# Life on Mars (2008) Anybody still watching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419 "2008-10-31T13:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/21 "2008-11-01T02:55:12Z")
It’s not at must-see status for me, but when I catch it, I tend to enjoy it. My SO is in his fifties, so he laughs pretty hard when the roommate/girl across the hall/hippie chick starts in on her stuff. (‘Omg! that reminds me of my time bubbles theory I had when I was in high school!’ “You mean when you were high a lot of the time? \” ‘Well…yeah.’ ) I loved the Nirvana tshirt bit. I got the jarringness of it about the same time as Sam did and enjoyed the bit with NoNuts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/22 "2008-11-01T06:44:05Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > This is how I feel. Incidentally, I’ve been trying to search for the threads on the BBC version, and getting just weird database errors instead. Anyone happen to have the links handy? (In particular, I just watched the finale of the BBC version, so the thread on that would be of interest to me) Don’t know if there are older threads on it, but since I just finished the series, I started a thread you’re welcome to join: [Life on Mars (UK) & Ashes to Ashes (spoilers!)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=490604) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/23 "2008-11-01T14:58:18Z")
I liked the British version better because it was more like life on Mars to _me_, i.e. lots of 1970s British pop-culture references escaped me and helped along my own sense of confusion, letting me identify with the main character. For the American version, there are only so many cutesy references to _Star Trek_ and such I can handle before they go from mildly amusing to tiresome and annoying. Hur-hur-hur, you just saw _Magnum Force_ and it wasn’t as good as _Dirty Harry_ and you hope Eastwood doesn’t make any more sequels, hur-hur-hur! ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/24 "2008-11-01T19:26:10Z")
I like it a lot so far, despite the large warning signs inherent in a show that is a US import from UK and has had to recast and reshoot the original pilot. However, like Lost or X-Files, it really needs to have an end date in mind. If the show does well and they drag the mystery on longer than is wise, or if the show doesn’t do well and they cancel it without resolving the mystery, I will be severely pissed. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/25 "2008-11-01T20:03:33Z")
I like the show, and find Jason O’Mara ineffably hot, but… one stupid thing is bothering me. If I were suddenly to find myself thrown back into 1973, I would be looking for ways to use my knowledge of past events to change the world, and make some money too. He doesn’t seem at all interested in that, only in his very personal little issues. That seems to defy logic and human nature. ETA: I’m glad in this last ep to find out that Keitel’s character Gene is actually a pretty decent guy after all. The Bad Lieutenant act was getting a little cartoony. Also, the soundtrack for this show is great. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/26 "2008-11-02T07:27:23Z")
So here’s my theory. Windy, the hippy chick who lives next door, is Sam Tyler’s spirit guide, in the same way the bartender was in the UK series. But so far nobody else but Sam has seen her. So does she exist? (In so far as anyone exists in this alternate universe that is Sam Tyler’s version of 1973) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/27 "2008-11-02T11:28:36Z")
I like it. I’d be going all Oedipal on his mom though. It actually upsets me that he’s not jumping all those sexy broads. I mean, he’s in a dream world, I think it’s like having a nocturnal emission. I’m sure Lisa Bonet would understand. I love the soundtrack. Mother and Child Reunion was recorded in 1972, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/28 "2008-11-02T11:34:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > So here’s my theory. Windy, the hippy chick who lives next door, is Sam Tyler’s spirit guide, in the same way the bartender was in the UK series. But so far nobody else but Sam has seen her. I like this theory, although I have never seen the UK version. My version is that Sam is in a coma and this idea was cemented for me in the second episode. When he confronted the child who be the serial killer in 2008, he heard Lisa Bonet’s voice on the radio: “Come back, Sam, it’s safe now” In my mind she was not telling him he was safe, but that she was unharmed and wanted him to know that. He risked his life trying to save her and now she wants him to know she’s safe. She’s trying to break through. We don’t know what people in comas can hear and she wants to bring him back. As for 73, well, Gene is a bit of a prick, to be sure. I didn’t really buy his change of attitude after Adrienne died, since he had been so fucking misogynistic before. Just like that, you want to fuck your insurance fund and burn the proceeds? For a whore, eh? No other women deserved your vitriol? No other woman was worthy? Bull. I’m not buying it. Gene should have stayed a bastard. At least for a while. I don’t need everybody to be squeaky clean. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/29 "2008-11-02T14:19:11Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I like the show, and find Jason O’Mara ineffably hot, but… one stupid thing is bothering me. If I were suddenly to find myself thrown back into 1973, I would be looking for ways to use my knowledge of past events to change the world, and make some money too. He doesn’t seem at all interested in that, only in his very personal little issues. That seems to defy logic and human nature. That’s a carry-over from the British show. I think it’s because Sam can’t accept that he’s in the real 1973, what with the freaky experiences that seem to relate to being a patient in a hospital in 2008. So far, they’ve followed the BBC show quite closely, and I guess Keitel was the best American actor for Hunt. Feels kind of strange to me, watching slightly different versions of the characters I knew. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/30 "2008-11-02T14:34:40Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > That’s a carry-over from the British show. I think it’s because Sam can’t accept that he’s in the real 1973, what with the freaky experiences that seem to relate to being a patient in a hospital in 2008. > > So far, they’ve followed the BBC show quite closely, and I guess Keitel was the best American actor for Hunt. Feels kind of strange to me, watching slightly different versions of the characters I knew. **Baldwyn** can you tell me what you what you like and what is wrong with the the US version. I hhhave some problems with this storyand alllelljah. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419/31 "2008-11-02T17:18:30Z")
I think it’s kind of interesting that he’s interacting so much with his own past. And that he has the same name in his role as detective in 1973. If I were him, I would start investigating his cover story. I would take a visit to the previous department in his file, his listed hometown and family. What can they tell him about his ‘new past’? I wonder if the UK version addressed this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-2008-anybody-still-watching/470419.md?page=1)