Ashes to Ashes: the definitive playlist

Being a huge fan of both New Wave music and the show Ashes to Ashes, I thought I might share a list of songs used on the show.

Season 1’s list follows, and season 2’s will follow at the conclusion of the current season.

Season 1, Episode 1

Ultravox – “Vienna”
The Clash – “I Fought the Law”
Tubeway Army – “Are Friends Electric?”
The Stranglers – “No More Heroes”
David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes”
The Passions – “In Love With A German Film Star”
Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Duran Duran – “Careless Memories”
Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”

Season 1, Episode 2

Tenpole Tudor – “Swords of a Thousand Men”
Madness – “The Prince”
Imagination – “Body Talk”
The Flying Lizards – “Money”
Visage – “Fade to Grey”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Souvenir”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Geno”
The Pop Group – “We Are All Prostitutes”
Heaven 17 – “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”
Jon and Vangelis – “I Hear You Now”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Show Me”
Chas and Dave – “Gertcha”

Continue reading “Ashes to Ashes: the definitive playlist”

Ashes to Ashes: Season 2, Episode 1

The first episode of season 2 of Ashes to Ashes aired on BBC1 in the UK last night… and boy, does it look like this might be an awesome season for the show! So, enough messing about, let’s get right to the recap!

The episode begins with a shot of a television. On the TV, a newsreader is talking about the disappearance of DI Alex Drake. Because the TV is a widescreen model, we can safely assume that this is taking place in 2008. The camera pulls out, and we see that we are inside a hospital, and two nurses are attending to someone in a bed. Who is it? We don’t know (see the “Other Stuff” section, below).

One of the nurses wonders where Drake is, and we next see Alex walking around in a sewer with Gene Hunt, Ray Carling, and Chris Skelton. Hunt, less than happy to be walking around in a sewer, asks Drake if she’s sure the tunnel they’re in is unused. Drake says that she called the water board and they confirmed that “tunnel 96” hasn’t been used for decades. A nervous Chris looks at the tunnel number on the wall, and sees that it’s tunnel 69. The gang then hear a noise, like a heavy door opening or a large lock turning. They then hear the sound of running water. Chris, in a bit of foreshadowing, screams “Oh shittt!”

We next see Drake in her apartment, cleaning the sewer water off of Gene’s precious cowboy boots. Alex has the TV on, and the news is reporting about the HMS Invincible leaving port to head off to the Falkland Islands. Alex finds a thumbtack in the sole of Gene’s boots, removes it and for some reason zones out on it. When she does, the TV switches over to another program. In it, Alex’s daughter, Molly, is being scolded by the headmistress of her school. Apparently the other kids are harassing her, telling her that her mother has died. Towards the end of the conversation, Molly appears to cheer up slightly, and says that “there’s news” about Alex’s disappearance. Alex, of course, rushes to the TV, begging Molly to tell her what the news is. Before Molly can say anything else, the screen fades to black and the shows’ end credits start to roll. Alex bangs the TV set, hoping to learn more. The TV turns to static, and the opening credits for Ashes to Ashes roll.

Continue reading “Ashes to Ashes: Season 2, Episode 1”

Great Ashes Blog

The Life of Wylie blog has this great post about the second season of Ashes to Ashes. The post is a summary of a “BBC Writersroom” talk held at the Soho Theatre in London on April 4th, 2008. The two main writers at the talk were Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, creators of Ashes to Ashes.

There aren’t a lot of spoilers in the write-up, just a lot of talk about the “overall feel” of series 2 of the show (hint: it only gets darker). They also state that they envision three series for the show in total (and, given their slow production schedule, that means that the show might finish up in 2010).

There’s a lot of great stuff in the post – any Ashes fan should check it out!

The “Life On Ashes” Universe

WARNING: This article contains open spoilers about the British TV shows Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

So… a couple of weeks have passed since the Ashes to Ashes finale, and, as promised, I’m writing a couple of in-depth articles about that show, as well as its predecessor, Life On Mars. In the first article, I’ll discuss the main storylines of the shows, as well as the “real world consequences” of the storylines. And in the second article, I will discuss specific issues about both series, including the most obvious question: Is Gene Hunt God?

Life On Mars is the story of Sam Tyler, a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) in the Manchester (England) Police in the year 2006. Sam has been chasing a thug named Colin Raimes for years, a man Sam knows to be a killer. Sadly, proof slips between his fingers on legal technicalities time and again. It seems that Raimes is coated in teflon.

One day, shortly after the suspect is released yet again, Sam’s girlfriend, Maya Roy (who is also a cop), gets a tip about the killer and leaves the station in a hurry. Soon, she calls Sam back to say that the tip might have been a trap, and it appears that she is being kidnapped. Sam leaves the office in a panic and begins driving wildly around Manchester looking for her. When it becomes obvious to Sam that he has no idea where Maya might be, his adrenaline glands calm down, and he pulls to the side of the road to think. But he doesn’t have much time to think: mere seconds after getting out of his car, he’s hit by another and left unconscious in the middle of the road.

Sam wakes up after what appears to be a few seconds. He’s still in Manchester. He’s still a cop. Only it’s now 1973. He’s dressed in the fashion of the time. His car has transformed from a Jeep Cherokee to a 1970-something Ford. The freeway he had parked near in 2006 doesn’t exist yet, so he’s in the middle of an abandoned lot. And the David Bowie song “Life On Mars” is still playing on his car stereo (although in 2006 the song was playing on an iPod and in 1973 it’s coming off an 8-track tape).

Continue reading “The “Life On Ashes” Universe”

Ashes to Ashes: Season 1, Episode 8

Wow. At first, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted some kind of cliffhanger, some kind of thing that would keep me on the edge of my seat until next season. But then I thought about it a bit. I remembered the end of series 1 of Life On Mars, and how the writers tricked us then, too. So then I took a deep breath… and was like “Wow… that was heavy. What just happened would suck on so many different levels”.

The final episode of Series 1 was, for Alex, the ultimate “good news\bad news” situation: knowing an ultimate love in your present day from someone in your past… and also finding out a terrible secret about your family… the worst kind of secret… and in the worst possible way.

“Ashes to Ashes” title card

The episode beings with Alex detailing the events of the day… 10 October 1981… the day her parents died. We then see her at the prison interrogating Arthur Layton – the person who shot her in 2008, and the “drugs kingpin” she arrested and sent to prison in episode 1. He promises Alex that he’ll never tell her any of his secrets.

Back at the station, it’s almost like like one of those old Western films with all the cops asleep at the station. The Manc Lion is throwing darts, while Chris and Ray nap. Alex walks in and quietly picks up a phone, which she puts it down on the desk and stealthy dials the phone on her desk. She pretends that it’s an informant calling in with a tip about a car bomb. Unfortunately, Ray and Chris don’t seem to take the matter too seriously… especially when Viv walks in and announces that Lord Scarman is coming for an inspection. Gene then gathers the troops and gives them the stereotypical “let’s go gang” speech. It’s one of those moments I both love and hate about Ashes to Ashes: the show pays homage to 80s cop shows (just as Life On Mars did with 70s cop shows like The Sweeney). And 80s cop shows had a lot of these cheesy moments… but it’s just awkward to watch in 2008.

Anyway, the entire station begins feverishly cleaning up the station and most everyone forgets about Alex’s bomber. Alex, seeing as she can get no help at the moment, goes to watch her father practice law in a London courtroom. She has flashbacks about being a child and playing in the courtroom while wearing dad’s fancy wig. She approaches him after the courtroom is cleared and introduces herself. She pleads with him about the bomb threat. Her father won’t kow-tow to anyone, and he’ll tells Alex that he will live his life as he pleases. He then calls Alex eccentric and tells her to take care. Alex decides that if her father won’t protect the family, she’ll have to.

Back at the station, Chris brings Alex a list of blue Ford Escorts. She has no idea whose car the family will take, but she sees a name on the list that immediately sticks out: Angus Ashton. He’s a gay rights activist and friend of the Price family. He will be at a gay rights rally that day in London. Alex begs Gene for Ray, and the two of them go off to investigate the parade… but not before Gene has a fit about the trophy case. I don’t know what was in the trophy case before – probably booze – but it was made presentable to Lord Scarman by emptying it… completely. So Gene tells a detective to go to a nearby pawn shop and buy some sports trophies. He hands the him some cash and tells the detective that if the pawnshop owner haggles over the price “tell him that his wife will get a video”. He then asks Viv who’s in the cells at the moment. When Viv names four or five harmless regulars, Gene tells Viv to let them go. This makes Chris to make a wise crack about “empty cells: during Lord Scarman’s visit. Gene then orders Chris to the cells on the charge of “exposing himself on a bus”. Hunt tells Chris to tell Lord Scarman what a “lovely nick” it is, and he’ll get him out soon.

At the gay rights rally, Alex and Ray hang out in the Quattro and scan the crowd with binoculars. Alex quickly finds “Uncle Angus” and his car. Ray asks for the glasses and spies the 1981 version of Tom Robinson in the crowd… which causes him to go on a hilarious rant about gays that’s so horrifyingly outdated that it’ll make you cringe. Alex considers impounding Angus’s car, but instead comes up with a “better plan”: earlier she spied a bright pink tank used as a float in the parade. Rather than simply seizing the car, Alex commandeers the tank and runs over Uncle Angus’ poor Ford Escort!

Ashes to Ashes (s01e07_01

WTF?!?! Indeed.

Several uniformed officers notice that’s it’s DI Drake, and Robinson overhears them talking about her, which causes him to shout a warning to the crowd (which then scatters, fearing a police riot). Alex and Ray fire up the Quattro; Alex tells Ray to put his seat belt on, and he refuses (missing a golden opportunity to echo Hunt’s “you’re a police officer, not a bloody vicar!” line from an earlier episode). Alex takes off in the car, but has to slam on the brakes, smashing Ray’s face against the dash:

Ashes to Ashes s01e07_02

Back at the station, Gene has the station all spic and span just as Lord Scarman arrives. Everything is completely normal at the station… for a few minutes anyway. Scarman takes a gander at the trophy case and notices a trophy for “Esher 1923 Girls Under 14 Netball”. Ooooops! He then spies the whiteboard Alex has been using to brainstorm about the car bombing, and Drake explains it all to him like a certifiable loon. This causes Gene to have Viv escort Scarman around the station while he “talks” to Drake in private. And by “talk”, I mean, “scream at the top of his lungs”. Alex agrees with his demand to get “onside” with the team.

Gene then follows Viv and Scarman as they tour the cells. The only “prisoner” is Chris (allegedly in for public exposure, remember?) and Hunt gleefully describes Chris’s “crime” in vivid detail to Scarman. Scarman then chews Chris out for being a pervert… although the best of the cell visit goes well.

Back upstairs, Ray comes up to Alex in the station room. She apologizes for his nose; he seems not to mind so much. He has a list of the Price’s clients… one of whom sticks out: Arthur Layton. It seems that Layton also has experience with explosives. She goes into Gene’s office and begs him to go with her to interview Layton in prison… and thus “Gene Genie” was back: the two haul ass to the prison, where Alex questions Layton while Gene broods in the background. Layton describes the car bomb perfectly, but refuses to admit any knowledge of such a bomb. Layton offers information in exchange for… Alex. For Alex to marry him after he gets out of prison. Gene can’t be bothered to stay any longer, and leaves the cell. Layton quietly sings his line from “Ashes to Ashes”: “I’m happy, hope you’re happy too”. Alex tells him that she knows his future, and that his life is far from its low point. She asks him point blank if he knows why her parents die. He has her lean forward, and screams in her ear instead. He won’t tell. Ever.

Outside, Gene spies Evan White walking into the prison. Drake walks up and tells Hunt that they’re doing dinner that evening.

Back at the station, the cells are filling up with the gay rights activists from earlier. An old drag queen is put in the cell with Chris, and the two just talk as normal guys do. It’s pretty funny. Alex then sweet talks Ray into swiping some cocaine from the evidence room. The two go to the Price’s house, where Alex takes the key from under the rock (remember?). Alex successfully plants the cocaine and arrests the two of them. And just as Lord Scarman is leaving the station, here come Alex and Ray with the Prices. Lord Scarman, who personally knows the Price family, is shocked. He says he’s going to stay on for a few hours. Hunt is thrilled.

The cells are, of course, full from the “gay riot” (and Chris). There are people just standing around that don’t even have room for a cell at all. Ray is, of course, a homophobic brute with them, but Alex “apologizes” to Tom Robinson in her own way:

Ashes to Ashes s01e07_03

“I know you… You end up on Radio 6, fall in love with a woman, and have two kids!”

Back in Gene’s office, the Guv starts chewing Alex out… and a familiar pattern starts to emerge. Life On Mars fans might remember that when things really started to “go right” for Sam, they went downhill for Gene. And it’s happening again. Lord Scarman was just leaving, and how he’s in for the long haul after the Prices were brought in. And just when Gene thinks it can’t get any worse, Viv walks in to tell him that Scarman has, voluntarily, put himself in one of the cells. Oh, and that gay rights protesters that have started to form outside the station. Gene’s head almost explodes.

In an interrogation room, Caroline and Alex have a talk. And boy, is it ever a girly talk! They talk about their daughters. Caroline says that she’s planning to take a two year sabbatical to “[do] all the silly things I should have done years before with her”. Because she “loves her so much… and I’m not absolutely sure that she knows that”. Caroline says that she’s taking her daughter on a trip as soon as she’s out of jail. Alex cries. Her mother did love her after all.

Alex goes to the hospital to see Shaz “before she goes home”. Alex tells the comatose (sedated?) Shaz all about her mother, and how happy she is. She also tells Shaz that she’ll miss her as she was her favorite “construct”.

Next, we see Alex and Gene on their date. The scene is touching and sweet, even if Gene and Alex have zero chemistry together. Alex just goes upstairs and goes to sleep… where she has a dream where she’s back in 2008 with Molly. She dreams about the (1981) day and the Angel of Death then does his best to send Alex some kind of “clue” that points to Evan White as the evil one.

Chris is finally let out of the cell sometime Saturday morning. Alex walks in and Ray tells her that the billboard she remembers from that day has not been placed anywhere near the “crime scene”. Alex thinks that this is good news. Lord Scarman walks in, having given in to the cells too. Scarman gives Hunt an earful and even threatens him… to which Gene gives the speech of a lifetime… complete with Hollywood-style music, a catch phrase, and a round of applause from all at the end. It’s so unbelievably cheesy. But don’t worry, grasshopper… the fun in this episode is officially over.

Viv comes in to tell the Guv that the cells are all empty. Hunt, apparently, has let the Prices go. Alex only finds out about it just then… and there are less than 15 minutes before 10:00. Alex wants to hit the road immediately, but Ray says that she’s got a call from her “informant”. She slowly walks to ward Ray… she slowly puts the phone to her ear:

“I’m happy… hope you’re happy too…”

The next thing you know, Hunt and Alex are in the Quattro, where Ray confirms via radio that Layton was released this morning. Alex goes to the Price’s office, only to see Evan White walking out. He says that he’s resigned from the firm that morning. He also confirms Alex’s worst fear: that the Prices are on their way to the train station. In a car. Alex thinks that this is impossible… until Evan White says that its his blue Ford Escort that they borrowed.

I shall stop right there. That’s because the final 15 minutes of the episode are very intense, and there’s simply no way that I just could do them justice. Plus, the final 15 of this show is nothing but adrenaline; reading it instead of watching it (with the awesome soundtrack blaring) is boring. I will say that, by the end of the show, Alex will learns something very sweet… and a wrinkle in time happens.

I’ll do a write up in the next few days with my thoughts about this season… and thoughts about the “Life on Ashes Universe” in general. Stuff like… “is Gene Hunt really God, as perceived by English police officers in purgatory?”

MUSIC HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Tom Robinson – “2-4-6-8 Motorway”
David Bowie – “Ashes To Ashes”
Supertramp – “Take The Long Way Home”

Ashes to Ashes round up…

I’m still working on the recap of Thursdays’ season finale of Ashes to Ashes. I hope to have it posted tomorrow afternoon (Saturday).

I did want to mention a couple of things though: there will be a second season of the show; as the credits rolled on Thursday’s episode, the friendly BBC announcer said that the show would be back… next year with all new episodes. Next year? Next year? Why God, why? Why torture us so?

Also, the finale got pretty decent ratings: according to this article, the finale pulled in 5.4 million viewers. This is down from around 7 million for the series premiere, but it’s still pretty good for the UK market. The CIA Factbook estimates that the UK had 60,776,238 people in 2007, so that’s just under 10% of the entire British population watching Ashes to Ashes. That’s more than enough for a second season, don’t you think?

Only one hour from now…

My name is Alex Drake. I’ve just been shot and that bullet has taken me back to 1981. I may be one second away from life, or one second away from death. All I know is that I have to keep fighting… fight to live, fight to see my daughter, fight to get home…

In the meantime… keep ’em peeled!

Ashes to Ashes: Season 1, Episode 7

I’m not sure what I think of this week’s episode of Ashes to Ashes. On the one hand, I really couldn’t stand the main plot of this episode. On the other hand, the entire episode was kicked off with some of the best “chills and thrills” of the series so far. On to the summary:

The episode begins with an America’s Most Wanted-style reconstruction of a heinous crime: Gil Hollis (played by Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes’s real-life husband and co-star in Spooks) is a man from Birmingham that spent eight months sitting in a bathtub as a publicity stunt to raise cash for the starving children of Africa. However, he is robbed by “a man and a woman in balaclavas” as he’s going to deposit the cash. The reconstruction is beautifully (and hilariously) done, complete with actors playing hilarious caricatures of Gene, Ray and Chris. Everyone at the station gets a right kick out of it, however Alex watches from home. As Gil’s story continues on Alex’s TV, the Angel of Death interrupts the regularly-scheduled program with an important message:

Ashes to Ashes (Ep 7, 1)

He tells Alex that he’s going to take the life of someone. Alex sees herself on TV in an autopsy room with the Angel. A sheet is pulled back from a body, but she can’t see who it is. The Angel begins laughing maniacally as he writes a question mark in blood on the calendar written on the TV screen (shown above). After the Angel disappears from the TV, Alex runs to the calendar she pinned to her wall to keep herself sane… only to find the same question mark written in blood:

Ashes to Ashes (Ep 7, 2)

After the opening credits roll, the gang’s at the station. Hunt is his usual grumpy self, now that there’s considerable public pressure on him to solve the Gil Hollis robbery. Chris rolls Shaz into the main office inside the very tub that Gil used for his stunts. Gene starts taking an involuntary collection, as requested from his superiors, to replace the money that was taken from Gil. While all this is going on, Alex hears water dropping and sees small puddles on her desk from drops falling from the ceiling. She offhandedly tells Shaz that someone needs to take care of the leak, but Shaz doesn’t see any water anywhere. Foreshadowing, perhaps? Hmmmm… Gene and Alex then have an awkward moment where Gene asks her out to dinner that evening. It was painful, given that Gene Hunt is such a badass in everything else, that he’d be so aloof in asking Alex out. In any event, she agrees.

But she doesn’t agree with Hunt about Gil Holis. She initially thinks that Gil could perhaps remember more about the event using a walkthrough. So Drake and Hunt take Gil back to the crime scene, where Gil is not only unhelpful, he actually makes things worse by confusing the details. Were the robbers driving a Datsun or an Allegro? Gil doesn’t really know, because he is painfully obsessive compulsive. He’s so OCD that he can barely remember anything clearly, and his nervous tics and habits annoy the gang. Gil does, however, demand that Gene stop the car when they round a corner and see a particular billboard. Gil runs off to touches it. A group of ska kids see Gil, and start taunting him from a street corner. Gene shushes them with the threats of an ass beating.

Back at the station, the gang work through the robbery using Matchbox cars and a map of the area. Alex then speaks, setting off this gem of a conversation:

Alex: That’s an unusual MO, a male and a female…

Ray: Yeah – a bird doing blags… It’s very disturbing.

Chris: Do you think she wears heels or comfortable shoes?

Alex (to Hunt): I propose, given your reaction to the gender balance of the gang, is that this is their first job?

Hunt: Wot, new kids on the block?

Alex: Now that is a good name for a boy band!

Shaz hands Hunt a piece of paper

Hunt: Chris take that, list of dodgy second-hand car dealers in East 17…

Chris: All right! Backstreet boys!

Ray: Yeah… let’s get ’em busted…

Alex: Oh God, I’m going to scream.

Alex tries a sort of “hypnosis session” with Gil. She has him relax completely, and Gil suddenly remembers the female robber’s eyes. Dark, cold, eyes. Alex goes to the records room to look for possible female robbers with dark eyes. The Angel of Death watches over her in the room, but she doesn’t see him. I think she feels him, though.

Alex then proposes that Gene go on TV as a personal appeal for information. Gene absolutely declines. So you know what’s coming next:

Ashes to Ashes (Ep 7, 3)

Gene’s TV debut is disastrous. He looks completely uncomfortable, he flubs his lines, he won’t look directly into the camera, he uses Alex’s psychobabble without regard for what it actually means, and the interview eventually goes off the rails completely. Gene’s boss calls immediately after the interview is over, loudly berating him for his performance. Because this was all Alex’s idea, Gene puts the blame squarely on her shoulders.

Back at the station, Gene nurses a whiskey while the cleaning lady dusts his office. He rambles on to her, until he finally demands that someone turn off a boombox that’s blaring ska music. He then has a flash – because of road construction the day of the robbery, the robbers would have had to go past the ska boys’ corner. Hunt and the gang (and some backup) then go back to the ska boys and arrest them all, in an ugly scene all too familiar to anyone that knows anything about Brixton in the 1980s.

Back at the station, a near race riot breaks out. Hunt slings two of the ska kids across desks and up against walls, and suddenly threatens to staple another ska kid’s hat to his head with an industrial-strength staple gun. Hunt’s sheer anger at the ska kid scares the wee outta him, and the kid says that Holis came through, then went back behind a billboard for a few minutes, then took back off again. Hunt orders Gil back to the station for questioning immediately. Gene asks him why he went behind the billboard – to take a pee. He asks him if he took the money with him – of course he did. He asks why the ska boys remembered him going behind the billboard to pee, but don’t remember the supposed getaway car coming through 10 minutes later… Gil has no answer. Questions continue. Gene asks why Gil didn’t mention taking a pee during the walkthrough. Gil says that he can only remember the robber’s eyes, so Gene stages a line-up… and Gil picks Shaz as the robber.

This sends Hunt off on one of his rages. He takes Gil back to the interrogation room, where Gene and Ray use some good, old fashioned violence to get answers from Gil. Seriously, Gene pops his shoulder out of joint twice. It looked painful. Under extreme duress, Gil doesn’t change his story one bit. Alex screams at Gene to stop, asking him where the evidence is. In one of Hunt’s best lines ever, he replies that “evidence can always be found to back up my instinct”. Gene orders Ray to take Gil to the cells.

Alex thinks that Gene is out of control. She talks to Evan White for advice. He recommends that she turn to her superiors. He soon appears at the station, where Evan gives Gene a good dressing down. As his speech is ending, Caroline and Gene’s boss walk in. Caroline has her moment of fun dressing down Gene, which causes Alex to ask her to leave (showing her torn loyalties). Gene’s boss orders him to take some leave. As Gene leaves, he and Alex argue the entire way out of the building. He ends up rudely canceling dinner with Alex, which causes her to kick the side of his beloved Quattro. Alex goes back in the building and gets the cold shoulder from everyone there.

Alex has drinks with Evan later on. He pours them a couple of drinks while Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited” plays in the background. Alex can’t stop laughing about how cheesy the song (and Alex’s approach) is. Evan asks her if they’ve met before, somewhere in the past. Alex says that they’ve met in a different life, and tells him that he was there during a bad time of her life (the day her parent’s car exploded). Alex then gets a flash of Gene Hunt in her head, which she mentions. As soon as she mentions Hunt’s name, Evan becomes uncomfortable and says that he has to leave.

The next morning, Gene arrives back at the station, saying that he forgot something important when he left the day before – a bottle of Scotch. As he’s walking towards the door, he spies something on a videotaped new story about the Holis robbery: a stick-up Garfield plush toy in Hollis’ car window (like this) seems to have dried blood inside the suction cups. He tells the crew to have Alex look in to it when she gets in. The cops apparently have the plush in possession, because the next thing we see is Alex standing in front of the crew, asking everyone about the Garfield toy. She then notices an odd smell… the Garfield toy apparently smells faintly of a chemical toilet.

The gang rush down to the construction scene, where Alex orders Ray to stick his hand in the chemical toilet to look for the gun. Ray passes the job on to Chris, who bravely puts his arm in the muck… and finds a gun. The crew then head back to Luigi’s, where Hunt is eating a “steak and chips” pizza, to inform him that Gil apparently was behind the entire thing. Alex tells Gene that Holis has apparently fled, and the crew leave Luigi’s to look for him… only as soon as Gene tops the stairs, a gunshot rings out which smashes the wine bottle Gene was swigging from. The crew flee back downstairs, while the gunshots continue to ring out. Eventually the shots stop… and there’s a silence… and then Gill yells for Gene to come out. Alex, fearing the Angel of Death, begs Gene not to go talk to him, to which Gene replies that “[he] is not dying in a trattoria”.

Gene goes outside to talk to Gil… Alex follows. Gil laments his entire life, talking about how his wife left him during the stunt and how she thought that Gil cared more about black kids in Africa than his own children. It gets kind of sad at the this point, if it weren’t for the barbed insults Gene shouts back at Gil. Alex tries to talk Gil down, and he ends up throwing the now-empty gun at Gene and taking off. Shaz takes off after him at top speed. Gil runs back to the billboard, where he takes out a pocket knife to pull the stolen money out of a hollow beam. Shaz yells at him to stop, and he turns around, just as Shaz lands on him. The knife penetrates Shaz’s belly, and she hits the ground just as Gene and Alex show up. The poor thing just lies there on the ground, freaking out and crying for her mother. Shaz suddenly sees the Angel of Death, and cries out that she’s afraid of clowns. This causes Alex to scream at her, telling her that she must fight back, no matter how much it hurts. Alex tries CPR as Shaz drifts away. Chris, who has been watching this on bended knee, tries talking to Shaz, then just starts bawling.

Before anything else happens next, the thought hits you: “Man, Gil’s now a cop-killer. They’re gonna beat the shit outta that guy“. And that’s exactly what happens:

Ashes to Ashes (Ep 7, 4)

As the ass-kicking starts, Alex goes back to work on Shaz. The editing in this scene is fantastic – fists fly in every direction: Chris’s on Gil and Alex’s on Shaz. Chris screams as he beats Gill, Alex screams at Shaz to keep fighting. Shaz suddenly takes a deep breath, and Alex is filled with joy at having beaten the Angel of Death. She’s also filled with anger at the ass beating that Gene and crew just dealt out. She apologizes to Gil for the abuse, who tells her not to worry about it, that life just sucks for everyone.

Back at her place, Alex watches the TV, where her father is reading one of the Narnia books to her as a small child. She turns the TV off at a knock on the door. It’s Evan, who’s come over to see if she was OK. Alex starts babbling the truth to him, saying that no one died today, which proves that she’s in control, which means that she can save the life of her parents in two days, which means that she can go home… “to you and my parents”. Evan obviously doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about, so he tells her not to think so much.

At the station the next morning, Gene apologizes to Viv, who had complained mightily about Gene allowing Chris and Ray to beat up on Gil. Viv says that it’s OK, that “you [Gene] had your reasons”.

Although I’m not nearly as impressed with Ashes to Ashes as I am with Life On Mars, I’m still eagerly awaiting the season finale THIS THURSDAY!

MUSIC HEARD THIS EPISODE

The Clash – “Police On My Back”
Michael Jackson – “One Day In Your Life”
David Bowie – “Fame”
Peaches & Herb – “Reunited”
Gioachino Rossini – William Tell Overture
Marshall Hain – “Dancing in the City”

Ashes to Ashes soundtrack out there..

The soundtrack to the TV show Ashes to Ashes was released in the UK on March 17th, 2008. Here’s a track listing:

1. Introduction – Dialogue: Alex Drake
2. David Bowie – Ashes To Ashes
3. Visage – Fade To Grey
4. The Human League- Love Action
5. Duran Duran – Girls On Film
6. Dexys Midnight Runners – Geno
7. OMD – Souvenir
8. The Stranglers – No More Heroes
9. The Clash – I Fought The Law
10. Heaven 17 – (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing
11. Interlude – Dialogue: You’re Nicked
12. Edmund Butt – Gene Genie (Gene’s theme from `Ashes To Ashes’)
13. The Passions – In Love With A German Film Star
14. Altered Images – Happy Birthday
15. Joe Jackson – It’s Different For Girls
16. Flying Lizards – Money
17. The Beat – Doors Of Your Heart
18. The Ruts – Staring At The Rude Boys
19. The Teardrop Explodes – Reward
20. Tenpole Tudor – Swords Of A Thousand Men
21. Bryan Ferry – Let’s Stick Together
22. Ultravox – Vienna
23. Edmund Butt – Title Music from `Ashes To Ashes’
24. Epilogue: Dialogue: Fandabydozy

You can buy it from Amazon UK for £8.98 here. I mention it today because it’s now “out there” (wink-wink!)