Life on Mars

[Peregrine]

Did anyone else watch the premiere of the show Life on Mars on BBC America? I'm sure it came out a bit ago in the UK but it's new here, and has a very interesting premise. A police detective is in a car accident, and apparently "wakes up" 30 years before in 1973, with the same job, an apartment, etc. There's a lot of hints that he's really in a coma and hears people trying to wake him up, doctors talking, etc, but at the same time the 1973 world he is in is very detailed, and if it's all a fantasy he's not sure how he could be making up so much accurate detail. Good stuff, take a look.

[dawgfan]

It's a god-awful small affair
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling "No"
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks
through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it
ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on

[CHORUS]
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man!
Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the Lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?

It's on Amerika's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse
has grown up a cow
Now the workers
have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
But the film is a saddening bore
'Cause I wrote it
ten times or more
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on

[CHORUS]
Dring-dring-dring......
[Mind the phone]

[Draft Dodger]

set up a season pass for it. haven't seen the first ep yet, but should get a chance tonight

[ice4277]

I watched last night. It definitely has promise. Anybody know how many episodes season one has?

[Ryan S]

I watched last night. It definitely has promise. Anybody know how many episodes season one has?

I think that there are eight episodes

[Draft Dodger]

8

and, for those of us with less-refined tastes, looks like there's an americanized version in preproduction. yay.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Looks interesting...

http://www.tv.com/life-on-mars/show/51334/episode_listings.html?tag=tabs;episodes

[Pyser]

you know, i really love that song...but i never realized how little sense it made until now.

[dawgfan]

you know, i really love that song...but i never realized how little sense it made until now.
Brilliant song, but I don't think Bowie has ever been considered a great lyricist.

[ice4277]

and, for those of us with less-refined tastes...

Well, you are an Avalanche fan. ;)

[rowech]

Don't know if there's a thread for the US version on ABC...anybody watch it from Thursday night? Thoughts?

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I'm not going to even bother watching the US version.

As for the UK... 15 brilliant episodes + 1 steaming turd.

[ShaneTheMaster]

I watched it.. it was okay. We all kinda knew the premise, but there was an interesting little twist in it - I don't want to give that away. Lot's of my favorite actors are in it. It was definitely good enough to catch episode #2. Harvey Keitel is funny and reminds us how things were before women were a respected in the workforce and political correctness.

[samifan24]

I read that the producers completely recast and reshot the pilot after watching the initial pilot.

[rowech]

Yeah....I don't know what the BBC version is like but I liked the pilot. I had heard they did totaly reshoot everything. Originally it was in LA, now NY. All completely different actors as well.

[samifan24]

The only actor they retained from the original pilot was the main character.

[Critch]

As for the UK... 15 brilliant episodes + 1 steaming turd.

Which one was the steaming turd? If you're meaning the finale, I disagree. I thought it was a great way to finish it off.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Which one was the steaming turd? If you're meaning the finale, I disagree. I thought it was a great way to finish it off.

Yup... The finale. I thought it would have been better if:

If they had rolled credits after he jumped. The "feel good" ending was fun, but didn't seem to wrap anything. Also, the finale pissed me off since it seemed so far removed from everything that the show had been building. In the previous episode Sam had finally befriended Gene and supported him. He believed in him. Then he is suddenly more than willing to throw everything out the window just to get back?

I am not surprised that they did not wrap everything up nice and neatly with a big bow, having Sam meet Annie in 2006. I was just a little put off that they took such a drastic turn from where the show seemed to be heading.

I need to watch Ashes to Ashes and see where it goes... I hear they gave a bit more insight into Sam in Episode 1.

[Draft Dodger]

Yeah....I don't know what the BBC version is like but I liked the pilot. I had heard they did totaly reshoot everything. Originally it was in LA, now NY. All completely different actors as well.

the pilot was kind of painful to me, mostly because the new DI Hunt was lame. I've got the new one recorded, but I don't have a ton of optimism. Phil Glenister was THE reason to watch Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

[bosshogg23]

I liked the pilot of the US version. The British version was more entertaining but the American version is good, with a few miscast people.

Harvey Keitel seems really old, hell he looks really old to be an active, physical cop like the character needs.

The American pilot basically copied the dialogue and music scores exactly from the Brit version. This will change soon if the American version lasts the season. Obviously 22 > 16 in terms of episodes. Supposedly the possible causes to the main characters circumstances will change each year. He lists 3, crazy, coma, time traveler. Each season will introduce a new cause supposedly.

[Draft Dodger]

The American pilot basically copied the dialogue and music scores exactly from the Brit version. This will change soon if the American version lasts the season. Obviously 22 > 16 in terms of episodes. Supposedly the possible causes to the main characters circumstances will change each year. He lists 3, crazy, coma, time traveler. Each season will introduce a new cause supposedly.

which, to me, sounds incredibly tedious. It got old at times in the British version, which, as you pointed out, was just 16 episodes.

[Draft Dodger]

well, I have to say the first episode was a mammoth improvement over the pilot.