Life On Mars tells the story of DCI Sam Tyler of the Greater Manchester Police (played by John Simm), who, after being hit by a car in 2006, finds himself in the year 1973. There, he works for Manchester and Salford Police CID as a DI under DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding the differences between his modern approach to policing and the more traditional methods of his colleagues. Mixing the genres of science fiction and police procedural, the series centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he is insane, in a coma, or if he really has travelled back in time.