DCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.
John Simm as Sam Tyler in Life on Mars promo image
Life on Mars (British TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 9 January 2006 and 10 April 2007. It follows Sam Tyler, a Manchester policeman in 2006 who wakes up after a car accident to discover that he has time-travelled to 1973, where he works the same job in the same location under the command of Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt while attempting to solve the mystery of what has happened to him.
The main characters of Life on Mars, from left: DC Chris Skelton, DCI Gene Hunt, DI Sam Tyler, DS Ray Carling and WPC/DC Annie Cartwright
The Test Card Girl, a surreal hallucination repeatedly encountered by Sam Tyler