The NCIS characters are awesome. On the one hand they're very real people, who get angry and frustrated and make up and really care about each other, and on the other hand they're all just plain freakin' nuts. :)

I haven't yet watched Ashes to Ashes, but I've heard really good things about it, despite the lack of Sam. One of my old friends from high school told me she found Ashes to Ashes slightly more painful to watch, because whereas the fashions from Life on Mars were ones she wore that her parents picked out and bought, the fashions from Ashes to Ashes were things she had worn *on purpose.* :)

I am so afraid of the US version. Despite the fact that Colm Meany will most likely not suck as Gene, I have no plans to watch it.