Life on Mars

What company produced the show for the BBC and when were they formed?

Kudos - 1992

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what is the BBC's remit?

inform, educate and entertain

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what is BBC One's remit?

being innovative, high-quality and challenging

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how does Life on Mars fulfil the remits?

mix of genres makes it original and innovative, high production quality, teaches audiences about the 70s

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how does Curran + Seaton's idea that only a small number of companies driven by profit and power apply to Life on Mars?

BBC is not a conglomerate and public service so not driven by profit, power limited by income from license fee but has strong reputation, Kudos was independent at the time

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how does Curran + Seaton's idea that media concentration limits creativity, variety and quality apply to Life on Mars?

original concept and high quality production, more risks taken as it was not made for profit, BBC has to be ambitious to retain license fee, but needs good ratings and mass appeal

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how does Curran + Seaton's idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership create more varied and adventurous media apply to Life on Mars?

people in charge of the BBC change often, BBC works in partnership with other production companies, competitive environment breeds creativity

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how does Hesmondhalgh's idea that industries minimise risk and maximise audiences by using genre, serials and star power apply to Life on Mars?

trailers feature main characters (actors) prominently, multiple seasons and a spin-off created, format sold to other countries, clear use of genre codes despite being a blend

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how does Hesmondhalgh's idea that conglomerates operate across multiple cultural industries apply to Life on Mars?

the BBC model doesn't allow for much synergy as they don't own multiple subsidiaries but a soundtrack and limited merch was released, format sold to other countries

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how does Life on Mars meet genre codes of crime drama?

low-key lighting/heavy shadows, themes of violence and crime, urban settings, tense non-diagetic music, handheld camera following protagonist

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how does Life on Mars meet genre codes of sci-fi/time travel?

confusion around situation, references to past/present, possibility of alternate timelines/worlds

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how does Life on Mars meet genre codes of supernatural?

people on TV talking to Sam, hearing voices and sounds from the present day, idea of 70s setting coming from Sam's subconcious

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how does Neale's idea that genres are dominated by repetition but marked by difference and variation apply to Life on Mars?

hybrid genre allows it to go beyond standard genre conventions

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how does Neale's idea that genres exist within specific economic, industrial and institutional contexts apply to Life on Mars?

codes of crime dramas draw in fans of the genre and reduce risk, trailer includes some codes of sci-fi which are expanded on in the show

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how does Neale's idea that audiences recognise genre codes through repetition apply to Life on Mars?

similar to The Sweeney - 70s setting and similar character archetypes, time travel elements make it different enough to interest audience

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how does Sam Tyler represent masculinity?

more modern - values feelings, more respectful of women, cares strongly about procedure, assertive but not violent

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how does Gene Hunt represent masculinity?

more traditional - rugged appearance, isn't opposed to break the rules and hurt people to get answers, respected through assertiveness, more sexist

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how does Levi-Strauss' idea that texts can be understood through looking at their structure apply to Life on Mars?

binary opposites - past vs present, intinct vs procedure, Gene vs Sam etc, audience is more inclined to agree with Sam's perspective as the main character

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how does Levi-Strauss' idea that understanding of texts is created by relationships between different elements apply to Life on Mars?

sexism of other characters is contrasted by Sam's more progressive views, crime being bad needs order to be presented as good

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how does Levi-Strauss' idea that most pairs are hierarchical relationships apply to Life on Mars?

lines between pairs are blurred as Sam adapts to his new life - things become more morally grey

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how does hooks' idea that feminism is the fight to end patriarchal struggle apply to Life on Mars?

Sam tries to involve Annie in the investigation to combat the sexism of his co-workers, treats her as an equal

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how does hooks' idea that not all women are discriminated against to the same extent apply to Life on Mars?

younger women are more sexualised, lower-class women treated worse than characters like Annie or Maya

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how does Bulmur +Katz's idea of Uses and Gratifications apply to Life on Mars?

entertainment - engaging storyline
information - teaches audiences about 70s life
personal identity - range of varied characters
social interaction - overarching mystery encourages discussion

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why was the US remake of Life on Mars unpopular?

higher production quality meant it lost a lot of homely charm, poor casting choices, less thematic and thought-provoking ending

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Life on Mars

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