Spoilers. Credit to the writers for managing to rejig this episode so it worked as the conclusion to a two-month old cliffhanger (bumped by last week's standalone episode, forced into the schedule by the network.) By framing "The Dark Side Of The Mook" around Sam (Jason O'Mara), Gene (Harvey Keitel) and Ray (Michael Imperioli) being interviewed after some initially undisclosed event, it allows us to flashback to the "missing episode" intended for last week, and find out what was down the basement...This week's investigation involves a decapitated head delivered to the precinct, which puts the 125's detectives on the trail of a killer who removes the heads of his victims. What Sam doesn't tell anyone (including his present-day interrogator) is that, after following orders from the mysterious phone caller in the cabin he was led to earlier, he was told to grab a shovel from the basement and dig up the headless body of a man buried outside -- a corpse with Ray's phone number written on a piece of paper in his jacket pocket. And could the whole mystery be linked to Ray's delinquent brother Eddie (24's Eric Balfour), who is arrested for armed robbery soon after?
The story was more compelling than usual, mainly because the framing element of a Q&A gave everything a sense of broad mystery, the possibility Ray's somehow involved in these grotesque murders was good fun, and there was excitement over Life On Mars beginning to settle on what it's timeslip nature actually is. It's ultimately just another perfunctory investigation with some flourishes, true, but at least it managed to keep you hooked for the duration. The Carling brothers even threatened to become interesting at times, but guest-star Eric Balfour didn't get the screentime to forge an identity as the family's black sheep. Still, Michael Imperioli and his expressive 'tache is a charistmatic screen presence, and manages to take some of the burden.
For a storyline that involves Seven-style decapitated heads in gift boxes, a strange man with facial burns referred to as "El Diablo" by an eye-witness, and an untouchable businessman called Donovan Stamp (Kevin Conway) -- a.k.a "The Werewolf Of Wall Street" -- this should really have been crazier than it actually was. If they're trying to merge a '70s cop show with Lynchian surrealism, they need to have more confidence in those weirder elements. There were promising moments throughout this episode, but it always held back from delivering the K.O punch.
Interestingly, after teasing us with various theories for why Sam has found himself in 1973 after a car accident in 2008, the show begins to settle on what is, I assume, the real answer. It's something to do with Project Aries (a Sleeper reference), and a man that exists in '73 is the tipster who's now calling Sam on the phone with a voice-scrambler. Is this man another time-traveler? Why has Sam been sent back in time? Did they take him after his car-crash and send him back -- either physically, or consciously? Is he therefore presumed dead in '08? And why can't Sam tell anyone about the caller?
It's certainly nice to get a few solid clues to build a theory on (without the random nonsense of miniature robots and spiritual guru's, etc), and hopefully the remake's ultimate answer will make more logical sense that the British version. Then again, the UK original was always focused on the chemistry of its Sam/Gene double-act and cultural disparities -- elements that this remake struggles with, beyond cute anachronisms. I've said it before, but that's primarily because policing in 1973's Manchester was radically different from what it is today; whereas the NYPD of 1973 appears largely similar to 2008, but with wider trousers.
Overall, "The Dark Side Of The Mook" is a mixture of things: a decent case that grows less interesting as it goes on, an undercooked relationship for the Carling brothers, some halfbaked oddities, some compelling mysteries, and a stronger sense that a mythology has been decided on for Sam's temporal displacement. Nice to see Annie (Gretchen Mol) taking a keener interest in Sam's crackpot story, by researching schitzophrenia and ESP, too -- hopefully she'll start believing him soon. I'm still not sure why Sam doesn't just predict a major historical event in order to quell misgivings people have in him, actually.
4 February 2009
ABC, 10/9c
Writers: Bryan Oh & Tracy McMillan
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Cast: Jason O'Mara (Sam), Harvey Keitel (Gene), Gretchen Mol (Annie), Jonathan Murphy (Chris), Michael Imperioli (Ray), John Cenatiempo (Sizable Ted), John Bedford Lloyd (Interrogator), Matthew Cowles (Cowboy Dan), Guy Paul (Willis Ashton), Antonia Rey (Latina Woman), Bridget Berger (Biker Chick), Joel Marsh Garland (Seven Fifty), Diedre Goodwin (Nurse), Joseph McKenna (Disfigured Man), Kevin Conway (Donovan Stamp) & Eric Balfour (Eddie Carling)
