Life on Mars (US) season 1 - Page 8

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I guess I don't know for sure, but I would guess. I can't imagine they would have revealed that if they knew another season was coming. Perhaps they filmed that prior to knowing about the cancellation "just in case".

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Hell, no wonder I couldn't find it at Netflix or Amazon when I looked several months ago. Looks like July 28th now.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I can't find the exact story on tvguide.com, but I found this on Variety's website regarding the ending. The TV Guide article I read basically says the same thing as below, that the explanation was planned on a long time ago and the ending was no different had the series gone on longer:


Here's the story: http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_ai...own-terms.html

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I'm still not sure what to make of the ending of this series. Since I had already seen the conclusion of the BBC version of Life On Mars, this ending was, to say the least, very unexpected.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I was a bit surprised to learn that the original British series - which lasted for 2 seasons - actually was only comprised of 16 episodes in all. So the U.S. "re-make" actually was longer by one episode with a 17 chapter season. (In retrospect I should have realized that British TV "seasons" tend to be much shorter. The late, great Fawlty Towers had two 6 episode seasons that were spaced apart by several years. The tremendously memorable stories and the hiatus give a feeling that there were so many more episodes in my opinion.)

The Variety article cited above seems to indicate that the finale that we saw in the U.S. version of Life on Mars was planned from the outset and not just slapped together at the last moment. Given the flighty (to be kind!) nature of network TV executive programming decisions this is the type of thing that series producers should have in place whenever starting a new episodic series. J.J. Abrams indicated just such a plan when asked about the story arc for his interesting show, Fringe. To paraphrase, he indicated that there was a solid beginning, middle and ending in place and that the only variable was whether the show would last for 13 episodes or 13 seasons. He was good to go in either eventuality. A wise plan of action in the uncertain waters of network television.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Initial interviews with the producers from before the series started (I posted some links earlier in the thread) indicate that they knew exactly how the wrap up in the last few minutes would be right from the start. It explains just about everything that we saw. They stated that they wanted a different explanation from the BBC series because they didn't want someone to be able to just look up the BBC series on wikipedia and get the explanation. The big surprise was that 2008 was also "not real."

It would have been nice to have more seasons in 1973, but I'm glad we got what we did. We have 16 episodes of the BBC version, 17 of the US version and we also have Ashes to Ashes currently airing on BBC America with a second season to follow later this year.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

By the way you can find the Life on Mars podcasts at http://a.abc.com/abc/xml/podcastRSS?...lishKey=138015

There is a new one discussing the series finale.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Just watched the last two episodes yesterday. Loved it! And was so happy we got a real ending to the story. One that I never would have predicted. One thing though... I swear I saw Lisa Bonet's name in the opening credits, but don't remember seeing her in the episode. I'm wondering if she was cut at the last minute to give us our conclusion to the series.

I really was surprised that they were able to end the series properly, as I was afraid that they might have not been given enough lead time. Still, I imagine there was some pretty hasty re-writes! I mean, I had heard that things would "be explained"... but was scared that it would just be a set-up to the next season (which we weren't goin' to get). Glad it all worked out.

Anyway, I know I'm late to this party, just wanted to give my thumbs up. Actually, I think this show was perfect as a one season wonder and didn't overstay its welcome (Prison Break, anyone?).

Loved the show. Glad it got its ending!

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

No one has ever discussed how the end of the series fits in with the beginning of the series. So based on the start and end shows, he is actually an astronaut dreaming he is a cop in the present time who gets into hit by a car and dreams within the dream that he is now a cop in the 70s. Just wanted to get that straight. Doesn't come out of the 70s dream into the present day dream, but wakes up right into reality.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Correct. The series began with him in the midst of his full-on "2008 Cop" dream, though it was less a dream than "artificially induced state within suspended animation". In this state he had love, colleagues, crimes to solve, etc. (even a whole life history, parents, childhood, etc.) But there was a glitch, and it took the form of a speeding car, and the computer zapped him into its version of the 70s, and his real persona and dream persona began to merge.

Kinda convoluted, but it makes sense to me, because (and this, oddly enough, was one of my early complaints about the show) it didn't really feel like the actual 70s, but some film version of the 70s. Considering it was a simulation, this now makes... "sense".

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Also the fact that Angie Dickenson's "Police Woman" reference was off by a year, doesn't matter! Just another glitch!

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Wasn't there also some kind of "Dream Police" reference in one of the last episodes? Off by 6 years.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

You apparently missed her in the 4 other episodes she was also in.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Sorry, is this a joke? Or was she actually listed in 4 other episodes and didn't appear? What's up with that? I thought I remembered seeing her (in flashback) or at least hearing her voice in several other episodes.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I think she played his girlfriend in 2008, so she wasn't present much, but I believe he was serious saying she was in 4 episodes.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Could it be that Lisa Bonet had a scene in the finale and it was cut for time?
A bunch of the episodes followed the extended Lost episodes. I wonder if some of the episodes were cut when they were shown on ABC.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

I don't remember seeing her either in the finale or in other episodes other the the pilot.

I do have a a vague memory that I might have seen her on one instance, mid season when Sam was looking into the TV and seeing images from 2008.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Wasn't there a 'flashback' scene in the last episode? I think Bonet's face was among the images, in which case, they'd have to give her credit I guess.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Wasn't she a nurse in a soap opera that Sam was watching on TV where she basically said she had to move on with her life?

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Bonet played Detective Maya Daniels, girlfriend of Sam, and not all her appearances were in later episodes. One was in the first episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KP8TP0EB68

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na4kBIl_CYU

http://www.astrodispatch.com/2009/03...gets-canceled/

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1530285.ece

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

Much of Lisa Bonet's "appearances" consisted of being one of the voices in the background when Sam was thinking he might be in a coma and he thought he heard the people around him in the ICU, urging him to come back.

Re: Life on Mars (US) season 1

So I've gotten my hands on the British DVD and I can definitely see why those of you who saw that first were saying it's practically identical.

... Even the actors look similar, especially Chris in both versions. I just finished the 'football' episode, and I'm hoping they start to diverge pretty soon. Either way, they're both very good, as far as I'm concerned.

Guys-

Some of you may know this; I saw a promo on my local PBS station, KQED serving the San Francisco Bay Area, will air the UK version of Life on Mars starting this Friday. I've only seen the US version, so I may try to catch this.

The UK version is, (IMHO) infinitely better.  I think the US version really suffered because of star power.  I feel bad for the show, because they retooled when they had a set staff.. and I think who they had at the beginning of casting was better then what they ended up with...

I think the show would have been better off if it had used a completely different cast of characters and completely original scripts, just keeping the concept of a modern detective getting hit by a car and waking up in the early 1970's. Right up to the end, it was impossible to avoid direct comparisons.

I, too thought the British version of the show was much better.  The British version had a much better ending to the series than the US version, as well.