Steve Roby (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} steve_roby) wrote,@ 2009-04-11 13:32:00 |
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Life on Mars US
Watched the US series finale this morning. Spoilers for LoM US and UK below.
The UK version was unlike anything else on TV, and its ending was surprising and shocking. The American version had to have a different conclusion, because anyone could find out how the UK version ended. And, about two or three minutes into the US finale, I knew how it would end. Instead of Sam waking up from a coma in 2008, he wakes up in a Mars lander in 2035. There were clues all along, things that related to Mars but not to the Bowie song or the UK TV series. There were red herrings, too, like the episode that gave the impression this was going to be a cross between Quantum Leap and Touched by an Angel. Still, anyone who thought this ending came out of nowhere -- especially after word got out that it was definitely a science fiction kind of ending -- wasn't paying much attention.
There's some criticism that the VR angle means it was all a dream, but was the UK version really more than that? For that matter, it's clear that Sam was working out some issues with the VR versions of his crewmates. He sorted out his father issues, and, judging by a glance or two and a line of dialogue about things getting more complicated, he's realized that there's some potential for a relationship with the real world version of Annie. It wasn't meaningless. (For that matter, who's to say the 2035 reality is the real one? Remember Red Dwarf's "Back to Reality"?)
So... that's the end of the series. Was it as good as the UK version? No, for several reasons. First, the UK version had Philip Glenister instead of Harvey Keitel. The American Gene Hunt had some great moments, but he was overall a shadow of the greatness of the British version. Second, the UK version took the whole compare-and-contrast 1973 and now element of the show much more seriously, from police brutality to racism and sexism. The US version played it a lot more lightly, especially in the really goofy episode about black revolutionaries. The UK version was set in Manchester -- one of the UK's big cities, but, in 1973, a fading industrial city. The American version should have been set some place like Cleveland, not New York City.
I originally thought Jason O'Mara was horribly miscast, but I gradually changed my mind. No, he's not in any way like John Simm, but the US series had to find ways to differentiate itself from the UK version. That ended up being one of them, and it gradually started working. Gretchen Mol played a somewhat different kind of Annie from the UK version as well, but she was great from the start.
The US series had a lighter tone overall, so the lighter ending worked. Looked at as a series, it was a bit of a mess. There were at least a couple of episodes that left me wondering if I needed to bother watching any more, and a few times I thought they'd started randomly throwing things overboard, like Windy, who disappeared after a few appearances but finally reappeared nearer the end. I'm still not sure what the point of a few things was. And the tone was inconsistent, too -- sometimes broad and comedic, sometimes emotionally affecting. It's certainly a long way from being an artistic triumph. And yet I'm glad I watched it. When it was good -- often when Mol had a major role -- it was very good indeed, in its own way.
I'm tempted, now that I'm used to O'Mara, Keitel, Mol, Michael Imperioli, et al., to rewatch the first American pilot, with O'Mara and Colm Meany in LA. I think I'd find that I was right when I saw the aired first episode: what we got, flawed though it undeniably was, was a lot better than what we might have had.
Meanwhile, in a week and a half, Ashes to Ashes returns. I didn't think the first season was anywhere near as good as Life on Mars UK. Maybe they'll have fixed a few things. There's no reason for a show with Keeley Hawes and Philip Glenister to be anything less than great.
Watched the US series finale this morning. Spoilers for LoM US and UK below.
The UK version was unlike anything else on TV, and its ending was surprising and shocking. The American version had to have a different conclusion, because anyone could find out how the UK version ended. And, about two or three minutes into the US finale, I knew how it would end. Instead of Sam waking up from a coma in 2008, he wakes up in a Mars lander in 2035. There were clues all along, things that related to Mars but not to the Bowie song or the UK TV series. There were red herrings, too, like the episode that gave the impression this was going to be a cross between Quantum Leap and Touched by an Angel. Still, anyone who thought this ending came out of nowhere -- especially after word got out that it was definitely a science fiction kind of ending -- wasn't paying much attention.
There's some criticism that the VR angle means it was all a dream, but was the UK version really more than that? For that matter, it's clear that Sam was working out some issues with the VR versions of his crewmates. He sorted out his father issues, and, judging by a glance or two and a line of dialogue about things getting more complicated, he's realized that there's some potential for a relationship with the real world version of Annie. It wasn't meaningless. (For that matter, who's to say the 2035 reality is the real one? Remember Red Dwarf's "Back to Reality"?)
So... that's the end of the series. Was it as good as the UK version? No, for several reasons. First, the UK version had Philip Glenister instead of Harvey Keitel. The American Gene Hunt had some great moments, but he was overall a shadow of the greatness of the British version. Second, the UK version took the whole compare-and-contrast 1973 and now element of the show much more seriously, from police brutality to racism and sexism. The US version played it a lot more lightly, especially in the really goofy episode about black revolutionaries. The UK version was set in Manchester -- one of the UK's big cities, but, in 1973, a fading industrial city. The American version should have been set some place like Cleveland, not New York City.
I originally thought Jason O'Mara was horribly miscast, but I gradually changed my mind. No, he's not in any way like John Simm, but the US series had to find ways to differentiate itself from the UK version. That ended up being one of them, and it gradually started working. Gretchen Mol played a somewhat different kind of Annie from the UK version as well, but she was great from the start.
The US series had a lighter tone overall, so the lighter ending worked. Looked at as a series, it was a bit of a mess. There were at least a couple of episodes that left me wondering if I needed to bother watching any more, and a few times I thought they'd started randomly throwing things overboard, like Windy, who disappeared after a few appearances but finally reappeared nearer the end. I'm still not sure what the point of a few things was. And the tone was inconsistent, too -- sometimes broad and comedic, sometimes emotionally affecting. It's certainly a long way from being an artistic triumph. And yet I'm glad I watched it. When it was good -- often when Mol had a major role -- it was very good indeed, in its own way.
I'm tempted, now that I'm used to O'Mara, Keitel, Mol, Michael Imperioli, et al., to rewatch the first American pilot, with O'Mara and Colm Meany in LA. I think I'd find that I was right when I saw the aired first episode: what we got, flawed though it undeniably was, was a lot better than what we might have had.
Meanwhile, in a week and a half, Ashes to Ashes returns. I didn't think the first season was anywhere near as good as Life on Mars UK. Maybe they'll have fixed a few things. There's no reason for a show with Keeley Hawes and Philip Glenister to be anything less than great.
