LIFE ON MARS British cop dramas 1970 2000

LIFE ON MARS British cop dramas 1970 -2000 & now By Brittany Genis

What are British cop shows : A cop show is a story or drama where a crime is investigated by the police. They typically look for clues and deal with a lot of problems to solve a case. Here are famous examples of British cop dramas from the 1970 s and onwards • • • The Sweeney (1975) Sherlock Holmes (1984) Between the lines (1992) Midsomer Murders (1997) Walking the Dead (2000) • • • Foyle's War (2002) Life on Mars (2006) Sherlock (2010 – a new version) Death in Paradise (2011) Line of Duty (2012) Broadchurch (2013) Happy Valley (2014) Unforgotten (2015) Bloodlands (2021)

Stereotypes Within the media, cops are portrayed a certain way to be recognised as a cop; this means that the media projects a certain stereotype about cops that is repeated within the genre of crime/cop dramas. These stereotypes are patterns like: • • Cops being male orientated Strong morals Problem solving skills Loving donuts & coffee Conventions of a crime drama : • • Committing and solving of crime Medical/ Forensic/ Procedural Fictional accounts of real life stories Main character has conflict with authority or their partner in crime Set in the city Typical character types including hero, villain etc. Disequilibrium – discovery of a crime leads to equilibrium – solving of a crime Continuing narrative arc over multiple episodes

Life on Mars is a 2006 British cop drama that conforms and subverts the stereotypes of a cop /cop drama Conform Subvert Male main characters are the cops (Sam and Gene) Annie is the only female in the department, in which she challenges the stereotype that women aren't police officers Investigations, corpse scene (the theme of murder and death + car chase scenes) Sam has to problem solve his way out of the 1973 Gene tends to have a strong character as the head of the department, bosses around Same and is hard-headed