Life on Mars (UK)

While investigating a mysterious serial killer, Sam Tyler's girlfriend and colleague Maya is kidnapped by the prime suspect in the case. Sam, stricken with grief, isn't paying attention as he is driving and is hit by a speeding car.

When he wakes up, it is in a completely different world. Scratch that. It's the same world, but he's now living in the Manchester of 1973.

He is a detective inspector and his new boss Gene Hunt is a living representation of everything the police force has tried to stop itself being in 2006. Gene is a sexist, pompous and arrogant man who uses his weight in the station to great effect. He takes the attitude of "shoot first, then ask questions."

The rest of Sam's colleagues are of the same vein. They all think the new boy is a little strange because of his frequent outbursts and what appears to them as erratic behaviour. Only one person reaches out to Sam, the beautiful young female police officer Annie Cartwright. She listens to his tale and though unbelieving at first she quickly comes to terms with it.

Sam notices a connection between the murder case he is tasked with solving in 1973 and the one he left behind in 2006. He realises that destroying evidence in 1973 could well affect the future. However, a meeting with a doctor speaking directly to his subconscious mind (who tells Sam he is in a coma) leads him to believe that the whole thing is just a dream — a fantasy.

Sam is ready to wake up and so stands atop a tall building, thinking that when he hits the floor he will wake up in the future. Annie stops him, telling him that the "doctor" was really her boyfriend playing a cruel joke. Sam is left none the wiser as to whether what's happening to him is real or just a crazy dream. Annie convinces him to stay — at least for the time being — in 1973.