(S02E07) In this week's Life on Mars, the hunter became the hunted.

Or, rather Gene Hunt became the hunted.

In a classic did-he-or-didn't-he cop-on-the-run scenario, the big figure in this top-notch cop show became a fugitive after being found at the scene of a murder with the finger of blame pointing only at him -- and no memory as to how he got there.
It's really not difficult to imagine this show running and running for years. It barely even needs the time-travelling component to drive it forward.

However, the show took an interesting twist this week as we reached the penultimate episode, when the excellent Ralph Brown (The Phantom Menace, Withnail and I) turned up to take temporary charge of the investigation into the murder Gene Hunt was being accused of.

Instead of being the usual hard-ass replacement from out of town, the replacement DCI played by Brown, Frank Morgan, was a thorough, fair character, who just so happened to be from Hyde -- the division Sam was transferred from in series one.

It quickly became evident that Morgan was key to Sam's presence in 1973, possibly crucial to it, dropping subtle hints and nods to Sam as he attempted to establish Gene's innocence.

As with every other episode of this fine show, the plot soon weaved its clever thread as Sam and Gene unpicked the evidence and made the leap from mistrust back to loyalty and uncovered the truth behind the complex murder.

Which leaves us now with only one more episode to go -- and the BBC didn't even give us a sneak preview, as with every other episode.

Next week, we can look forward to Sam's presumptions about his past, future and his very soul "unraveling in a heart-stopping climax."

But, for once, I don't have a clue how it's all going to resolve itself - and I don't want to know.

Music in this week's episode included: "Many A Mile To Freedom" by Traffic, "Evening Blue" by Traffic, "Virginia Plain" by Roxy Music, "Cindy Incidentally" by The Faces, "Done Me Wrong Alright" by The Sweet, "Cross Roads" by Cream, "Rock 'n' Roll Disgrace" by The Sweet and "One Of The Boys" by Mott The Hoople.

(And if you're wondering who the large rodent next to Sam is in the photograph - it's Tufty, from the Tufty Club, a popular road safety campaign in the UK during the 1970s and 80s -- used to hilarious effect in this week's episode).