Life On Mars - Rhys Wallett
The British TV series Life On Mars first aired in 2006, and below I will analyse the pilot episode of the crime drama with reference to technical codes, tropes, narrative and how the show both strays and adheres to the trope of crime drama.
Firstly, when looking at the protagonist of Life on Mars Sam Tyler, through mise en scene we can infer his character traits and how this links to crime dramas in general. I interpreted Sam as a character who had been a detective for a while and has lost his passion for solving crimes, how I inferred this was in the duo shot with Sam and Maya when Mays quotes "You used to follow your instincts." This quote demonstrates his new found mediocrity he found with working as a detective, and so a trait of his is that he is exhausted. Linking this to conventions, Sam is more of a typical detective in this sense, as the bored detective is one that if fairly common amongst crime drama shows. Additionally, when the pilot episode first begins, there is the impression Sam is more intimidating and cruel then when he is later in the show, evident when he interviews Colin Raynes shot with close-ups with the SFX of a zooming camera. The impression he makes hence is also common in association with the trope of protagonist detectives, hence when establishing the character of Sam the audience get a rather bleak impression, however I sense this is intentional regarding the later twist in the episode.
In regards to target audience, as the target audience was adults, the show attempts to draw in older audiences through various means, the biggest being nostalgia. In Life on Mars, there are vivid references to 1970's society which bring the audience pleasure of nostalgia, an example is the record shop Sam and Annie visit, and the reference to the record shop would make an older audience remember their existence and hence be drawn into the show due to the accurate representation the show provides. They also use conventions of crime dramas to give the audience something to expect and familiarise with, and an example is when Maya goes missing, as it is the suspense in the series created as a result which is what audiences are familiar with and draw audience pleasure with being used to the conventions of crime dramas.
Life on Mars is rife with representation, regarding gender and ethnicity. An example the show uses is the technical opposites of binary opposites, and this appears in the contrast between how women are treated in the workplace in the two different eras. In 2006, through the character of Maya, women are demonstrated as confident and hard-working, creating a positive ideology regarding gender equality. Juxtaposing this, in 1970's London, the representation of women is far more regressive than in the 'modern' era, evident via Sam's first arrival in the 1970's PD, which a panning shot with direct mode of address indicates how the detective force is staffed only by Caucasian men, and an example of their regressive attitude to women is when Annie is mocked when asked to give her professional opinion. The show has included this to demonstrate 1970's England in an honest light, both portraying the positive nostalgia of the '70's mixed with the harrowed truth people prefer not to think about, demonstrating the progression the society has gone through since then. Representation of men is also interesting, especially in regards of the 1970's police force, the most baffling example is through the boss, Sheriff Hunt. The character of Sheriff Hunt displays signs of progression and regression, as an example of his regressive nature is his cruel approach to interrogation to Dolly who uses violence to make her confess, not only that but he frequently addresses women as "birds". However, the audience are confused as to whether or not to like him in the bar scene, when he compliments the black bartender by saying "He's a good lad" and hence strays from the convention of being racist which the majority of the middle aged Caucasian male society members were. This repetitive battle of sympathy therefore has been used by the producers to build suspense and draw the audience, as they are curious to see how the character of Sheriff Hunt will be explored further.
In Crime Dramas, there is a trope that the show will consist of the main investigator, the Boss, the sidekick, the villain and the love interest. In Life on Mars there is an interesting approach to this common standard, yet the show has all of them. Therefore, in this aspect the show is adhering to general crime conventions, a necessary involvement I would assume, granted how the show brings in the supernatural theme of time-travel, and so provides the audience who would already be familiar with crime something to fall back on as the show explores the genre of crime in a new interpretation.
In regards to target audience, as the target audience was adults, the show attempts to draw in older audiences through various means, the biggest being nostalgia. In Life on Mars, there are vivid references to 1970's society which bring the audience pleasure of nostalgia, an example is the record shop Sam and Annie visit, and the reference to the record shop would make an older audience remember their existence and hence be drawn into the show due to the accurate representation the show provides. They also use conventions of crime dramas to give the audience something to expect and familiarise with, and an example is when Maya goes missing, as it is the suspense in the series created as a result which is what audiences are familiar with and draw audience pleasure with being used to the conventions of crime dramas.
Life on Mars is rife with representation, regarding gender and ethnicity. An example the show uses is the technical opposites of binary opposites, and this appears in the contrast between how women are treated in the workplace in the two different eras. In 2006, through the character of Maya, women are demonstrated as confident and hard-working, creating a positive ideology regarding gender equality. Juxtaposing this, in 1970's London, the representation of women is far more regressive than in the 'modern' era, evident via Sam's first arrival in the 1970's PD, which a panning shot with direct mode of address indicates how the detective force is staffed only by Caucasian men, and an example of their regressive attitude to women is when Annie is mocked when asked to give her professional opinion. The show has included this to demonstrate 1970's England in an honest light, both portraying the positive nostalgia of the '70's mixed with the harrowed truth people prefer not to think about, demonstrating the progression the society has gone through since then. Representation of men is also interesting, especially in regards of the 1970's police force, the most baffling example is through the boss, Sheriff Hunt. The character of Sheriff Hunt displays signs of progression and regression, as an example of his regressive nature is his cruel approach to interrogation to Dolly who uses violence to make her confess, not only that but he frequently addresses women as "birds". However, the audience are confused as to whether or not to like him in the bar scene, when he compliments the black bartender by saying "He's a good lad" and hence strays from the convention of being racist which the majority of the middle aged Caucasian male society members were. This repetitive battle of sympathy therefore has been used by the producers to build suspense and draw the audience, as they are curious to see how the character of Sheriff Hunt will be explored further.
In Crime Dramas, there is a trope that the show will consist of the main investigator, the Boss, the sidekick, the villain and the love interest. In Life on Mars there is an interesting approach to this common standard, yet the show has all of them. Therefore, in this aspect the show is adhering to general crime conventions, a necessary involvement I would assume, granted how the show brings in the supernatural theme of time-travel, and so provides the audience who would already be familiar with crime something to fall back on as the show explores the genre of crime in a new interpretation.
