Ever since Norman Lear’s huge success in the early 1970’s with adapting Till Death Us Do Part and Steptoe and Son for US Television as All in the Family and Sanford and Son, respectively, American television producers have repeatedly attempted to recapture that lightning in their own bottle. Subsequent reinterpretations of British series into stateside programming have been good (Queer As Folk, The Office), bad (The Ropers, Men Behaving Badly) and ugly (Payne, Coupling) and, arguably, none have reached the critical acclaim, high quality, and cutting edge scripts of the two Lear sitcoms. And still the attempts continue, right up to today. The 2008-2009 television season saw no fewer than two series based on British shows debut in America. One of those was Life on Mars.
Life on Mars originally aired as two series of eight episodes each, one airing in 2006, the other the following year. The show tells the story of DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Sam Tyler who, after being hit by a car in 2006, awakens to find himself in 1973. In the earlier year he finds that he is a new addition to the Manchester police as a DI (Detective Inspector) reporting to DCI Gene Hunt and working alongside Ray Carling, Chris Skelton and Annie Cartwright. While trying to figure out if he is experiencing all this while in a coma in 2006 or if he has really time-travelled or has even simply gone mad, Tyler struggles with many cultural clashes in encounters in attitudes and police procedures all the while coming to terms with the many voices from the future and mysterious phone calls he keeps hearing. Viewers are kept guessing along with the main character as to what is really going on right up until the final episode and even that doesn’t tie things up in a neat bow. All sixteen episodes of the original are highly recommended viewing in their own right so definitely seek out the DVD sets.
When reinterpreting this fantastic series, developers Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg changed very little in regards to the premise other than changing the location to New York City. In fact, several scripts are direct rewrites of the UK originals, something that traditionally has not gone well for these remakes. The devil is in the details, however, and the the things that are added or altered for this version are what make it its own show. Although the 1970’s had global political and social concerns, each country had their own local issues to deal with. Issues of race, the ongoing US involvement in Viet Nam and the increasing scrutiny of top politicians may have been felt in England in 1973, but they were very hot button topics in America and in one of its largest cities. Then there is a hippy, trippy neighbor, Windy, who was not in the original that may just know more than she lets on…or she may just be unbelievably spacey.
Speaking of characters, there is also the obvious fact that there was re-casting done, which initially turned me off of the remake. As an example, Philip Glenister not only originated the character of Gene Hunt, but became so identifiable as him (he is still playing the role in the sequel series Ashes to Ashes which begins a third series in 2010) that the thought of anyone trying to portray Hunt was inconceivable. Wisely, the new producers decided to pick Harvey Keitel for the role, who gives a performance that is very different from, but equally as powerful as, Glenister’s. Additionally, and perhaps with just the tiniest bit of irony, they went with a native of the British Isles, Jason O’Mara in the lead role as the American Sam Tyler. Again, O’Mara does a terrific job of portraying Tyler’s fish out of water bafflement, but never devolves into an imitation of his predecessor, John Sim. Another sterling performance is Michael Imperioli as Ray Carling, every bit the menacing bastard of the original, perhaps even more so following his memorable run on The Sopranos.
Obviously being an American of a certain age, I can relate much more to a 70’s New York City than I can to a similarly depicted Manchester, England and that probably goes a long way towards me really liking this version. Admittedly, it also took a while for me to warm up to this incarnation, but that wouldn’t explain why people unfamiliar with the original would stop watching this one. Certainly giving the who a two month hiatus with no promotion or recap upon its return harmed the show irreparably, I really don’t think that can be argued. For serialized drama, a long break with no refresher can pretty much be a death knell. What is slightly bewildering is that ABC is notorious for painstakingly bringing viewers up to speed on their crown jewel, Lost with recap hours more than once a season. If they could have given Life on Mars even some of that same attention, there is every possibility it would have caught on. Be that as it may, at the very least they gave the producers enough notice that they were able to provide an ending to the series and one that is wildly different than the original. While it is an ending that will not be as fiercely debated as that of the other series, it is one that is wholly satisfying and eluded to through the run of episodes, even if you weren’t aware of it. Watching this show for a second time you realize that all seventeen episodes (one more than both series of the original combined) provide a complete, engaging and entertaining series. In a way, it’s almost good that this is all we got and that it didn’t continue for many, perhaps unnecessary, seasons.
There are some decent Bonus Features included in this set, perhaps the coolest (for me) being “Flashback: Lee Majors Goes To Mars.” The features has 70’s television icon Lee Majors being given a tour of the 1970’s police station set by star Jason O’Mara. Having grown up in the 70’s with Majors being one of my childhood idols, I’m not sure I can properly describe have fantastic this feature is and, I suspect that it will be meaningless to anyone born after 1971. But for those who regularly pretended to be Colonel Steve Austin at school recess, you will love watching this. “To Mars And Back” is a great making-of piece that shows you how they make 2008 look like 1973 and “Sunrise To Sunset With Jason O’Mara” gives you a glimpse of what a lead actor’s day is like. I wish the latter feature had been a little longer and showed more of his day than the shooting of two action sequences, but it is insightful enough to warrant the time of even a casual viewer. “Spaced Out” bloopers from the set, ten deleted scenes and audio commentaries on four episodes round out the extras.
I readily recommend this Life on Mars: The Complete Series set and think it provides a complete story that is a fun, dramatic piece of television storytelling. It is much better viewed over the course of a few days and, once you see the conclusion, worth multiple viewings. Buy it now and relive the 70’s!
DISC 1
“Out Here In The Fields” (w/ Audio Commentary)
“The Real Adventures Of The Unreal Sam Tyler”
“My Maharishi Is Bigger Than Your Maharishi”
“Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows”
DISC 2
“Things To Do In New York When You Think You’re Dead” (w/ Audio Commentary)
“Tuesday’s Dead”
“The Man Who Sold The World” (w/ Audio Commentary)
“The Dark Side Of The Moon”
“Take A Look At The Lawmen”
DISC 3
“Let All The Children Boogie”
“Home Is Where You Hang Your Holster”
“The Simple Secret Of The Note In Us All”
“Revenge Of Broken Jaw”
DISC 4
“Coffee, Tea Or Annie”
“All The Young Dudes”
“Everyone Knows It’s Windy”
“Life Is A Rock” (w/ Audio Commentary
Bonus Features
-To Mars And Back
-Sunrise To Sunset With Jason O’Mara
-Flashback: Lee Majors Goes To Mars
-Spaced Out
-Deleted Scenes