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Opinion: multipleverses.com » Blog Archive » Why you should watch Life on Mars 
Sat, Nov 15
Why you should watch Life on Mars November 15th, 2008 By Kate Blake, ADMIN Multipleverses Life on Mars is moving to Wednesday nights this winter- and if you are not watching you should check it out! I loved the original BBC series and I have to admit I am eager each week to see what will happen next as this quirky cop drama set in the 1970s plays out on TV. One of the reasons I really like The Mentalist and Life are that those series are police dramas that rely on intuition more than DNA and sophisticated evidence. Life on Mars takes this even further as Sam Tyler a modern detective is thrust back to the past and this modern detective has to rely on intuition, memory of the past, and his true ability to use logic and tie disparate clues together to solve crimes- all while wondering why he is in 1973 , how he got there and if there is any way to get back to his life in 2008 with his girlfriend, his job and everything he holds dear. Jason O’Mara is capable and charming as Sam Tyler, Gretchen Mol plays Annie Norris the pseudo lady cop with an air of dignity and propriety that makes her stand out as a professional above and beyond her male counterparts. Michael Imperioli as Sam’s rival and foil is wonderful- and you have to love a man willing to sport the 70s ’stache! The real reason you should watch though is to see Harvey Keitel week after week as the tough as nails Gene Hunt. Gene is a cop in the mold of Dirty Harry and this weathered veteran lets nothing get in his way of getting the bad guys and bringing them to justice. His challenge in Sam is realizing sometimes it is more important to get the right guy than just some guy when going after bad guys. In the UK series it is the relationship with Hunt that Sam ends up realizing is important to him whether he likes it or not- no matter what he thinks of the man and his cave man ways. I love that every week when I tune in I get this vibe that is so reminiscent of the great cop films of the 1970s. I am huge Clint Eastwood fan and have the complete Dirty Harry Blu-Ray collection on my holiday wish list. I was a young child in the 1970s but remember the era well thanks to photographs, movies and tv re-runs. One of the things that Life on Mars manages to get across effectively is the air of unrest that permeated the mid-1970s. From racial tensions to women entering the workplace and challenging men for equality for the first time, to the free spirits who just wanted to be- all of these people breeze through Life on Mars illuminating an era in American history in a unique way. The sepia tones that the show’s exterior scenes are shot in are meant to both act as a filter in Sam’s mind- keeping him uncertain about where he is and why, and to let the audience know this was a murky time- there was good and bad in the world and we had fewer methods to distinguish them. I am hoping that at some point here the series will deviate from the UK version and deliver a truly unique vision of this series. I know a lot of people didn’t see the original so it is fresh to them- but when these types of shows are ported over to the US I think they do better when they are used as a template and not a full blue print. This week ( promo to come soon I promise!) Sam meets his father played by Dean Winters ( Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles Charlie) and Sam finds out some things about his father that explain a lot of things from his past that have haunted him and he sees a chance to change things. The question is- does anything Sam does now affect the future? Tune in to see! Here is the Life on Mars Starter Kit to give you what you need to know to watch the show- check my other posts for trailers and more info. You can catch up online at ABC.com with full HD episodes to watch online! Filed under: Life on Mars Article tags: life on mars review essay Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website
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