"Life On Mars" (2008) Season One Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

I hear there is some love out there for the new ABC show (and British import) Life On Mars. Tonight was the second episode for the show, it airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. It is not my intention to bump this thread weekly, but discussion is more than welcome on a weekly basis.

Where were you in 1973? NYPD Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) finds himself in the cultural hotbed of New York City in the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women's lib and the civil and gay rights movements - without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player -- suddenly hurtled back in time when he's ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He's trying mightily to understand what has just happened to him and how he can get back "home."

What exactly is going on here? It's like Sam is on a different planet. It's the Wild West out there: uncontrollable criminals, police on the take... whom can he trust? Forced to use a different moral code and without hi-tech crime fighting techniques, Sam clashes with his new boss at the 125th Precinct, the irascible Lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel), who would rather use his fists than his brains to solve a crime. Hunt, who has earned the adoration of the men under him, does his best to hide his humanity behind a gruff exterior and great gut instincts, in contrast to Sam's more politically correct cutting edge style. But the two begrudgingly combine to make a powerful team -- whether they like it or not.

Then there are the other squad members of the 1-2-5. Detective Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli), a big, mean guy in a street-fight with life. Ray may be a rough, tough sexist, but when the chips are down, he's a handy guy to have in your corner. Until Sam came along, Ray was the golden boy of the force and Gene's go-to guy. It's the man's man against Sam's charming wit, charisma and eerie futuristic knowledge of not just police procedure -- but the whole culture -- that puts them toe-to-toe in this face-off for Gene's approval.

Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) is a member of the Police Women's Bureau. At a time when females were only allowed to do menial tasks and not real police work, she's the smartest person in the room. Little does she know that her dream of becoming a real cop will come true. Right now she's struggling to deal with being undermined, under-used and in general against the sexism of the times. However she's the one person Sam can turn to to help guide him in his new reality. Theirs is a strong bond. After all, they're both outcasts.

Rookie Detective Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy) is a sweet guy trying to make it in this uncompromising world, but right now he's out of his league with Gene and Ray. He's impressed with Sam's new way of looking at and thinking about policing, but that means he's at odds with Gene and his old school style.

In his 2008 life, Sam was in love with Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet) and, although Maya and Annie will never meet, Annie's workplace battles have paved the way for Maya to become a full-fledged cop. But a fascinating, unique love triangle evolves between Sam's "real" in-the-moment friendship with Annie, his longing to get back to Maya and the fantasy of what could be.

At home in Sam's apartment building in the East Village, there's Windy, a free-spirited, post-hippie chick who can teach Sam a thing or two about the cultural revolution taking place in front of his unbelieving eyes.

Just how will Sam deal with all this ambiguity while trying to remain a top detective, as he desperately attempts to get back to 2008? He might just find things aren't so dissimilar in New York circa 1973 and 2008.

"Life on Mars" stars Jason O'Mara ("In Justice," "Grey's Anatomy," "Men in Trees") as Sam Tyler, Harvey Keitel ("Bugsy," "Reservoir Dogs," "The Piano," "Pulp Fiction," "Mean Streets") as Lieutenant Gene Hunt, Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos," "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day") as Detective Ray Carling, Gretchen Mol ("3:10 to Yuma," "The Notorious Bettie Page") as Annie Norris and Jonathan Murphy ("October Road") as Detective Chris Skelton. Lisa Bonet ("High Fidelity," "Enemy of the State," "The Bill Cosby Show") will appear as a recurring guest star as Maya Daniels.

Josh Appelbaum ("Alias," "October Road"), André Nemec ("Alias," "October Road") and Scott Rosenberg ("October Road") are executive producers. "Life on Mars" is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios.


Tonight's episode...
"The Real Adventures of the Unreal Sam Tyler"
Thursday, October 16, 2008 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on ABC
A string of fatal robberies at AAA Money check cashing stores are baffling the 1-2-5, and Sam jumps headlong into the case.

ABC.com - Life On Mars

[Master Moron]

I'm really enjoying this show so far. The one thing that I don't like is how it seems rather obvious that he's in a coma. This is especially frustrating since I read an interview with some of the cast members before the premiere and they specifically said that, unlike the British version, on this version it won't be clear that he's in a coma. But, I can't really think of any explanation for why he would hear doctors yelling "clear" or why he would see a doctor on the TV trying to talk to him in episode 1.

Then again, episode 2 was a bit different as none of the things in episode 2 really seem to indicate a coma. Seeing the future office in the reflection in the window isn't indicative of anything and the little space rover thing doesn't seem to indicate a coma either. I really hope they don't go with the coma idea since that would just be a rehash of the British series(which I haven't seen) I also can't imagine that they'd be able to sustain a series about a guy in a coma for more than one season.

[ROBOTRON]

I rate show a 3 out of 5.

I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. I never saw the Brit version but heard good things about it. I was expecting something completely different, but what I saw mirrored other shows/movies about some kind of time travel.

I'm a nut for sci-fi but so far Fringe still has my vote...even though I'm losing interest in that also.

[Michael24]

Am really digging this show. After so many boring procedural crime dramas and their copycats (C.S.I., Cold Case, SVU, etc.), it's nice to have just an old fashioned--no pun intended--cops and robbers show. Almost like last season's K-Ville, though I hope this one lasts longer.

I've liked Jason O'Mara since he was on The Agency several years ago, so it's nice to see him as the lead again. The supporting cast is good, especially Harvey Keitel, and I actually like Gretchen Mol for a change, and the period recreation is pretty sweet. At moments, I feel as if I actually am watching a rerun of a '70s show.

I heard the premiere had pretty good numbers, so hopefully they'll stay up and this will stick around for awhile.

Then again, episode 2 was a bit different as none of the things in episode 2 really seem to indicate a coma.

Near the end Sam heard the sounds of a breathing machine pumping, which seemed to mean coma to me. Though I agree, I hope that's not the case since that's what the British series did. I also haven't seen that one, but I've read about it since this version premiered and hope that, if it lasts for awhile, they go in another direction from how the UK one ended.

[Blackstar]

Eh, I'm not really digging this show's premise. It seems to me that Life on Mars will mainly appeal to viewers who are nostalgic for 1970s cop dramas. I personally have no nostalgic fondness for the 1970s, despite my having grown up in that era. I think that the producers are about 10 years late for 70s revival series.

Now if the guy was thrust forward 35 years and ended up in the year 2043, now that would be interesting.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I'm really enjoying this show so far. The one thing that I don't like is how it seems rather obvious that he's in a coma. This is especially frustrating since I read an interview with some of the cast members before the premiere and they specifically said that, unlike the British version, on this version it won't be clear that he's in a coma. But, I can't really think of any explanation for why he would hear doctors yelling "clear" or why he would see a doctor on the TV trying to talk to him in episode 1.

Then again, episode 2 was a bit different as none of the things in episode 2 really seem to indicate a coma. Seeing the future office in the reflection in the window isn't indicative of anything and the little space rover thing doesn't seem to indicate a coma either. I really hope they don't go with the coma idea since that would just be a rehash of the British series(which I haven't seen) I also can't imagine that they'd be able to sustain a series about a guy in a coma for more than one season.

The guy could be in a coma and have his "soul" still ALSO be in the 1970s, as well. I have no idea how the British version explained theirs, but Americans like to have their cake and to eat it too. Just a mindset to consider.

[HellCat]

Without giving anything away, the original was intentionally ambigious when it came to explaining what was happening.

[Bloody Marquis]

As a fan of the original UK series, I have to say that this version was surprisingly good. It stills feels weird to see Sam and Gene not played by John Simm and Philip Glenister. But still, I don't really have any complaints about it.

Eh, I'm not really digging this show's premise. It seems to me that Life on Mars will mainly appeal to viewers who are nostalgic for 1970s cop dramas. I personally have no nostalgic fondness for the 1970s, despite my having grown up in that era. I think that the producers are about 10 years late for 70s revival series.

I definitely wouldn't consider this show or the UK version to be a series that relies on 70s nostalgia to be good, but it's certainly a factor in both shows. The appeal comes from the fact that the series is really surreal and it kind of plays with the culture clash of a cop from the 21st century being in the 70s.

[Bones Justice]

I tried watching this show since the pilot was a free download. I was mainly interested in the time-travel aspect, though. The cop story was alright but nothing that really kept my interest. Still, I'm glad they didn't drag out the mystery of how he got there. It probably would have worked better for me as a movie but the pilot was close enough to that, I guess.

Now if the guy was thrust forward 35 years and ended up in the year 2043, now that would be interesting.

Yeah, I'd try watching that.

[mr.happy]

Cancelled.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...1fb33674c9fc89

I had another look at this a few weeks ago, and it didn't impress me at all. O'Mara was rubbish, but the rest of the cast weren't bad. Michael Imperioli and Gretchen Mol were particularly good, but the writing was very mediocre. Still, with the promise of the series actually getting a proper ending, I might check it out again during the TV off-season.

[Michael24]

As I expected, so I'm glad I hadn't watched since the "Fall Finale" where Sam found out the true about his dad. I figured it would be canceled soon after such a long break (haven't networks learned about putting ratings-challenged shows on such long breaks?), so aside from the little tease at the very end, I thought that episode would make an otherwise nice finale of sorts and a good place to stop watching. If it lasted the rest of the season, then I could have just caught up with the rest on DVD since it was a series I did really like, from the actors (Mol was surprisingly tolerable) to the period setting. Oh well.

[Master Moron]

As I expected, so I'm glad I hadn't watched since the "Fall Finale" where Sam found out the true about his dad. I figured it would be canceled soon after such a long break (haven't networks learned about putting ratings-challenged shows on such long breaks?), so aside from the little tease at the very end, I thought that episode would make an otherwise nice finale of sorts and a good place to stop watching. If it lasted the rest of the season, then I could have just caught up with the rest on DVD since it was a series I did really like, from the actors (Mol was surprisingly tolerable) to the period setting. Oh well.

It will last the rest of the season. ABC has stated that they're allowing the writers to give it a proper finale that resolves the mystery.

[Michael24]

Oh, okay. Well, that's cool. I just hope it's different from the ending to the original UK series.

[mr.happy]

It will last the rest of the season. ABC has stated that they're allowing the writers to give it a proper finale that resolves the mystery.

I wish more series could be planned out for short runs from the beginning, although that obviously flies in the face of the network TV business model, but in this case, I think cancellation can only help the show. Creatively speaking, anyway.

Oh, okay. Well, that's cool. I just hope it's different from the ending to the original UK series.

Don't even get me started on the UK version. One of my Brits practically begged me to watch it about a year ago, claiming it was a true television masterpiece. If that's the case, it's just further evidence of the low standards of UK television. I nearly pushed him down a flight of stairs when he suggested I try out the Gene Hunt spin-off set in the 1980s, an era that was bad enough without me having to endure British TV's take on it.

[GuardianKid13]

And another one bites the dust.

[Damien]

Heh, I actually thought this was canned a few months ago.
I saw the first episode, and I loved Harvey Keitel, but once we found out his girlfriend was okay in present day, I just said, "Oh. Alright then."

[TMC1982]

Why "Life on Mars" was bound to die
Like the British version, the "Life on Mars" concept was never meant to go too long, says Tim Goodman. "And," he adds, "people lost sight, in the American version, of the fact that the series is first and foremost about existentialism."

[Bloody Marquis]

Well, I actually kind of liked the first few episodes.

Still, I'll watch the original series (if only it was on DVD in America) and Ashes to Ashes over this show anyday.

[Michael24]

Still, I'll watch the original series (if only it was on DVD in America)

Here you go:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Lif...Series-1/11423

[The Penguin]

The American version of Life On Mars hasn't gotten a ton of love this season, but you've stuck with it, the final episode was tonight and promised some resolution. Is Sam going to get back home? Was he ever gone to begin with?

"Life Is A Rock" - Series Finale
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on ABC
A mysterious caller offers Sam the opportunity to go "home" -- but will he take it?