Annie Cartwright

Infobox character
name = Annie Cartwright


caption = Liz White as Annie Cartwright
first = The Crash
gender = Female
occupation = Police Officer for Manchester and Salford Police
title = Woman Police Constable (WPC) then later a Woman Detective Constable (WDC)
episode = 16/16
portrayer = Liz White

Annie Cartwright is a fictional character in the BBC One sci-fi police procedural drama "Life on Mars". She is portrayed by Liz White. In the US remake, her counterpart is Annie Norris and is played by Gretchen Mol

Character history

Originally a WPC (Woman Police Constable) then later a CID Woman Detective Constable (WDC), she helped the show's main character, Sam Tyler, adjust to life in the early 1970s after he had appeared to travel back from 2006. It is clear that there is a degree of attraction between Sam and Annie. It is also hinted, as of the end of "A Deadly Drug", that after dealing with his feelings for present-day girlfriend Maya that Sam is ready to begin a relationship with Annie. A recurring "joke" in the series shows Sam's many attempts to kiss her, only to be interrupted. Annie is the only person to whom Sam has dropped glaring hints of his theory that the world of 1973 he inhabits is a figment of his imagination and perhaps the only person who shows a degree of sympathy with a plight which none of the other A-Division officers understands. She believes that Sam is suffering from brain damage from the accident. When Sam decides in the first episode that he must make an absolute commitment in order to return to the 21st century, he goes to the police station's rooftop edge with the intention of commiting suicide of a sort, in order to terminate his 1973 fantasy life; it is Annie who convinces him not to jump.

When Sam first loses consciousness, he sees a fleeting image of a woman running through the woods in a red dress and being beaten. The image is later revealed in to be a childhood memory of Annie chasing after, and being battered by, Sam's murderous father.

No references are made to Annie's family in either the first or second series, apart from the mention of her nephew (who is never named) in "The Crash".

In "Helpless", in an attempt to bring equality into the detectives' office, Cartwright was made a WDC (Woman Detective Constable) and worked under Chief Inspector Gene Hunt, with the subsequent sexism that goes with such a role.

In "Undercover", Sam asked her to spend the night with him before he, as he believed he would, return to the future, but she walked away instead, stating she'd rather he'd not go away at all. He would later upset her further, trying to relay the explanation he had been given as to why he was working on their team. After a brief return to his life in 2006, Sam returned to Annie and the others - by jumping off of the roof to end his 2006 life - saving their lives and finally kissing her before the series' end.

Annie's life beyond the scope of the series is unclear. She does not appear in the sequel series "Ashes to Ashes", nor are there currently any plans for the character to appear in any subsequent series. [http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ianwylie/2008/02/ashes_to_ashes_wheres_annie.html]

References