Review: GHTTB: Ashes To Ashes 1.6

Chas Cale appears innocent.

Ashes To Ashes - Series One, Episode Six

Bit-part actor Phil Davies may have killed Uther, but four years before that he was a gangster. Episode Six was really an examination of getting older, whether that meant entering adulthood or leaving it. It was also a very good use of the series' key directoral features, and a sign that the series is beginning to seperate itself from its 70s sister. Thus, it was the series most enjoyable episode yet.
     Alex wakes up feeling sick. She believes that she's in the inital stages of death, as she is feeling shivery and can't remember things. A post-office is raided by two thugs, and the MO stinks of one of Gene's old catches. He is shaken, however, when Chas Cale (Phil Davies) is revealed to be an aged epileptic, confined to the restaurant trade. Alex goes to "say goodbye" to her mother, and attempts to tell her of her true nature, but doesn't get the chance. This spurs her on to try and survive, and so she leads the investigation to find the robber. Soon her condition sends her back to her flat.
     As Gene makes amends for being a dick, Ray and Chris find the suspect in a pub. They advance the investigation, but the suspect is soon found dead. To find out info from the suspect's eight-year-old nephew (Kenneth Asa Butterfield, one of the most talented child actors of our time) they give him a meal at Luigi's. The boy reveals that the suspect was working for Chas. When Alex visits, it soon appears that while Chas committed the robbery, it was his wife that killed the suspect. When Gene arrives, Chas has another fit. Gene smashes his way in, saving Alex in the nick of time and bringing her back to life.
      This is the first time in Ashes To Ashes where I actually felt Alex's pain. The scene where she is apologising to Molly for not getting back was touching and poignant, and struck a much more vibrant chord than the constant, never-ending repetition of scenes from the pilot. Although here the hallucinations were used a lot better; they were pretty psychadelic at the beginning, and there's an increasing theme of the Clown as the symbol of Death.

Keeley's best performance so far.

     All of the characters were written splendidly, and all with a great deal of maturity, as if the Reality Engine has just been fired up again. Alex in particular felt a lot more real than her awkward dialogue in the beginning of this series suggested, and the UST with Gene felt a lot less gimmicky. Overall the characters were in fact characters and not just stereotypes as they often are in the bonanza.
     Episode Six was incredibly fun and was just on a completely new level for the show. It's really beginning to exploit what it lacked in comparison to its predecessor, taking Life On Mars' relatively mature attitude and taking that to a hell of a lot of new places. 1.6 may not be particularly memorable, but for me it's been the most enjoyable to review.

Thanks.