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« Kelvington's Corner
Life On Mars US Pilot...
First off let me say this, I loved, loved, loved the British version of “Life On Mars” it was clever, well written and seemed very real. It was better than your average cop show and I chalk this up to three things. Acting, Writing and Direction.
The basic plot line of the show was, a detective, Sam Tyler, investigates a crime and gets hit by a car, and wakes up in the 1970’s. He doesn’t know if it’s real or a dream, or if he has time travelled. The accident occurs while the song “Life On Mars” is playing in his car. When he wakes up in the ‘70’s it’s still playing in his car, but in this case on an 8-track tape, and not an iPod. In the course of the series run he tries to stop the events that lead up his accident. He is still a cop in the 70’s and he meets up with some great characters and we saw how policing was done back then.
Now to the US version, which doesn’t vary much from that theme. Now we all know from shows like “Cold Case” and “Quantum Leap” that recreating an era can be done fairly easily on a small scale. This show goes out of it’s way to do it on a much larger scale, from some CGI and large numbers of people walking the streets in 70’s garb, to just the basic feel of the time. That bit was well done.
The setup from the original show is almost exactly the same as it’s UK counterpart. Sam is a cop in both eras. We get to see how police operated back then, and this would have worked even better had it not been for a little show called “Barney Miller”. I think the production department used it as a reference tape for most of the sets.
Now both shows have the same hero/anti-hero in the form of Gene Hunt. If you have seen even one episode of the original show, then you know how amazing Philip Glenister was in the role, so much so, they created another series where he gets to play an ‘80’s version of the same character called “Ashes To Ashes”. In the US version the Hunt role is played by Colm Meaney, whom most people will remember from his Star Trek days. He plays the role with only about half the intensity that his British counterpart does, and with none of the finesse. I like Colm Meaney, but he’s no Philip Glenister.
As for the main role of Sam Tyler, well Jason O'Mara can not even begin to touch John Simm who originated the role. I’m not sure if the cast was asked to watch the original series before working on this one, but it might have helped.
The production does a great job a mimicking some of the tricks used in the original to blur the lines of what’s really happening to Sam. When the original show came on, I felt it was much more compelling than “Lost” and a lot more enjoyable. The US version I think will go down as another failed attempt to make a British Show into an American show, without all the sensibility and intelligence baggage. Sort of like the American version of “Red Dwarf”. To that end comes my main gripe with the show.
Lenny Clarke, he plays George Randall, a character that there seems no analog for in the UK version. He also seems like he’s playing the exact same roles he’s played a dozen times before, in particular he seems like he’s playing his Frank character from “The Job”. Often when Lenny speaks or acts, I keep waiting for Dennis Leary, or Diane Farr to walk around the corner and say “Lenny, you’re on the wrong set.”
The idea that you are going to take a show that lasted only a sixteen episodes total in the UK, and try to make a hundred episode run out of it, seems daft at best. My prediction for the series is a very short and confusing run, which will last five maybe six episodes, and it will leave the networks execs rubbing their heads wondering, “Should we have just imported the original episodes? Instead of trying to recreate something that didn’t need retouching.” If you have never seen the original you might find this to be the gem of a good idea, and you will wonder to yourself, “I think this could be done better somehow.” And you would be right, IT WAS.
Just my 2¢,
Kelvington
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Jun 18, 2008 7:11 AM
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Kelvington - I guess that you are a glass half empty type of person?
I am a big fan of the British version of Life On Mars, but I would have never said that it was more compelling than LOST. It was a great show, but it did have it's faults too! Sam never got the respect he deserved even after he solved a tough case. I thought that that was a weak point in the British version and it really bothered me that he was the lone professional in a group of idiots and never got any credit. I also thought that the series ended terribly! Did Sam go back to the present or not?
Now - on to the US version. I have not seen the pilot but I am looking forward to it! I am a big fan of Jason O'Mara and have liked him in everything he has done. I am also a big fan of Colm Meaney, going way back to when he acted in Far and Away. I am a bit concerned with Lenny Clark, he always plays the fool but sometimes over the top.
I never base a series on the pilot. I have seen some dreadful pilots that ended up being terrific shows. I really hope that you are being pessamistic about this show because I have high hopes for it.
This was a great blog - I just hope that you are wrong about Life On Mars!
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Jun 18, 2008 11:43 AM
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Ironic that ABC wants an "American" version, but hires 2 actors from Ireland, Jason O'Mara and Colm Meaney, both of whom have done lots of work on the BBC. TV is a wacky business!
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Jul 7, 2008 8:14 PM
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