Postmodernism on Life on Mars

To what extent can S1 episode 1 of Life on Mars be seen as a postmodernist text? [15]

Which of the following post-modernist techniques and attitudes does it use, refer to or follow in its narrative, mis-en-scene, performance, visual/ audio codes, etc?

Life on Mars utilises post-modernist techniques like intertextuality. Explicitly, the title references Bowie's 70s song which suggests the sci-fi part of the hybrid genre. More implicitly, there are references to 70s TV with the university challenge programme and news; Enoch Powell is referred to, a political figure which highlights the dark undertones the episode deals with such as racism.  These indicate a media awareness which raises the question of whether the events he's dealing with are his personal memories or the constructed media versions. The series makes Sam's confusion distinguishing reality and the artificial clear; the simulacra idea of Baudrillard is referenced throughout. Nevertheless, the audience is not engaged with hyper-reality, we are aware Sam isn't experiencing real life. Sam is engaged within his own world,
The parody and pastiche technique within post-modernism is used in the episode, with the 70s cop show The Sweeney being alluded to through bleak mis-en-scene and clothing and narrative like chasing and violent scenes. One could argue the text is closer to being parody as iconography like iPods and cassettes, Jeeps, batches are employed to emphasise the ancientness of the time he's been taken too to an extreme. The episode also utilises the technique of bricolage, as the episode is fragments of different texts in the same crime genre,
Life on Mars implies various dark social issues like gender and racial inequality, however it doesn't indulge in them, merely including them in its iconography like the newspaper with the Enoch Powell story. This follows the post-modernist value of ambiguity and no single meaning. It is also ironic in nature.

Does it also use more traditional established techniques to connect with its audience, such as follow established genre conventions, create original characters, follow a linear narrative, etc? Briefly summarise these.

hyper-reality?
It follows genre conventions like crime narratives of catching the criminal and sci-fi utilisations of music and audio codes. Bowie's song 'Life on Mars' plays at the start of the episode, and could be argued to be part of the reflexivity in post-modernism, as we are aware this is a constructed reality. Furthermore, the character of the psychologist could be argued that to an extent it breaks the 4th wall, nevertheless its appearance is explainable within the show's established rules (enigma as to whether he's unconscious or actually time-travelled).
Life on Mars isn't necessarily ambiguous and meaning can be denoted. It has the overarching theme of finding your identity, as the narrative of the episode, according to Todorov's narratology, sees him on the equilibrium being questioned by Maya who claims "you used to believe in gut feeling", indicating he's too cautious instead of being daring, and by the disruption he has to learn to find himself whilst being in the past.
Despite the two different eras (starting in the modern 2000s and going back to the 1970s), the text follows traditional techniques like the linear narrative, instead of a fragmented narrative. This allows the audience to follow Sam's strange journey in a more conventional and straightforward way.