaningless, and empty. He had fallen in love with 1973 and could not bear to be parted. So back he went.

Yes I did not get all the Wizard of Oz references, so have to go back and look for them.
It is the same kind of story. Girl gets hit on the head, enters a new reality. Was it real or just a coma dream?
She tries so hard to get back to Kansas, but what will home be like after she has been to Oz?
Her experiences have transformed her.

Picking up things I missed the first time.

I highly recommend it. Very entertaining. But not always politically correct.
It is even better watching it a second time. There are a lot of things I missed the first time viewing.

The BritBox monthly subscription is not that expensive. And you can easily watch the two seasons of the show in one month. Then cancel the subscription.

It answers your question!
What an ending....wow.

I always thought the BBC version of House of Cards was far superior to the American version. Even before the Kevin Spacey stuff came out. I also acknowledge that the BBC Life on Mars is better than the ABC reboot.

That said I really liked the American one too...