John Simm's hugely-acclaimed '00s BBC science-fiction crime drama Life on Mars has found itself another streaming home in the UK, so if you've never experienced the time-travelling story of Sam Tyler before, you've now got another reason.
The show, which ran for two seasons and 18 episodes across 2006 and 2007, follows a detective who had an accident and woke up in 1973. Is he mad, in a coma, or back in time? (No spoilers there, it's in the famous opening narration.)
While Simm plays the lead character, it's Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt who became the breakout character. Gene returned in the '80s-set spin-off Ashes to Ashes, which featured Keeley Hawes in the lead role.
Life on Mars has just been added to Prime Video in the UK. It's already available on BBC iPlayer and ITVX Premium, so if you've got a Prime subscription and don't have a TV Licence or Premium, you can now get in on the action.
Ashes to Ashes has also just joined Prime Video, although it's only the first two seasons, while season 3 is currently available on NOW (the only season on there). Meanwhile, all three seasons are on iPlayer.
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Both seasons of Life on Mars have a perfect score of 100% positive from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
"The show is exceptionally well made from top to bottom and pulls you in and pulls you along, owing not least to a host of terrific performances," said the LA Times, while The Guardian dubbed it "a continual pleasure".
"[Life on Mars] is both highly innovative and imminently re-watchable television," wrote PopMatters. "It manages to be a credible period cop show, a futuristic science-fiction thriller and something of a current social commentary all rolled into a damn fine piece of entertainment."
In a lengthy retrospective, Den of Geek stated: "Simplicity was the heart of Life on Mars. It's a touching and often very funny show about friendship, love, finding your place in the world and accepting change.
"It's a show that struck a chord because it’s about themes that are so universal, themes that never pretend to be more than what they are. Life on Mars may have sold itself as something new, but, appropriately for the plot of the series, it was always old-fashioned in theme and execution. And that, I think, is what made it so special."
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Over on IMDb, the show has a score of 8.3/10 from over 34,000 user scores.
"This is one of the rarest cases where the word 'Masterpiece' must be used," while another said: "It was gripping and real and took me back to the 1970s."
"If you want to spend the next 8 hours watching television, watch the 1st episode, then binge. Then the following day watch season 2," reads another review.
The show spawned an American remake in 2008 that only lasted for one season.
Life on Mars is available on Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and ITVX Premium.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
