5. All The Characters Forgot That They Were Dead Ashes To Ashes
It was a concept too big for one show, and when John Simm didn't fancy returning as the time-travelling cop of Life on Mars, the show's creators dreamt up Ashes to Ashes. It was the same show, but with a new character; an opportunity to tackle the big question of how two police officers have found themselves in the past. It took three series to build up to - five if you're counting Life on Mars - but we eventually found out how Sam and Alex ended up in 1973 and 1981 respectively. It was limbo: everyone there had died. None of it was real, and Gene Hunt was almost a guardian angel, ferrying police officers to Nelson, the barman from the first show, who acted as St. Peter. Hunt had conveniently forgotten about this; in fact, everyone had forgotten that they'd died, apart from Sam and Alex. Convenient really is the word, isn't it? Though we got a cameo from the charismatic Nelson at the end, it was a leaky finale. It posed more questions than it answered - the main one being how you could possibly forget that you died and ended up in the past with a load of other people who'd died - and even Hunt looked confused for the most part. Should've ended it after the first show; that finale was perfect.