Life on Mars

[sweetbread]

Anyone watching this? It comes on ABC at 10PM on Thursdays nights. Third episode in on this week. I caught the first two, and I must say that I like it thus far. It packs a pretty good cast of actors, Harvey Keitel, Lisa Bonet, Micheal Imperioli (Goodfellas and Sopranos) and Gretchen Mol.

It's an American remake of the British series of the same name which ran about 2 years ago, I do believe. The plot goes like this: a present day (2008) detective is hit by a car, and wakes up in 1973. Ironically, he finds himself working in the police dept with his fiance's father (I think, I may be mistaken on that....I have 6 kids, so I NEVER get to just sit and watch a show in it's entirety).

Needless to say, it's a very Thomas Covenant-ish sort of show. Am I dead? Dreaming? Are the sorts of questions that perpetuate the main characters thoughts throughout the story....

[Kevin164]

This detective from the future could make millions as a consultant to the Carter Administration.

[matrixman]

My thoughts from the Hangar echo yours, sweetbread:

Earlier this evening I watched the premiere of a new series on ABC called Life On Mars. It's a cop drama, with the twist being that the main character - a modern day detective - gets thrown back in time to 1973. Yes, you read that right. How does he get thrown back in time? By being hit by a car. Yep, when hit by vehicles, some guys get tossed to magical realms where they fight evil, immortal beings...while other guys get tossed back to the 70's to solve crimes.

I didn't know what the show was about beforehand. I mainly tuned into it because I saw that it had actors I recognized and liked: Harvey Keitel and Gretchen Mol. Well...the show was all right. The main thing was I got a kick out of seeing how they revisited 1973: the cars, the music, the fashions, the language...Keitel was a good fit, because his character might have been straight out of a Scorsese movie of the 70's. (Notably, Keitel was in Scorsese's Mean Streets). Keitel plays the main character's boss. Mol's character is a fellow police officer, and the show at least on a token level shows what a female cop of that era has to put up with in a department dominated by men. Also, the show juxtaposes our "trapped in time" detective's sophisticated training (think CSI) with the less subtle, more "thuggish" approach of his 70's counterparts, especially as personified by Keitel.

I'm also liking the show so far. I seldom follow prime time dramas nowadays, but for whatever reason, Life On Mars has my attention. I did not know it was a remake of a British series.

[vasko]

It was hugely popular over here, never got round to watching myself tbh. I think we had S2 on recently.

[Kil Tyme]

Wow, this is a great new show! Very smart and high production quality. I like the little things that he sees and hears to make him (and the viewer) wonder what is going on. Very TCOTC, books 1 and 2. I also love the music and atmosphere of '73 when I was young teen. Definitely one of the top shows on TV for me.

[lurch]

okay i gave it a try last nite...Life on Mars is another show that has essentially jumped on the LOST bandwagon,,that is to say,,is heavily involved in presenting The Surreal. There is at the center,,the thematic search for identity. What is real and what is Illusion blur boundaries to the point the two are inseparable thus a third " reality" is discovered,,the Truth of Oneself(identity).

Like Eli Stone, this show does not camoflague itself. Its otherwordly and dark humorish perspective is laid bare and straight forward. The ironys or play of the opposites ( then and now) are funny and at the same time thought provoking. Yet, its a bit clunkish in its writing. The writing needs abit of polish for my tastes,,its good but could be a bit more subtle, like,, whats with Harvey K,, having to repeat everything he says at least 3 times? Maybe its a motif that will explain itself over time, like Lost's repetition of the Black and White motif or the close up of the EYE motif. The ocher overcast or filter, sometimes gets in the way and sometimes works..Perhaps on second viewing I'll get use to it.

Like LOST, EliStone etc etc et al, there is social commentary being made in the search for identity. And in there is the Art. Mars juxtaposes the extremes ofthe past with the present and the viewer is left to come up with his or her own Truth. Mars is another exposition of what it is to be a human being in Modern Times...Art. That this type of TV show has caught on , mostly due to the popularity of LOST,,producers and Network Exe's are willing to back up a show that doesn't Insult the intelligence of the viewer. This is great. For that alone it has my interest. I was there in the early 70's so yes i can laff at my self as well, that is to say, I can see the humor in this show as well. I look forward to a second viewing.

[matrixman]

Terrific analysis, Lurch. There's definitely more going on than meets the eye on this show.

The difference with me is that I wasn't there in the early 70's, so in a sense that period is like Mars to me. Oddly, I feel some nostalgia for that time, but it's an artificial nostalgia, based on pictures, tv and movies from that era I have seen, filtered through my childhood memories of the late 70's. It's all a weird potpourri of associations.

[Kil Tyme]

Well, like most new shows you need to watch the first one to see his motivation. I thought the first two eps were outstanding, the 3rd ok. abc.com has full eps of most of their shows, like all the networks do; that's how I got caught up.

[sweetbread]

Well, like most new shows you need to watch the first one to see his motivation. I thought the first two eps were outstanding, the 3rd ok. abc.com has full eps of most of their shows, like all the networks do; that's how I got caught up.

Agreed, on all accounts. Lurch, that WAS a fantastic analysis. Some people are just so much better at presenting what's on their minds that I am....

The last episode, I must admit, I was not all that impressed with. The first episode was what reals a person in, then after that, it's just building. Unfortunately, we understand that we may NEVER find out what is happening because the truth is disguised and dispensed bit by tiny bit within the grounds of the show. So aside from the first and second episode, I feel as if we're getting more and more of a "cop show" with tiny bits of revelation in each episode; just enough to keep Lisa Bonet out of the unemployment line....

Life on Mars or a few rounds of Mario Kart Wii before bed. For the past three weeks, LoM has won that contest. That will be the real test of the show; whether or not it can hold my interest long enough to thwart my need to place 1st in every 150cc race .....

[matrixman]

Well, that's not a fair contest, sweetbread. Life On Mars is a mere television program, while Mario Kart is an addiction for life. (And I haven't even played the Wii version.)

[CovenantJr]

What the hell?! Why remake Life On Mars when the original is perfectly good and right there? Besides, there can be no copying Gene Hunt.

[matrixman]

See, Cov? You jinxed me, because I missed last week's episode. Well, okay, I was out buying Halloween treats that night. I've never seen the original show, and do not know Gene Hunt.

[lurch]

..yea.. well.. the Russians put up the first satellite,,Sputnik,,and where are they today?.. Up there floating around in the ISS bought and paid for by US tax dollars..thats where!!..Whats my point ? I don't know.. Has Obama won yet?

[matrixman]

Not yet, but Obama appears to be well on his way. They've projected that he's won Ohio.

[Loredoctor]

I started watching Life on Mars (the British series). It is fabulous. Once again, John Simm gives an outstanding performance.

Montresor?

[Montresor]

Excellent series. Unfortunately, I saw the some of the second series before starting to watch the whole thing . . . but the mystery is still compelling. John Simm is always gold, in any case.

[Infelice]

I loved the BBC series. Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt character was superb and John Simm was great also.

(And Im sure Marshall Lancaster, the actor who plays DC Chris Skelton is Ringo Starr's love child!!!)

What surprised (and dismayed) me a was the number of 70s songs that I remembered the words to

The American series is currently playing on tv here... I missed the start but Im not sure it will feel the same as the original.

[Loredoctor]

(And Im sure Marshall Lancaster, the actor who plays DC Chris Skelton is Ringo Starr's love child!!!)

It's funny you write that. I said the same to Montresor last night.