It's me! With questions! You know you love it.

I'm trying to get a rough grasp of Gene's time line, and failing. Here's the deal:

I am assuming for my own nefarious purposes that he was born in 1930. That puts him about 43-44 during LoM. According to canon (1.04) Gene was on the force by nineteen y.o. (at work I am blocked from the transcripts - WTF? - so I can't check but when he is talking to Sam about how he started taking backhanders he mentions that he was nineteen...right?) which means 1949.

Questions:
1. I assume this means Gene never went to university? Yes? No?
2. Would he have attended some kind of police training academy? How long would that have lasted (six months, one year, etc.)
3. Wasn't he in National Service? So when would that have happened, and how long would that have lasted?
4. What was the 'age of retirement' off the force in the 70s?

Any and all help/assistance appreciated! ♥



(If you care, I am asking as I am setting up a plot element where Gene has to make a very crucial decision about his life *before* he joins the force and I need to figure out when he might have had to make that choice.)

I might possibly maybe perhaps be working on a PWP Sam/Gene/Missus ficcie, and I need to know what a woman like 'The Missus', 1970s Mancunian housewife to Gene Hunt, would consider a right proper meal for guests. Something traditional, and something she would spend a good deal of time making, and possibly something Gene really loves but never gets to eat unless they have company.

Suggestions?

I was reading about the history of the Greater Manchester Police, and I came across something that confused me a little.

Greater Manchester Police came into existence on 1 April 1974. The Manchester and Salford joint force amalgamated with portions of the Lancashire, Cheshire and West Yorkshire Constabulary forces, producing the largest provincial force in England and Wales. [...]

The City of Manchester was to be divided into five separate police areas to be known as A-E Divisions with their Divisional headquarters in A-City, B-Collyhurst, C-Bradford, D-Longsight and E-Rusholme. [source]

So, am I understanding this correctly that there weren't any divisions before 1974, since the GMP didn't even exist yet? Is this a screw-up on part of the show, or am I just missing something?

Hello everybody!

I'm new here, having discovered LoM only about a week ago. Therefore my f-list is still rather devoid of people to share my squee and random ramblings. I've made up a theory about Gene Hunt's sexuality, and I thought I'd share it with you guys, since there's reason to assume that some of you might actually be interested ;).

The theory is spoiler-free.

( Fake cut to my journal )

Oh, and is there some sort of link to a post where the Cortina fic rating system is explained? I've looked for one, but without success. ETA: Issue has been resolved, thanks! :)

I don't know much about cops shows on either side of the pond, but I DO know that "APB" means 'all points bulletin' and is usually used in a show as code for "TELL EVERYONE AND THEIR COUSIN TO ARREST THIS FILTHY CRIMINAL SWINE ON SIGHT!!!!"

Was it the same in Britain? In 1973??? I have a fic where I need Sam to put out an APB on a certain tall-blond-guy-who-shall-remain-nameless but would he "put out an APB" or what?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I do not understand the relationship of Litton's RCS unit to the Manchester PD in general. Yes, Wikipedia has this info but that confused me even more. So RCS is not controlled locally? What? I googled as well but most of the info I found presume some kind prior understanding of...well, RCS. *pulls at very short hair*

I understand what Litton's team does and they are all police detectives, okaygotthat, but could someone transfer from CID to RCS, or vice versa? Do Gene and Litton answer to the same person(s)?

Help!

EDIT: As hambelandjemima corrected me, it is RCS, not that other acronym I was using by mistake. Fixied! (Thanks!)

I've looked through the "1970s Real Life" tag entries but nothing hits what I'm looking for, because I am a DIV and I know NOTHING about policing, much less policing Manchester-1973 style.

( So the question is: )

I give up. I'm trying to find a traditional lullaby that Sam's mother might have sung to him when he was a child, something traditional enough that Gene might know it.

My mother sung "Mockingbird" and a host of other traditional Southern (U.S.) tunes that I don't think would work for a mother raising her son in 1970s Manchester. :) I googled and you know what? Bumpkis.

So if you have any suggestions, please let me know, so I can finish yet ANOTHER crack LoM fic for your eternal joy and amusement.

( How much did they all earn? )

I've just been enjoying the list of 1973 prices jayb111 (thank you!) posted to lifein1973, and I thought the comm might get some fun out of the following, which I culled from a 1973 advertisement estimating prices before and after VAT (introduced in April 1973!) Originally posted to the Railway Arms

( 1973 Prices )

My first post, although I've been lurking, and commenting a bit here and there.

I came across a little book I'd forgotten I had, which gives prices for things from the 1850s to the late 1970s. I thought a few examples from 1973 might be interesting -

( See how much Gene would pay for his Scotch )

I'd been wondering, at the back of my mind, why the BBC1 screen they've been using in the Life on Mars promotions, the black and blue globe and the promise of COLOUR, seemed simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. And then, as I woke up yesterday, it hit me. In 1973, my family didn't have a colour television. So I remember that screen in black and grey.

John Harris puffs LOM like a trouper in this morning's Guardian, including quotes from Mathew Graham and Philip Glenister, and a Top Ten of 70s blokes. (Even though it's a Top Twelve really. /pedantry)

Britain gave off a funny aroma, equal parts cigarette smoke, overcooked vegetables and what connoisseurs of aftershave knew as "the great smell of Brut"

Here is me squeeing over the fact that I've now seen a real Ford Cortina. Because I am just that sad.

Thought some of you car-buffs might be mildly interested XD

"See? Gay-boy science has its place"

I was flipping through a glossy magazine from 1973, looking at the advertisements (and yes, I'm a sad, sad, fannish soul! :-) when I stumbled on an ad for Kleenex.

For those of you who thought the box in Sam's flat was an anachronism - well, its identical twin was sitting front and centre in the ad!

It looks like Kudos and the BBC got it right after all.

A while back we were trying to work out the dates of the episodes in Series One. You can find the original post here:- More Dating

So far we have dated episodes three, four, five and eight, but I think I might now have a date for Episode Six - 1st May 1973.

I tried to get a date off the paper at the end, but the pesky editors cut the top off. I did however spot a sporting headline on the back of the paper saying Johnny Hart Goes on Trial. Johnny Hart was a Man City manager who was appointed on 1st May 1973.

Man City Managers

If the headline is referring to the date he was appointed, then it means that the siege took place on 1st May (a Tuesday, a working day, not a weekend or a bank holiday). However, if it is referring to his first match while in charge, then it could be a few days later. Either way, I reckon Ep.6 is early May.

If it is 1st May though, we have a date for Ray's birthday - 30th April.

( Date List Updated )

Reviews of the current Rocky Horror Tribute Show have reminded me that the original production opened in London in June 1973.

I just thought I should mention it...

Kinda obvious, really, but still an interesting thing to keep in mind, especially when writing fic that assumes 1973 as real:

We tend to think of the 1973 people mostly in terms of them living in 1973, as if that was essentially 'their' time. But most of the people we encounter in Life On Mars would actually have been 'socialised' much earlier. Sam, if he actually had 'arrived' in 1973 the normal way, or someone else of about his age, would have been born around 1936, for example, and would have grown up during and after WW2. Gene, who seems to me to be a bit older than Sam, could have been born as early as the late 1920s. Now, if 1973 is another country to us today, I'm sure the 1920s or 1930s would be another continent at least! *g*

I know, I know, it *is* kind of obvious. Still, for some reason, the thought only occurred to me today, so I thought I'd share. Sometimes the obvious can be surprising.

Title: Visit Hyde
Summary: The Hyde Tourist Board try to sell a holiday to a typical young man living in 1973.
Rating: PG
Setting: Screencaps from Episode Eight and various pictures gleaned from the internet.
Disclaimer: Life on Mars belongs to the BBC and Kudos. Apologies to anyone living in the real Hyde - it's not the real Hyde as you will see! (P.S. It's not serious bit of fic - it's just a joke!)

( Visit Hyde! )