Day 09 - Best scene ever

Until recently I considered this the best scene ever:



It is from the first episode of The Singing Detective (1986). The writer Philip Marlow suffers from psoriatric arthropathy. He is lying in a hospital bed and the pain and fever give him hallucinations.

This clip is quite long, over 9 minutes, but I prefer it to the ones that just give the song, because some context is needed and it perfectly shows the condescending attitude of the medical staff.

I remember that the first time I watched it, my jaw just dropped and I declared it the greatest thing I'd ever seen on television.


Lately though it has been replaced in my affections by a scene from the first episode of Life on Mars:



DO NOT READ if you haven't seen the first episode yet and do not wish to be spoiled!

The scene I am referring to is the one in which Sam is hit by a car in 2006 and wakes up in 1973. For me, it actually starts at around 6:35 when "Life on Mars?" begins to play and ends with its last notes, when Sam walks into the police station. Unfortunately the clip cuts the song in two, so for its last two minutes or so you need to watch the beginning of the second part.

The way the song is used contributes greatly to the brilliance of the scene. I love how when Sam is knocked down, the music abruptly stops and then slowly seeps back in, intermingled with the sounds from the ambulance and the paramedics. It reaches a crescendo as a bewildered Sam gets up and the camera pans around him, showing a different world, and later on again, when Sam sees the billboard announcing the building of the new highway.

Let us all be thankful that Mr Bowie has graciously allowed the use of his song. Without it, no Life on Mars. It does not bear thinking about.