Ashes to Ashes – Boom goes the dynamite

Alex Drake seems to be settling into to her 1981 digs nicely, thank you. She does keep seeing visions of the creepy birthday clown Pierott, but you can’t expect complete normalcy when you’ve been transported to a make-believe time and place after being shot. I quite enjoyed Alex’s greeting to her precinct brethren: “Good morning imaginary constructs.” Unlike Life on Mars, this series has a more light-hearted feel to it, which fits the silly ’80s to a tee.

In episode two, Alex, Gene and the rest of the fantastical coppers are after a mad bomber threatening to blow-up the wedding of Lady Diana to Prince Charles. Bundles of dynamite are popping up across London, much to the chagrin of Alex and a poor little pooch. Explosions don’t do much to ease Alex considering her parents were killed by a car bomb.

Speaking of Alex’s mum, she makes an appearance, which leads to some interesting mother/daughter banter. Her mother, Caroline Price, is a defense attorney representing the leading suspect in the bombing case. One of their first exchanges ends with Caroline calling Alex “stupid.” Alex counters with a “rude bitch” slur. Gotta love those warm and fuzzy moments between family.

Clearly Alex has a few unresolved issues with mommy dearest. Could it be the reason for her sojourn back through time? I vote yes. By episode’s end, Alex concurs. She circles the date of her parents’ death and reaches the conclusion that she has been tasked to either prevent the tragedy or at least discover who is responsible. The question as to whether she’s dead, insane or trapped in some sort of purgatory remains to be answered. I’ll offer my thoughts on that subject down the road.

There were plenty of ’80s references to point and laugh at. My favorite was the DeLorean. Now, any time-traveling junkie knows the significance of a DeLorean, right? If not for this overly-extravagant sports car, Marty McFly wouldn’t have been able to return to 1955 to ensure his parents met and fell in love in the fantasy classic Back to the Future. If not for this seminal film, a gigawatt would not have become part of the vernacular. At any rate, the writers cleverly slipped the DeLorean into the plot without ever calling attention to it. Subtle as she goes.

Here’s the best of Gene Hunt:

• “Excuse my colleague. She has the education of a tuft and the manners of a sewer rat.” Gene apologizing for Alex’s behavior in his own, unique way.
• Gene’s interrogation techniques might border on the extreme. He has a dimwitted crook spread-eagle nude on a snooker table and shoots a cue ball into the poor chap’s bollocks.
• “The trouble with being posh; there’s always someone posher.” A sort-of compliment to Alex.

I have to say, two episodes in and I’m hooked. I can sense its building toward something much bigger. As I wrote last week, I’m treating Ashes to Ashes as a separate entity from Life on Mars. To compare the two would be wrong, especially since they are very different from one another. If you have yet to tune in, give the series a try, Saturday nights at 9pm on BBC America.

Clacked by Scott Tunstall
on Mar 15, 2009 @ 14:00 EST5EDT