First Look: ABC’s LIFE ON MARS – Picture and Video

LIFE ON MARS is one of ABC’s new show this Fall. I was a big fan of the original British series of the same name, and so was curious to see if they were able to reproduce the same great show in the US. Unfortunately, with the exception of The Office, American shows based on good British shows usually don’t do well.

And so with that in mind, I took a look at the promo and I have to say that I was a little disappointed by what I saw. None of the original feel to the show is there and casting is not great.

In the original, John Simm played the main character, Sam Tyler, and if you watch Doctor Who, then you know how good of an actor he is (he played The Master). The rest of the cast is wonderful as well. I think the reason why Life On Mars was so good is because the cast was relatable, and I’m not sure the American cast is (nothing against the actors, but I just don’t think they fit the part).

Of course I haven’t seen the full pilot yet, and so I will give my final judgment then, but so far I am not convinced.

Also, turns out my instincts might be right, Televisionary took a look at the pilot and needless to say, this is not the remake we were hoping for.

Synopsis: The series revolves around Sam Tyler, a modern-day police detective who, after a car crash, mysteriously finds himself transported back to 1973 and still working as a detective.
The series stars Jason O’ Mara as Sam Tyler, Rachelle LeFevre as Annie Cartwright, Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt, Stephanie Jacobsen as Maya, Lenny Clarke as George Randall, Patrick Wenk-Wolff as Colin Raimes, and Richard Benjamin as Milton Kornboll.

Watch the promo from the US Life On Mars in the first video and then watch a promo from the original Life On Mars below. You decide which one looks better.

By Sandie | May 29, 2008 | 2 Comments

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Maria

I think that the pilot on ABC looks good. Part of the problem is that although I love Jason O’Mara, he does have a tendency to be to dramatic and doesn’t seem to know when to inject humor. Will watch the full pilot and go from there
Brian

I know its unfair to truly judge the US version against the UK version, because the latter established the characters, but the US pilot was not good at all, imo. My wife and I watched the pilot and I must say we couldn’t think of one thing about the show (character, dialogue, sets, etc.) that we liked over or equal to the UK version.

The use of green screen is ridiculous. All the 70s cop shows were done on real streets. So should Life on Mars if they actually want to capture that time.

The dialogue should much be much harder. I mean these are tough, grown men working in an almost female free zone. How do they think mean like this would talk? Which leads to my next issue.

All the characters seemed watered down and unrealistic. Do they actually want me to believe that a woman that young, thin, wearing that much makeup, would have been a detective in 1972- and have been accepted by her peers?!

And Colm as Gene. I like Colm. I think he’s a very good actor but his portrayal doesn’t fit the bill. Gene Hunt was the head of his department in 1972 which means he must be in his mid-40s to mid-50s at that time; this puts his birth in th late 20s, early 30s. I think Gene should be hard, cold, bitter and tough having gone through that time as well as the issues of the 60s.

Gene would have been trained, if there was training outside of military experience, in a time when women were not respected, or welcome, on the job and blacks and minorities even less.

If the US version wants to match the quality of the UK version, one thing must be remembered- Gene is the star of the show.