Life on Mars USA…

[mick]

Anyone seen the first episode yet?

I have a torrent running but it’s stuck at 80% :(

Can’t say it looks THAT bad…

I actually thought the trailer with Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt looked a bit more promising, but I will reserve judgment.

Will be interesting to see if all the episodes are just re-makes of the brit ones as the pilot obviously is…

Opinions anyone?

Topic

[Phil]

I almost watched it but ended up skipping it. My plan was to watch it and post my thoughts for anyone who hasn’t seen it…but since I STILL haven’t seen the original UK version, I wouldn’t be the most reliable critic.

[Jonathan Capps]

I think this was very good, as opposed to the original LA pilot which was utter testicles.

The Good:
* That rabbit from Father Ted is LOADS better than Colm Meany, but the character is also written much better (i.e. directly lifted from the UK version) this time around.
* The setting of New York is bestest, as you’ll realise when you see what they’ve replaced ‘The Highway In the Sky’ shot with…
* It zips along at a lovely pace and doesn’t seem to have been too badly affected by losing 20 minutes of running time.
* The cast is pretty damn good, and obviously Annie is lovely. Not as lovely as OUR Annie, though, obviously.

The So-So:
* They say they’re resetting the mystery so we’re back to not knowing whether he’s in a coma or time travelling. This is a bit puzzeling as the forest and red dress, hospital sounds and all that are still in there. I hope they branch off into the new direction sooner rather than later, as I’m not keen on watching remakes of all the UK episodes.
* I think it would’ve been better is Sam Tyler was played by someone a little more quirky looking than the standard Jack Shepherd-a-like we get. He’s not a bad actor, though.

The Bad:
* Standard American Network TV over exposition, most of the added lines are terrible, especially all the fucking similes.

But, considering that’s still the pilot… well, I think we could end up with a pretty damn excellent version of the show here.

[Jonathan Capps]

> but since I STILL haven?t seen the original UK version, I wouldn?t be the most reliable critic.

I would say that in the context of this thread, your virgin opinions would be very valuable.

[Ian Symes]

Haha, Phil’s a virgin.

[Seb Patrick]

>* The setting of New York is bestest, as you?ll realise when you see what they?ve replaced ?The Highway In the Sky? shot with?

WTC?

[Jonathan Capps]

> WTC?

Indeed. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen the Towers being used like this in a TV show, but it works really well and doesn’t feel cheap (except for maybe Sam’s “No way!” before the reveal.)

They do a really good job of using the location, anyway. It makes you believe they can really make a worthwhile and relevant alternative to the UK version.

Basically: CAPPSY RECOMMEND.

[pfm]

The WTC thing is a bit crap IMO. You can just imagine the dumb audience thinking ‘ohhhh…oh my god this is pre-nine eleven!! NOW I understand what’s going on!’

[Jonathan Capps]

I don’t think that’s why it’s there at all. In that scene you need one, big definitive thing that tells Sam he is in the past. True, the WTC standing doesn’t exactly scream “IT’S THE SEVENTEES” but the other details are there for that. The scene’s not for the audience, they know exactly what’s going on before they even watch the show, but that the scene *is* for Sam, and the shot of the WTC is for Sam, too.

[Ben Paddon]

They’ve hammered home a few of the anachronistic jokes a bit more in this one – overplayed like a Series VIII gag. “Diet Coke, eh? That’d be something!”

[Phil]

“You want a Pepsi, kid, you’re gonna pay for it!”

[Danny Stephenson]

?You want a Pepsi, kid, you?re gonna pay for it!?

It took me years for me get that joke…

[Jonathan Capps]

> They?ve hammered home a few of the anachronistic jokes a bit more in this one – overplayed like a Series VIII gag. ?Diet Coke, eh? That?d be something!?

The UK version was guilty of this, too, In fact, I think it had exactly the same line in it.

[Carlito]

i saw the LA-based pilot, and it wasn’t great, tbh. nowhere near as good as the UK version.

i’ll check out the NY one though to give it a chance.

[Seb Patrick]

?You want a Pepsi, kid, you?re gonna pay for it!?

I’ve never understood how he miraculously produces a full cup of coffee from a shelf under the counter.

[Jonathan Capps]

> nowhere near as good as the UK version.

The bigger problem with the LA-pilot was that it was fundamentally shit before you even started comparing it to the UK version. The proper show is also going to suffer in comparison because when you see a remake of something you love you’ve got to get past the barrier of it not being the ‘proper’ version. Once LoMUS gets past the UK based episodes that’s when the show will properly have the chance to shine but before then it’s going to have to cope with being second best with anyone who’s seen the original, however good it is.

The problem is, they’re clearly planting elements of the series 1 story arc, so we might have to wait a while before they go off on their own tangent.

[Pete Part Three]

Well, I’ve downloaded it. I’ll give it a watch and bitch about it later.

[Pete Part Three]

Meh.

Pretty unenthusiastic about this. It was slightly better than The Office US Pilot though and that begat a great remake, so maybe there’s still hope.

Found Harvey Kietel surprisingly underwhelming (may have to download the LA version and compare to Colm Meaney).

[Jonathan Capps]

Seriously, you’ll have new found respect for the NY version once you’ve seen that.

Mick, have you watched it yet? I demand that you dump your sticky thoughts onto my lap.

[Tarka Dal]

Damn if only someone with an ‘L’ was online.

[Dave]

L

[mick]

Torrent still floundering at 80% :(

[Jonathan Capps]

Dud, where do you get your torrents from? Sounds like they’re made of ass.

Anyway, episode 2 was very good. Obviously still following the pattern of the Uk version, but there’s enough new stuff in there to see that they’ve got their own ideas and their own plan for going forward. I like that.

The girl next door, the weird little rover thing (wonderful WTF moments involving that) and a greater focus on Maya all tied together and fit really well. I continue to have high hopes for this.

[Seb Patrick]

Watched the first ten minutes or so. WEIRD. It was completely shot-for-shot – in fact, I’m not *entirely* convinced that it wasn’t actually John Simm’s face in the bit where he sees himself reflected in the car mirror! The only difference was that it didn’t dither about the opening bit – where the original pissed about in the present day for half an hour, this one had it over and done with in a few minutes. But other than that… hmmm, well, I don’t see the point of shot-for-shotting it so entirely. It’s the same reason the Office pilot didn’t work – why watch Americans repeating the same dialogue when you can just watch the original? Also, it’s already clear that the series will follow the same pattern, thanks to the “red dress” flashes. And, well… where’s the point in that? We all KNOW the answer to the mystery. Unless they’re going to change it, in which case I’ll retract that.

(it’s also harder to watch him going “back” when you know already that it’s just a dream after all. In fact, it felt like the US version made that more obvious, by flashing back and forth for a while as if he was slipping out of consciousness. I seem to recall the original was a lot quicker – and thus more ambiguous – about it)

The WTC bit was nicely played, I’ll give you that. Maybe if I hadn’t read Ex Machina, the idea of using it to emphasise a different world might have surprised me more.

Anyway, I’ll watch the rest of ep one when I get the chance. Who knows, it might veer off a bit more. And I am intrigued to see how Keitel plays it, since he seems on the surface to be so different to the Gene Hunt we know and love.

(and there’s my other gripe – as I’ve said many times before, why keep the same character names? Ashes to Ashes has already established the idea of other characters having similar experiences to Sam. Why not have this be a parallel version, happening to a totally different guy somewhere else in the world? Turn it into a franchise!)

[Jonathan Capps]

> Also, it?s already clear that the series will follow the same pattern, thanks to the ?red dress? flashes. And, well? where?s the point in that? We all KNOW the answer to the mystery. Unless they?re going to change it, in which case I?ll retract that.

Retract!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a112699/life-on-mars-remake-changes-tyler-story.html

Although that’s nothing you couldn’t’ve found out, from, you know reading this thread ;) (“They say they?re resetting the mystery so we?re back to not knowing whether he?s in a coma or time travelling.” – Me.) It’s by far the most important fact about the remake. Without it, you’d be right, it’d be more like a pointless remake but now we have the ambiguity back. It might end up as a coma resolution, but it’s pretty clear even that would be done very differently to the UK ending.

Strange they’ve kept the “red dress” flashes, though. I’ll be interested to see how they handle that.

> Who knows, it might veer off a bit more

It does, but I’ve already said THAT, too! Looking at TV.com it looks like the first four episodes are keeping the general plots from the UK version, but if the second episode is anything to go by they’ll be playing them quite differently and with be plenty new stuff in there too.

[ChrisM]

The only difference was that it didn?t dither about the opening bit – where the original pissed about in the present day for half an hour, this one had it over and done with in a few minutes.

I quite liked them staying in the present for a while in the British version. Helps really establish the character’s origins and the fact he has something to lose.

Still, 10 minutes is still probably enough time to do that too.

it?s also harder to watch him going ?back? when you know already that it?s just a dream after all.

I was never a 100% convinced of that in the original either. Sure it can be interpreted that way, but I always felt it was somewhat ambiguous. It’s fair enough that the American version will be going in a different route though. (Not that I really like the idea of remakes by another English speaking country but it’s pretty much the done thing in the States.)

(and there?s my other gripe – as I?ve said many times before, why keep the same character names? Ashes to Ashes has already established the idea of other characters having similar experiences to Sam. Why not have this be a parallel version, happening to a totally different guy somewhere else in the world? Turn it into a franchise!)

I think that is an excellent idea! That way it’s not a remake at all, just more of the same phenomena happening elsewhere, allowing the British continuity to stand, but hooking in Americans with their own cultural iconography too. It would promote creativity too, cos they’d be forced to create a new plot right from the very start.

[Ridley]

Life on Mars US is starting on FX on 9/10(/09) for anyone who might care.

[Seb Patrick]

I won’t spoiler it for anyone who’s coming to it fresh, but… that ending. Bloody hell.

[Ben Paddon]

I’m still, several months later, trying to work out whether it’s absolute crap or unrivaled brilliance.

[Pete Part Three]

It’s the first one.

[Dave]

I was really looking forward to this, but I don’t have FX. How likely given the circumstances is a DVD release?

[Author]

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