Just watched the first episode of the first season series of Life on Mars tonight. Richly entertaining. One thing I noticed was the particular flavor of nostalgia, going beyond the wide collars and classic rock. You hear a lot about nostalgia for New York in the 1970s, when the city was grimier and more dangerous but before gentrification had made it dull and expensive. Life on Mars isn't a New York show, but there's a similar principle. The 1973 Manchester he wakes up in looks like the Nazis had bombed it just the day before, but it feels exciting and full of possibility as well.
Sam Tyler seems like the sort of young professional who, regardless of what happened to him, would be well advised to find some kind of guide figure. Someone who could help him be less of an uptight technocrat. Gene Hunt fills the bill, even if some of his old school copper ways are old school for a reason. Of course for someone who comes from the politically correct 2000s, Sam is awfully quick to put his hand on Annie's tit. In a non-sexual context (uh-huh) but still bears an eerie resemblance to harassment.
Speaking of eerie, the scene of him waking up in the middle of the night to see and hear one of his surgeons talking about him on the TV is a classic bit of Twilight Zone-y nightmarishness.
Sam Tyler seems like the sort of young professional who, regardless of what happened to him, would be well advised to find some kind of guide figure. Someone who could help him be less of an uptight technocrat. Gene Hunt fills the bill, even if some of his old school copper ways are old school for a reason. Of course for someone who comes from the politically correct 2000s, Sam is awfully quick to put his hand on Annie's tit. In a non-sexual context (uh-huh) but still bears an eerie resemblance to harassment.
Speaking of eerie, the scene of him waking up in the middle of the night to see and hear one of his surgeons talking about him on the TV is a classic bit of Twilight Zone-y nightmarishness.
2 comments:
glad to hear you're enjoying it so far. while it doesn't always remain quite as clever as it is early on, it does a good job of remaining pretty entertaining (& disorienting) throughout. i really love the little girl with the clown, myself :) ...
we've checked repeatedly for info on a region 1 version of 'ashes to ashes', the 3-season (seemingly 'campy'?) sequel to 'life on mars', but no joy so far (meaning likely ever?). from what i've seen of video games somewhat recently, i'm guessing it's primarily a matter of music royalties (because, yes, a little while back clearing rights for other countries became more of an issue than it'd been previously). good for the musicians (or at least for the people who hold the musicians purse-strings?), bad for the rest of us...
Oh yes, the girl with the clown does leave her mark on the show. The funny thing is that she's based on an actual BBC feature, one that everyone in "back then" England would have recognized. But yeah, I'm enjoying the characters and ambiance even in the episodes where I can jump ahead of the plot.
It may be a while before a region 1 version of Ashes to Ashes is released, for the reasons you mentioned. Also DVDs aren't as much of a priority now for producers, I guess. It looks like the cops who aren't Sam or Annie are all back for it, so I'm curious how they develop.
There was an American remake of Life on Mars. Despite swinging for the fences in terms of casting - Gene Hunt is played by Harvey Keitel - it doesn't seem to have quite got it. If there's a US show that worked a similar field on a different and original idea, that's more likely Awake. It didn't last long, but 13 episodes would be a lot in Britain and it can be pretty haunting.
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