Featurettes

I want to go to Mars. David Bowie sings about it. Heck, Disneyland would go to Mars if it could. Why? Because it's cool--just like the 70's. Yes, the 70's were cool after all even with the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (no, not the album but the very bad musical. How bad was it? George Burns sang in it and HE was the highlight). After all, who among us (that were alive in the 70's mind you) don't miss those collars that were a mile wide? Who doesn't miss the wild and free sex? OK, maybe it wasn't so wild and free but it was potentially wild and free. I mean who could possibly miss Richard Nixon as President as he lied and cheated his way into office or who would want to miss Gerald Ford messing up and stating that Eastern Europe wasn't a Communist stronghold (in case you weren't there at the time--it was)? Good times, good times except for Sam Tyler in "Life on Mars". He really doesn't want to be there. ***

Based on the popular BBC import, “Life on Mars” originally ran two seasons (although in the UK they are referred to as “series” vs. seasons and given the short nature of many of these shows it’s understandable). I had high hopes for the U.S. remake after all NBC’s “The Office” quickly stepped out of the shadow of Ricky Gervais BBC original. The U.S. version of “Life on Mars” both disappoints and exceeds those expectations and I’ll explain; on the one hand it stayed too faithful to the original BBC series so much so that the exceptional pilot episode is essentially a straight-ahead remake. By midseason the show had found its own legs though and began to investigate stories that weren’t derived from the original series and it began to forge ahead on its own nicely integrating iconic touch points from the 70’s in the U.S. ***

Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) finds himself throw back in time to 1970’s New York when he’s hit by a car while tracking down the serial killer that has kidnapped his partner. He retains his name, has a new badge and must try and fit in with the harder police officers of the time and deal with the limitations of police science. He finds himself often going toe-to-toe with his new boss Lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel) and at one point moving beyond that to an all out fight. His fellow police officers believe he may be suffering from the after effects of a concussion or be crazy or both since he claims to be from the future. The only sympathetic ear comes from officer Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) who also finds herself strangely attracted to what the other officers including his police nemesis Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli) consider a nut job who also could be a threat to the department. ***

Is Sam losing his mind? Is he in a coma as some of the bizarre incidents in his life suggest or has he been sent back to the past with a purpose? You’ll have to decide for yourself as the series presents a number of alternates for viewers to choose. ***

I should note that fans familiar with the BBC version will be VERY surprised by the conclusion of the U.S. version which takes a radical turn away from the conclusion of the BBC show. Luckily the producers had enough forewarning to craft a closer for the final season although it also opened up the possibility for an even more complex independent story arc if there had been a season two. Unfortunately, the series ended up being buried at 10pm so very few people were aware it was even on during its brief 17 season run. ---

Image & Sound:

“Life on Mars” doesn’t look completely alien; the show had a gritty look from the very first frame of shot for the show. Since the show was shot on 35mm film with a digital intermediary it allowed for post production manipulation allowing the producers to alter film grain, texture and even the color scheme in post. The show retains those qualities in its DVD premiere. There are a few digital artifacts that crop up now and again such as halos, etc. but on the whole the show looks quite good. ***

Audio is equally as strong with a nice 5.1 mix that gives life to these denizens of a strange, very different world from the one Sam came from. The music often sounds marvelous as well and since we have a variety of vintage 70’s rock songs used to underscore what’s occurring (and often acting as ironic counterpoint), it’s nice that they paid attention to the details and did such a nice job here.

We get a number of very good special features for the show. We get a featurette that focuses on the concept behind the series and how it was adapted for a U.S. audience. ***

Another featurette focuses on the “look” of the 70’s from wardrobe to popular designs in buildings, cars, etc. ***

“The 1970 Perspective: Police Procedure and Precincts” focuses on the changes in law enforcement rules from the 70’s and compares it to now including how detectives often tackled an assignment as well as forensics. ***

We also get a behind-the-scenes featurette hosted by a “mystery” guest. I don’t want to give it away because, well, it is intended to be a bit of a mystery. It’s kind of clever. ---

Final Words:

Remakes are sometimes a bad thing but as “The Office” proved once a remake finds its own groove, it can take off and soar independent of the original source. The same can be said for “Life on Mars” while the U.S. remake is heavily dependent on the original series for the first 8 or so episodes the show does begin to find its own voice mid-season. It’s a pity that the show was cancelled because based on the conclusion to the season the show would have taken its own unique path if it hadn’t been cancelled. ***

Coma or time travel? You decide (at least until the left field conclusion of the serires). ***

The production and actor is exceptional and since this version has American icons reference it might be a bit less challenging than the original BBC series. Recommended.