WELL that was a turn-up for the books! The Beeb has actually produced a programme which has proved capable of living up to its hype.

After the huge disappointment of Rome looked great, storyline rubbish I was hugely sceptical that Life on Mars would be anywhere near as good the publicity was telling us.

But I have to admit, after the first programme I was wrong.

It was a brilliant concept. Modern-day police inspector has an accident, is left in a coma and somehow finds himself working in a cop shop in 1973.

It would have been so easy for this to fail but this mixture of Doctor Who meets the Sweeney proved hugely enjoyable.

John Simm as the time travelling tec displayed a great combination of bewilderment and anger he'd even borrowed Doctor Who's leather jacket for the part.

Why Life on Mars worked so well was the attention to detail.

The cars, the decor, the TV shows even the attitudes were firmly rooted in the Seventies, although I suspect the Jack Regan-like attitude of the Seventies' coppers was a little over-exaggerated.

The whole show even seemed to have been shot in special Seventies' brown lighting which added to the fun.

There will be some people who will have watched it and come out with a well, that was stupid' comment at the end, but I hope they will be in the moniority.

It's not often a new piece of quality television comes along. I suspect that Life in Mars is a cult in the making.