Writers: David E. Kelley & Stu Moss (based on the screenplay by Matthew Graham)
Director: Thomas Schlamme
Cast: Jason O'Mara (Sam Tyler), Colm Meaney (Gene Hunt), Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Maya Robertson), Rachelle LeFevre (Annie Cartright), Lenny Clarke (George Randall), Doug Scott Kramer (Edward Kenmore), Abby Eiland (Beth Mitchell) & Chelsea Connell (Kashowa)
Director: Thomas Schlamme
Cast: Jason O'Mara (Sam Tyler), Colm Meaney (Gene Hunt), Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Maya Robertson), Rachelle LeFevre (Annie Cartright), Lenny Clarke (George Randall), Doug Scott Kramer (Edward Kenmore), Abby Eiland (Beth Mitchell) & Chelsea Connell (Kashowa)
A modern-day cop wakes up in 1972 after a traffic accident, and has to deal with the culture shock while trying to get back home...You'd think a US translation of the BBC's Life On Mars would be simple enough. After all, there's a stronger tradition of '70s police dramas Stateside; from Starsky & Hutch and The Streets Of San Francisco to CHiPs. However, this limp Pilot is strong evidence to the contrary.
Every small thing that works has its roots in the BBC series, but you can't help but compare it (unfavourably) to its UK counterpart. This Pilot resembles a bad photocopy; faded, soulless, joyless and lacking any chemistry between its actors. No wonder the production team have moved from Los Angeles to New York and are currently re-shooting the whole thing, before it premieres on ABC in September...
The storyline remains the same as the UK version, with a few tweaks, flourishes and editing of pop-culture references that wouldn't work in America (no confusion over a "mobile phone", for instance). Irish actor Jason O'Mara plays modern-day L.A detective Sam Tyler, channelling Matthew Fox's voice and turning John Simm's confused average joe into a square-jawed, hunky hero. Sam's embroiled in a tense case, working alongside girlfriend Maya Robertson (Battlestar Galactica's Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen) to stop a murderer.
After a botched assault on a suspect's house in the suburbs, Sam is run over by a speeding car and wakes up to find himself in L.A, circa 1972. Well, I assume it's '72 -- the blurry, 360-degree camera-spin revealed this world as a retro Grand Theft Auto video-game. I'm hoping this was unfinished special FX; but if the production have to employ CGI because they can't find a '70s-looking area of modern L.A, no wonder they're packing their bags for the Big Apple...
If you're familiar with the British show, the beats of the story remain mostly intact. Sam is quickly recognised as the LAPD's new recruit by oafish cop George Randall (Lenny Clarke; essentially taking Dean Andrews' role) and arrives back at the police department to meet sweet Annie Cartwright (Rachelle LeFevre) and, of course, boorish Gene Hunt (Colm Meaney, proving Philip Glenister's inimitable).
Of course, the intended audience of Life On Mars won't be very familiar with the BBC series. For me, it's impossible to watch this without comparing O'Mara to Simm and Meaney to Glenister, every step of the way. But even if you've never seen the BBC show, it's difficult to imagine anyone truly enjoying this. The high-concept idea and the central "am I in a coma, or back in time?" mystery still works well, although this Pilot seems to be even less ambiguous than the UK show. Seriously, if the American Sam Tyler doesn't wake up in a hospital bed in the series finale, I'll eat my hat. And can the US version keep the idea going for 60+ episodes? The UK series arguably should have finished after just 8 episodes, and only just managed to stretch itself to 16 instalments.
I had similar reservations about the US Office when it started, and that show also premiered with an uncomfortable scene-for-scene translation of the British opener. Fortunately, the US Office came into its own when they decided to abandon a few of the UK show's tenets and carve out their own path, with a more exaggerated style. Can Life On Mars do the same? Possibly. But, despite the welcome news they've ditched sunny L.A for gritty NYC, they're still going to be left with the same actors and storytelling dilemmas come September...
Jason O'Mara isn't terrible as Sam Tyler, but his reactions to being thrown back in time 38 years aren't very plausible, and he's every inch the handsome alpha male that's been played-out countless times on American TV. The great thing about the UK show was how Sam's modern-day policing skills gave him greater fitness and psychological insights, but he was always in the manly shadow of the bear-like Gene Hunt and his racist, sexist, old-school, hard-man act. Here, you suspect Sam could beat up Gene easily enough, and assert his authority over the herd.
While Colm Meaney's a great Irish character actor, famous for his roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, I don't envy him stepping into Gene Hunt's snakeskin shoes. Philip Glenister's a tough act to follow, and while I was initially pleased by the casting of Meaney, his performance here is pretty bland and lacks sparkle. He's uncouth and punches Sam in the stomach 10 seconds after meeting him, but he doesn't mesmerise or scene-steal at any stage, and if you've never seen the UK show, you'll perhaps be surprised Gene has become a national TV hero.
Maybe it has something to do with the disparity between UK and US policing? In Britain, Gene Hunt was a throwback to a simpler time, where brute force and instinct caught criminals, not paperwork and forensics. In the US, while things have technologically moved on from the '70s, the perception is that modern American policing has retained its reliance on hunches, gun-fights and maverick cops. While the US Life On Mars can point and giggle at the crazy fashions, bad haircuts, old cars, stores selling vinyl records, and policeman thinking D.N.A is a poison, the mental discrepancy between '72 and '08 policing isn't as stark Stateside. Consequently, the fish-out-of-water gambit is lessened somewhat.
On the plus side, I quite liked Rachelle LeFevre as Annie Cartwright, but maybe that's only because I never rated Liz White in the BBC version, with her simpleton warble. Mind you, this Pilot's take on '70s-style sexism around Annie is pretty gutless in comparison. But I could imagine O'Mara and LeFevre forging a connection in future episodes -- they certainly have a better chance than O'Mara and Meaney becoming a compelling double-act.
Overall, it's easy to see why Life On Mars US hasn't caught fire behind-the-scenes. The producers are probably just as frustrated as I was watching this Pilot, as it seems like a no-brainer to Americanize. But something's getting lost in translation, and I'm not sure a change of scenery is going to iron out the kinks. I still hold out hope Meaney and O'Mara can get a handle on the characters, and the writers find ways to illustrate the cultural divide between '72 and '08. It really should have been much better than this, so we'll see if the departure of David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal) and arrival of Josh Appelbaum (Alias), Andre Nemec (Profiler), and Scott Rosenberg (Con Air, which starred Meaney) can inject some life into a very poor trial run.
Premieres: 25 September 2008 (US)
ABC
