Following the sublime Life On Mars was always going to be pretty darn tricky, but Ashes To Ashes made a bold attempt to live up to its hallowed heritage. Here are some highlights from the hit and miss first season, taking in the thrills, the laughter, the '80s music and one very special item of food.

The series was packed full of memorable moments of comedy. Who can forget homophobic Ray Carling's undercover mission as a predatory gay or Chris Skelton's mascara-laden turn as a New Romantic clubber to woo Shaz? As for their joint attempts to master the art of covert surveillance - sheer class. Plenty of sight gags were neatly deployed too, epitomised by the fancy dress party that saw Gene as Clint Eastwood, Chris as Superman and Ray portraying a tache-ridden James Bond. A notable mention deserves to go out to Gene's steak and chip pizza - a delightful concoction from Luigi! The first bite is with the eye, as they say.

Along with firing up his Quattro and drawing naughty nudie piccies of him and Alex, Gene came out with plenty of his trademark one-liners. Thank God he did too, for it often helped to lighten the mood after one of Alex's unbearably conceited, all-knowing outbursts that did little to win the audience over. The most memorable Gene quip surely came in the second episode, when his attempts to secure peace during the wedding of Prince Charles to Diana led him to announce: "There will be no hiccups between now and the twanging of the royal hymen." Hunt, thanks to a superb performance from Philip Glenister, also showcased his brash resilience in his dazzling 'unbreakable' speech of solidarity to Lord Scarman during his visit.

Several funny things came out of Chris's mouth too - although Shaz's tongue sadly wasn't one of them. Along with his funny impressions of Rigsby from Rising Damp and a Taxi Driver era Robert De Niro, he asked Shaz out on a date to see Friday 13th Part Two - as the fact that it is set by a lake must mean it's romantic! The way things are going, he's probably planning their honeymoon to Chernobyl right now.

Fun aside, all eyes were inevitably on Alex Drake - and not just because of her dodgy barnet. Effectively replacing John Simm's masterful Sam Tyler as the cop from the present trapped in the past meant that Keeley Hawes's performance would be scrutinised a great deal - and she emerged with credit. Her haunting and jubilant childhood memories evoked a myriad of reactions and emotions on her face, while her encounters with her mother Caroline - particularly their final farewell - were often moving.

However, Hawes can only say and do what is in the script - and the characterisation of Alex Drake frequently left a lot to be desired. At times she became so unappealing that it was hard to muster any feelings towards her plight to save her parents and return to her daughter, which was the essential dramatic crux at the core of the show. This was epitomised by the scene in which she lied to Gene about being a former prostitute and subsequently punched him hard in the face when he took a dim view of her behaviour. This violent outburst left one wondering how Alex - someone who claims to believe in sexual equality - would have reacted if the roles were reversed and Gene gave her the fist.

Moving swiftly on (before a Suffragette hurls herself in front of the Quattro), there were several nostlgia-laden cameo appearances to drool over. For sheer impact value, the appearance of Zippy and George from Rainbow in the opening episode was an ingenious blend of fun and fear. It was also a pleasure to see both Shaw Taylor and Visage frontman Steve Strange portray themselves during the series, without the aid of any Botox whatsoever to reduce the aging process. It's important to remember that everything is happening in Alex's head, so maybe her visual processes are slightly askew in certain areas.

Early 80s music was regularly used to great effect to heighten the dramatic impact during key scenes. The expected staples of Ultravox's 'Vienna' and Visage's 'Fade To Grey' were skilfully deployed, but the real pleasure came in discovering long-forgotten gems from that era. The season premiere contained two such moments, with Gene Hunt's arrival being heralded by the criminally underrated 1981 Duran Duran single 'Careless Memories', and Roxy Music's beautifully pensive 'Same Old Scene' mirroring Drake's internal thoughts as it took us into the end credits.

Finally, the series wouldn't have amounted to much without some good old-fashioned drama. The unexpected sting in the tail for Alex, when she discovered her father was both a nutcase bomber and David Bowie impersonator, provided a suitably jaw-dropping finale to the season and improved upon the previous episode's token slaying of Shaz for shock effect. Let's hope for similar treats in the second season - and a bit more hymen twanging from Gene too!

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