Ashes To Ashes: My (Probably Wrong) Theory

So, I've just watched episode one of the new series of Ashes To Ashes, it was awesome. But it lent a lot of weight to my steadily growing theory about What It's All About. I've been building my idea brick by brick ever since Sam Tyler jumped off a roof in the last minutes of parent show Life On Mars.

This is what I think, personally. As I say, it's probably bollocks. But lets see what I got... Firstly, Sam Tyler. He had an accident, got sent to 1973 and then LEFT there, waking up in hospital in the present day. He decided the 70s was more real and returned there by jumping off a roof, waking up once more in 1973. He seemingly lived out the majority of the 70s as a copper, dying in 1980 when he lost control of his car during a chase and ended up driving it into the canal. His body was never found. My theory is this: Sam Tyler never woke up! As we saw during the opening minutes of this new episode of Ashes, the "real" world can be convincingly imagined while in a coma, just like the "fake" world. Sam never returned to 1973, because he never left! In order to LEAVE this "fake" world, you would have to die - and then you leave for heaven or hell... Remember that - I'm coming back to this in a moment. So when Sam drove into the canal he didn't die. He bumped his head, lost his memories, his mind, or whatever... Then he was killed by Gene... I'm coming back to this too.

Next. Alex Drake. Shot in the head by Leyton. A man on the phone to someone we're meant to think was Molly's Godfather, Evan. It wasn't. It was Gene. Leyton has "a piece of [Gene's] past, and [he was] gonna tell her EVERYTHING!" About Sam, about the future and the past, about this world that all these supposedly comatose coppers seem to wander off to. Alex is in the same boat as Sam was. Only Sam found out. He discovered what it was that Leyton was about to tell Alex! That's why he's no longer here. Whether he's dead or missing or an amnesiac, it's Gene's fault. Covering his dirty little tracks. He's not as good-guy hero as we think he is. So, Alex knows Sam's case, she can break this open.

Now then, Gene Hunt. Gene Gene Gene! My my what a naughty little bugger he is! WHATEVER this big secret is (I haven't decided on my thought on this yet. So stay tuned for more on that) then it is not nice! I don't even think Gene Hunt is REALLY Gene Hunt. But again, I haven't developed enough of a theory on that yet. Or maybe he is, but he's ALSO from somewhere else. He's not at all what we think he is, that's for sure.

And then there's this body in a field that's briefly mentioned in this first episode. THAT'S Sam! Clearly! Killed by Gene, whether it was malicious or required. Where this place they all go to is, I don't know. Maybe it really is back in time. And sadly, frustratingly, that's all I have. A mishmash of ideas, blended into a fritter of possibility. Maybe it is all nonsense. I'm probably completely wrong. If I am, I take all this shit back. The more I read it the more I think I'm wrong anyway. Hey ho. Wasted post.

In one sentence: "Gene Hunt is bad. Gene Hunt killed Sam Tyler. Gene Hunt is hiding something and 'the powers that be' are doing all they can to make sure that determined, intelligent cops with more of a clue than Gene's lot, get to shadow the man. Getting a good cop (Alex or Sam) as close to a bad one (Gene) as possible makes it more likely that this "Plan" will be unearthed. Thought? Comment below.