Lots gets introduced and resolved this episode, particularly with John Simm and Philip Glenister’s different approaches to police work. It’s kind of like “Pilot, Part 2,” where the gimmick has been introduced and now it’s time to determine what the actual show will be like.

Same creative team as last time—Matthew Graham writing, Bharat Nalluri directing. This episode starts realizing the creepy girl with the clown on the TV recurring bit, which last episode set up but this episode turns into an actual horror element. Since the episode’s an hour, there’s plenty of time to change how the show’s going to question Simm’s reality. For a while, there’s nothing he can’t explain away, then there’s definite “you’re in the hospital in a coma” moments.

It gets seconds away from requiring additional suspension of disbelief, like they push it as far as they can with Simm acting confused and then drop it and get back to the actual show. It ranges in effectiveness, with the worst case unfortunately being the last.

There’s not a mystery to solve this episode, which is the point—it opens with the boys arresting stickup man Andrew Tiernan after an amazing, funny chase sequence (set to Live and Let Die, so they’re not cheaping on the music even after they get the Bowie), then the rest of the episode is them trying to figure out how to keep him from committing stickups without evidence.

Simm’s not willing to go with Glenister’s file cabinet worth of evidence to plant, which leads to some dire consequences. Along the way, there’s a fight between Simm and Glenister, a big subplot for Liz White, and a guest star spotlight for Timothy Platt as the star witness. Platt’s character is deaf in 1973 and it’s unclear if the show even realizes how inhumane and cruel the characters are coming off.

We also get some more hints at Simm’s mission in the past—the opening titles have a “Quantum Leap”-esque narration about how he’s going to get home but again, they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the show itself.

Nalluri directs the heck out of the suspense sequences, which also have great performances from White and Simm. They nimbly pivot from the procedural to the action chase stuff.

Great Glenister too, though he’s a little bit too much support, little bit too much antagonist. Again, very big “Pilot, Part 2” feels.

But the acting’s so good, the directing’s so good, most of the writing’s so good, any such feels end up being good, reassuring feels, like they know what they’re doing with “Life on Mars.” Albeit with a strangely obvious gimmick.

Going back to “Life on Mars,” it hadn’t occurred to me how the “hook” was going to play after not just having seen the series once but also its “way too literal” sequel, “Ashes to Ashes.”

“Mars” is about a modern day—2006 so pre-smartphone and some other things—police detective, John Simm, getting hit by a car and waking up in 1973. He’s still a copper, just not the boss copper anymore, and he soon discovers the murderer he was chasing in the future is active here in the past.

The episode, written by Matthew Graham, plays like a fairly traditional pilot episode. It introduces the cast, it introduces the concept, it even has a big plot element you can just tell they’re going to have to walk back in subsequent episodes. But while there’s the standard TV pilot thing going on, there’s also Bharat Nalluri’s fantastic direction. The episode feels more like a short subject, with Nalluri and cinematographer Adam Suschitzky focusing on the moodiness of the past and how Simm’s experiencing it.

Great performance by Simm. When the episode starts, he’s kind of passive to (pre-“Good Wife”) Archie Panjabi, who’s his estranged girlfriend and subordinate, who has an idea about solving the case and Simm doesn’t want to hear it. Simm even makes not wanting to hear it about Panjabi using their relationship troubles to create a power imbalance in his work place. It’s a really bad, really dated, seemingly completely unawares moment.

But it does not age well.

Luckily, once Panjabi gets kidnapped by the killer Simm didn’t want to hear about, Simm’s reaction is appropriate enough to make him immediately sympathetic. Then boom, a car hits him and he’s back in 1973. So the stakes are Panjabi’s kidnapped and Simm thinks he’s probably in a coma at the hospital but he can’t be sure.

The only person he can trust with the truth is female police officer Liz White. It’s important to mention she’s female because it was back when the ladies were segregated in police work, something Simm didn’t know. The episode’s got big “Back to the Future” type jokes about being in the unknown past (Simm’s character would’ve been four in 1973), then it’s got these little ones where it trips Simm up and into some character development, which Nalluri always makes sure to emphasize.

There’s an excellent arc for Simm and White in the episode, just rock solid character development, great acting from each of them.

But it’s not even the A plot. Well, it’s the initial A plot, but once Simm gets to work in the police station in 1973 there’s the new A plot. And that new A plot is the boss cop played by Philip Glenister. Glenister’s the immediate show-stealer, the break-away star, the whatever. He plays the seventies tough guy cop caricature but in a way to make it reasonable. He’s also the boss, which means he can’t be the rogue cop, which makes “by the numbers” Simm the outsider. “Mars” has a really good understanding of how television narratives work, especially with genre.

Though it does make you wonder if they’re intentionally avoiding “Quantum Leap” references because it comes so close a few times it’d be better if they were making a reference.

Anyway.

Other tough guy male cops of import include Dean Andrews as the dumb, stoic, big one, and Marshall Lancaster as the dumb, amiable, little one. Lancaster gets to be great from go, while Andrews is a lot more reserved. Lancaster becomes Simm’s flunky while Andrews sticks with Glenister.

The other big introduction is the local bartender, Tony Marshall, who seems to have a soulful connection to the world and maybe what’s going on with Simm.

It’s a fantastic hour, fantastic pilot. Graham’s script is compelling for the characters’ sake, not just the gimmick’s, and the three leads are outstanding. Plus the excellent Nalluri direction. It’s great.