Life on Mars US -- premiers tomorrow 10/09

Cafe Society
#1

Loved the original, was looking forward to the US version in a nostalgic need-to-watch-in-memory-of-Sam sort of way.

Then…

Then I heard that Colm Meaney was playing Gene Hunt. Should be pretty good.

Then… oh, then…

Take a look at the preview. Not Colm Meaney. No.

:eek:Harvey Keitel:eek:

It looks visually close to the original – you know exactly who everyone is from the instant you see them. I have no idea how it’s going to differ from the original (I hope it does somewhat, both in individual plots and ultimate resolution), but it looks to be a fun ride for the time being.

Oh, soundtrack seems to be fantastic too.

#2

I’ll be interested to see how this translates to US TV. I reckon the nostalgia gimmick is strong enough that it would work anywhere. The soundtrack should be good, at least.
I do notice that the people in the US version are all slightly better looking than their British counterparts (well, maybe not Harvey Keitel). Kind of like that Comic Strip spoof where they had Al Pacino playing Arthur Scargill (in the Hollywood version of the British miners’ strike).

#3

Thanks for the reminder! I saw most of the original on BBCA and am interested in seeing what they do with it as well.

#4

I’m a fan of Harvey Keitel - can somebody give me a quick overview of this show? I still have time to set the DVR if it sounds like my kind of show…

#5

Cop gets hit by car in 2008, wakes up again in 1973. Can’t figure out if he’s travelled through time, is hallucinating, or in a coma. Anachronism ensues.

#6

iirc, without checking, in the US series the action is set a few years later than 1973, isn’t it?

#7

Nope, the US show is also set in 1973.

I’m recording the premiere tonight (I’ll be out watching the Dodgers game), but am looking forward to watching it sometime this weekend.

#8

The first US trailer actually set it in 1972. Obviously it’s been through some rewrites and recasting since then.

#9

It’s actually more of a cop show than a Lynchian WTF-fest. Well, the BBC version, that is. I’m not generally partial to cop shows, finding CIS, L&O (all 31 flavors) to be pretentious soap operas with guns. But this was more MI-5-like, with good cases and a relative dearth of cliches. Of course, it may have been chock full of them but they were invisible to my American perceptions.

The “what happened to Sam” bits were lightly interlaced with the main stories from week to week, with the overall focus rarely lasting on it for more than a couple minutes at best. Of course, we’ve yet to see how the American version treats it…

#10

I was wary about this because I love the original so much and there can only be one Sam Tyler. I pretty much only started watching the original for John Simm, because he’s awesome and he’s pretty when he cries (I never said I wasn’t shallow). But the commercials for the US version look like it could be good, and I expect Harvey Keitel to be brilliant as Gene Hunt. I have to work tonight, but I’m recording the show and looking forward to it.

#11

I noticed that this show is filming in my neighborhood today. Lorimer St is roped off. Go get a glance if you’re into it. The last show that filmed here, The Black Donnellys, actually showed my house in the first episode (it was the corner where one of the characters was run over).

#12

The only thing I worry about…

I like Ambiguity in shows. however, “mythological element” sounds like an alarm bell to my ears.

#13

WHAT?! What’s that you say?! I can’t hear, I’ve got alarm bells ringing in my ears.

#14

I’m DVR’ing it and have… hopes… I guess would be the best way to put it.

I fear what they will do with Gene Hunt’s character, as much of what comes out of his mouth would bunch the panties of many censors. I don’t want him to seem evil, as many dark characters usually end up. He’s a cretin, not satan.

And WHY is Lisa Bonet in the show?

#15

I watched it tonight. I miss John Simm like crazy. And for most of the time, it was a word-for-word script. But overall, I didn’t hate it. I thought Harvey Keitel did a great job as Gene Hunt–he could have played it much more maniacally, but he kept toned down to the appropriate level. I liked the way it was shot. I’ll watch it again next week, though I’ll admit, if they stick that close to the original for the rest of the season, I might not stick with it. I’d like it ultimately develop like The Office, allowing the writers and actors to come into their own.

#16

I was pretty amused by it. I had seen part of one episode of the BBC version without having any idea what it was about. I surmised it wasn’t about living on Mars. It made a whole lot more sense now that I’ve seen the premiere.

I love the soundtrack and was just thinking about what I would be doing in 1973. I’d buy a Porsche Speedster and a 1967 Camaro SS for cheap. I’d have unprotected sex with Gretchen Mol because if worse came to worse, there was nothing that couldn’t be dealt with by a shot of penicillin. I’d go and catch the Who’s performance of Quadrophrenia at the Philadelphia Spectrum.

Harvey Keitel is pretty great. I wonder which episode he’s going to go Bad Lieutenant on us.

#17

It was in my neighborhood the day before. I got busy watching baseball, but I’ll try to catch a rerun.

#18

Well, not having seen the original I can’t compare but I was impressed. I loved the camera work, and acting. The hair on a few characters looks too much like make up. hopefully they can grow theirs in to match.

BTW anybody else get that same chill as the character when he turned and looked up at the Twin towers?

#19

Does Dean Stockwell appear as an advisor from 2008 that only Sam can see and hear?

#20

Definitely. I did not realize that it still got to me like that.