Life on Mars (2006)

United Kingdom, Best Drama Series 2006 and again in 2008. Sam Tyler, a modern Manchester detective, is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973, working under the gloriously unreconstructed DCI Gene Hunt. John Simm plays the confusion straight, Philip Glenister steals every scene, and the mystery of whether Sam is mad, in a coma or really back in time gives every case a second layer. Two series and 16 episodes tell a complete story, and Ashes to Ashes carries Gene into the 1980s if you want more. Winning twice puts it in rare company: only The Street has matched it in this category since 2002.