# Life on Mars US -- premiers tomorrow 10/09 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050 "2008-10-08T20:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/41 "2008-10-11T12:55:13Z")
I enjoyed it. The lead guy looks good sometimes and looks like Charlie Brown the rest of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/42 "2008-10-11T14:46:37Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > My take on the show - boomer wet dream. Not bad, but I don’t know if I can get over having my nose rubbed in the extreme boomers reliving their glory days episode after episode. Huh. I thought that the picture it painted of 1973 was utterly unflattering, actually. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/43 "2008-10-11T16:51:20Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > Huh. I thought that the picture it painted of 1973 was utterly unflattering, actually. As compared to the real 1973? I am not so sure reality was all that wonderful. I think a pre-Guliani Times Square was probably not even close to what it is today, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/44 "2008-10-11T21:59:03Z")
> [@ASAKMOTSD](#): > > As compared to the real 1973? I am not so sure reality was all that wonderful. I think a pre-Guliani Times Square was probably not even close to what it is today, for example. Someone else will have to testify to its veracity, since I was -3 at the time. 😃 But the picture it painted seemed too unpleasant to be considered “reliving boomer glory days”. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/45 "2008-10-12T02:19:09Z")
I liked it. But I’m wondering how they’ll handle the question of why he’s in 1973. Without spoilering anything, the UK original went for a fairly surreal explanation. And it was funny how I recognized each character from the original (the hardass Gene Hunt, the young detective and so forth). ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/46 "2008-10-12T02:30:35Z")
Does the Michael Imperioli character develop or something? Because so far he’s just a hairy guy who makes really idiotic comments. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/47 "2008-10-12T03:40:41Z")
This show makes me really miss **Journeyman**. There are similarities in style, story, and the lead actors. I enjoyed this episode and I’ll keep watching if the quality holds up. Hopefully it’ll stick around, but these days it seems like the really interesting shows don’t last while all sorts of crap thrives. > [@Merijeek](#): > > That fact that he was saying that to the woman who played the lead in “The Thirteenth Floor” was pretty clever, I thought. That occurred to me, too, but I didn’t think it was a deliberate reference. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/48 "2008-10-12T15:02:14Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Does the Michael Imperioli character develop or something? Because so far he’s just a hairy guy who makes really idiotic comments. That’s “Ray Carling”. In the original, he’s idiotic, sexist, and racist. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/49 "2008-10-13T00:48:19Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > That’s “Ray Carling”. In the original, he’s idiotic, sexist, and racist. Plenty of worthwhile characters have been. Is he? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Atomicflea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Atomicflea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomicflea)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/50 "2008-10-13T01:33:01Z")
Never saw the original, and didn’t expect to like this as much as I did but there was something really compelling about the way the lead actor expressed vulnerability, and now I’m hooked. He was even earnest when he was acting like he was in love with Lisa Bonet, although I believed it more when she wasn’t around. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/51 "2008-10-13T12:24:29Z")
It felt stilted to me. And it also sounded like everyone was putting on fake accents, even though only one wasn’t American, and his accent sounded the most convincing. Weird. Not sure I’ll watch the rest. I’ll check out next week’s ep and make a decision. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/52 "2008-10-13T12:31:38Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Plenty of worthwhile characters have been. Is he? > > -Joe He grows, a bit. He is mostly Sam’s foil, though. It looked like this was direct lift from the original Series. Even next week’s preview looks like it’s using the same teleplay. Obviously, the football hooligan episode will not translate, so I expect to see some original scripts before long. The only difference, I could see, was US Sam said he was born in 1973, but UK Sam was five or six in 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/53 "2008-10-13T14:38:54Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > The only difference, I could see, was US Sam said he was born in 1973, but UK Sam was five or six in 1973. I thought US Sam said he was 4 in 1973…? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/54 "2008-10-13T14:51:37Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I thought US Sam said he was 4 in 1973…? Okay - then I must have misheard. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/55 "2008-10-13T16:02:02Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > BTW anybody else get that same chill as the character when he turned and looked up at the Twin towers? Nope. I’ve become calloused, I guess. I’ve come to expect a Twin Towers shot in any time travel plot now. ☹ > [@kingpengvin](#): > > Then there is the whole social aspect that, if this show does well enough, will be interesting to watch. This is the part that’s got my attention, the women’s status thing most especially. THIS is the kind of crap \*\*Zoe \*\*and my mothers put up with, and I think it’s easy for we young women (I was -1 in 1973) to mentally hand wave it away. But seeing Mol as literally the only woman, pretty and perfect in a sausage fest of smoke and wrinkles, was a bit jarring - in exactly the right way. I’m hoping they address race relations in a similar way. I liked it; I think it will help to fill the Journeyman gap a bit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/56 "2008-10-13T16:34:26Z")
Was there a lot of smoking?😕 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/57 "2008-10-13T16:38:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Was there a lot of smoking?😕 Oh, yes! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/58 "2008-10-13T17:02:59Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > The only difference, I could see, was US Sam said he was born in 1973, but UK Sam was five or six in 1973. They were both 4 in 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/59 "2008-10-13T17:10:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Was there a lot of smoking?😕 Well, there were people holding lit cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050/60 "2008-10-13T18:11:54Z")
I watched the premier with my boyfriend. He’s watched the entire original series (so far), but I’d only seen bits of a few episodes. According to him, the first episode was practically a shot-by-shot remake of the British version. On the one hand, that seems a bit lazy, but on the other hand, American remakes of popular foreign shows tend to be awful (i.e. Kath and Kim) so maybe it’s a good idea to stick closely to the original, at least at first. Boyfriend and I were initially disappointed that Colm Meaney had been dropped from the U.S. version, but I do love Harvey Keitel, and I think the cast on the whole is pretty strong. I’ll enjoy it more once Sam stops talking about 2008 and settles in to 1973. The fact that his actions in the first episode seem to have saved his girlfriend’s life really bugs me, though. I think it’s pretty obvious that his body is in a coma, in which case none of what’s happening in 1973 should affect real life. If the show is going to posit that Sam’s time travel is in some way real, I’d like to know that so I can watch it as a sci-fi show, not as a realistic fictional show. I need to know which “Suspension of Disbelief” settings to use, dammit! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars-us-premiers-tomorrow-10-09/467050.md?page=4)