Life on Mars (US) season 1

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

If you've seen any of the promo pictures, it looks identical down to the costumes as the original. The precinct is virtually identical to the Manchester station, and Sam dresses identical. Other than the acid blonde hair, Annie also looks very similar.
After being a big fan of the BBC program, I'm not sure I can get into a watered down for the FCC remake that's this close to the original. I am glad that they replaced Colm Meaney with Harvey Keitel. Meaney is just a softer, gentler version of the irreplacable Philip Glenister. Keitel is actually a native New Yorker, and his vibe is different enough from Glenister's that he won't need to suffer the direct comparisons.

So, I don't know. I just don't think it'll be the same without all of the smoking, violence, swearing and sex.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Another one I'm excited to see tonight!
WOW! Thursday is just jammed back with shows tonight.
It's going to be very hard to keep up tonight.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I'm excited to see this show too. The UK version was awesome. But the US version has Harvey Keitel, the Sopranos guy, and NYC as a backdrop. You just can't grittier than 70's New York. Should check out the clips online if you haven't yet.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I haven't really had the chance to see the original UK version, but I'm looking forward to seeing this version and the return of Scott Rosenberg, Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Jonathan Murphy to ABC.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

One big difference is that in the US, they want to make 150 episodes, while in the UK, it's more like 15. This make it tough, especially when there's a "gimmick" like this one.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Actually in UK it ran for 12 episodes, in two 6 episode seasons.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Set my DVR for this as it looks interesting(if for no other reason than Michael Imperioli's hairstyle).

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Nope - 16 episodes, two 8-episode seasons.
Series 1 / Series 2

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

So far it's like the UK pilot with ADHD. They nailed the look, from the noise-free blue-tinted HD footage in the present to the orange-tinted noisy film footage shot with 70's lenses and the same title card. 1970's New York is much better conceived than I anticipated, considering how familar modern day New York is to everybody and how much denser it is than Manchester, England. But Harvey Keitel is grumpy where Philip Glenister was compelling angry. And as I predicted, the smoking, violence and sex have been toned way down.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Enjoyed the premiere quite a bit. Seeing the Twin Towers was kind of a 'lump in the throat' moment both in the opening and closing segments.

Great, great soundtrack that brought back a bunch of memories. Probably haven't heard Little Willy (by the Sweet) since the mid '70s. Excellent integration of this song and Out of Time by the Stones in this episode.

- Walter.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

The music was one of the best things about the UK original, and I'll agree that that translated beautifully here.

Couple other nitpicks: Why replace the replace the mysterious faux-Jamaican barkeep with a completely unmysterious white guy from Poughkeepsie? If you have to stretch a 16-episode concept to 100 episodes or more, you presumably make things more complex instead of less intense. A black American affecting a rastafarian persona would be just as doable as a black Brit from Manchester affecting a rasta pesona. I also don't think Jason O'Mara did a great job selling his anger and frustration.

I hope they do more to play up the uniquely American aspects like the World Trade Center and the Vietnam War, since a lot of key generational differences from the original don't apply to American law.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I thought they did a great job in translating the first episode to New York City. Seeing the World Trade Center was an amazing moment pointing out to him that he really is in the past with the force of a sledgehammer to the heart.

To my memory most of the key points of the first British episode took place here. Also, when he was hit did people notice the images? (Spoiler for an upcoming episode based on British version first series finale knowledge.) Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) I agree that the use of music was great. I hope that they did the licensing correctly and they'll be able to release it properly on DVD. I can't see the UK version coming out in the US because of the music licensing costs.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

By the way, there is a great webpage with an online The Daily News full of articles from 1973 to put you in the mood.
NY Daily News

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I recorded this but wanted to see what the word was before watching it. To those who saw it, would you say it is more an episodic procedural show, or a serialized show?

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

There is an overall mystery of why/how Sam Tyler is in the past, but each episode should have self-contained elements with some crime that needs to be solved.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I love Harvey Keitel, but I think he's at least 25 years too old to play Gene Hunt.

Philip Glennister seemed to tower over John Simm, but Jason O'Mara seems more intimidating physically than Harvey Keitel.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Reminded me of Grand Theft Auto, the vibe of the show, that is. The look and feel and his car. And it has that Quantum Leap feel too, only he's stuck in 1973. I never saw the UK version, so I have no comparison.

This show, like Swingtown, seems to be continuing this desire to revisit the 70's. The music was cool to hear again. The shot of the World Trade Towers was pretty neat. As was said earlier, the show does feel like it might be happier on cable.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I think this was my biggest problem too. Glennister is not just imposing physically, he's a towering presence, period. Keitel can also be extremely compelling, but in a totally different way. If they write this Gene Hunt to his strengths, he'll won't be the same character but it might work better for the show in the long run. Definitely. HBO and Showtime would have allowed all of the sex, drugs, and dirty language intact and the slower pacing that commercial-free programming allows. Even FX would have kept more of the intensity.

For all my griping and comparisons though, I'm hoping this one can flower like the American "Office" did in the episodes to come. Once they're not trying to American-ize British scripts, the show will have a chance to find it's own voice.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I have nothing against the show. But, having seen it and now the british version also, this seems like a shot-by-shot, dialog for dialog recreation of it.

That's not necessarily bad, but I think it makes some of the elements where the comparison is always there. I'm very mixed.

I'm not even sure if this is a spoiler, but I guess the assumption is that he is in a coma trying to work his way out of it, or is it that his coma pushes him to the past... or who knows.

It's different, and the soundtrack is very good.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Nit Pick of the Day

Why did the picture appear on his television set the instant he turned it on?

I rank this as Life On Mars' equivalent of Swingtown's 2-hour-long Long Distance call.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I guess it all depends on whether this 1973 is real or a figment of Sam's imagination. The UK producers intentionally threw in anachronisms to play with the audience.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I didn't see the UK version and am willing to give it a chance. I liked the ep
last night, esp. the twin towers shot, ala Planet of the Apes. Wasn't expecting that. Did anyone notice the liscence plate of the car that hit Sam?

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I really liked, "In the future they have CDs and MP3s and they're real small and the sound is.....worse."
Putting the red light on the car Kojak style.
As already mentioned, a great Stones tune we don't hear that often.

So, does BBC America repeat the original series?

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I forgot to look - what was it?

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

HYDE35

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I loved the pilot.


Fox owns the DVD rights, so I have the uncomfortable feeling the music is going to be screwed with when it is released. They already have a great soundtrack in place (similar to their previous work, "October Road"). I would hate to see this destroyed by Fox.


BBC America recently had a marathon on Sunday, October 5th, but they don't seem to have any future airings listed on their website.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Because it was a solid state Sony TV with filaments that were always warm.
I can get you the model number Monday after work if you want. I can pull the manuals and check. A better question would be the cost. Those sets ran $900 in 1973. Also the last TV with any receiving tubes was built in 1976. Transistorized TVs started showing up around '68.

re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Ok, now I've seen the whole british series. Interesting. We'll see how it translates.

But the thing that gets me about the british series is how effective the actors are within their roles, in that they fill the role exceptionally well and come across as very believable.

This isn't an offense to Keitel, but he doesn't have that everyman quality to him that makes him an ideal figure for the role he's in. The dynamic between him and the character of Sam in the US version will have difficulty being as effective. That having been said, I'm now very interested to see how this goes on the US side, and there is nothing against it in it's time spot for me I give a darn about, so we'll go from there.

I do love the music; I wonder how long the premise can last. 16 episodes on the British side pretty well flushed the whole thing where it seemed reasonable. If they shoot for 100 episodes or something, the allusions to his real status are going to start seeming very weird.. I mean

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

I'm also wondering how many US viewers will get this. I almost wish this had the direction of someone like David Lynch, an almost Twin Peaks type US recreation rather then what it is. I really wish someone had the unaired pilot with Colm Meany, who despite his lack of major star talent in comparison to Keitel, he could have offered the role a more oafish crooked cop that might have been more effective and believable.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I thought the episode was really good. I heard that ABC will veer from the BBC version after the first episode, so we will see if that happens. I agree that if they include US-centric things/events from the 70's, it will be an amazing show. looking forward to this week's