life on mars finale......

[jug]

i think he's dead. its left open to interpretation, but as usual the most obvious idea seems the most likely.

he came out of his coma, could not feel pain due to the tumor in his brain, took that as an indication that the modern day was not real, combined that with his new preference for his 70s life (tbh who wouldnt prefer their imagination to the real world), and decided that he's rather go back to the 70's because "you're only alive if you can feel". so he jumps, ends up in another coma (back in the 70s in his mind), and then his life support machine is switched off and he dies. switching the radio off was him ignoring the real world, but that doesnt mean the real world is no longer real, so he must have died when life support was switched off. your mind cant live without your body even if it is having a fun coma.

 

[Renegade_8]

The TV critic in the Torygrope is as confused as everyone else. Mostly agrees with you Jug but thinks (does not put it any higher than best guess) Sam never woke up and the return to the noughties was also part of the coma and represented a loss of the will to return to modern life*, this does stand up. He also said that the Test Card Girl (have a look here http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/testcard/faq.html ) symbolised death throughout the series. You can see this, as the coma drags on she becomes more and more real until dominating the final scene where she switches the series ,and possibly Sam, off. Of course the writers will never spell out the answers, but this does fit well.
So how does Gene Hunt turn up in someone elses dream? Well there are folk lore and literary precedents for that.
Sure you can find the whole thing on the web version.
* he also noted the change in the writers attitude to the 70s v 00s
slightly different take, still liked it.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1635872.ece