Spoilers. With Mars trapped in the gravitational pull of a black hole (a.k.a cancellation), I'm not going to bust a gut writing in-depth reviews until the finale. I've already allowed my reviews to slip behind the US, but hopefully I'll be able to catch-up faster with quickie reviews until the final curtain...I'll say this for the Americanized Life On Mars; I like the chemistry that's developing between a few of the characters. I still think Harvey Keitel is badly miscast as thug-lothario Gene Hunt, because he lacks humour and sex appeal, but when he publicly calls Sam (Jason O'Mara) his friend in a strip club scene... well, it felt like we were making progress. A big part of the original's success was the tempestuous Sam/Gene friendship, and that's been largely missing from the US version. The only relationship with any bite is Sam and Annie (Gretchen Mol), who actually eclipse the will-they/won't-they of same romance in the BBC series. It helps that Mol is a great deal sexier than Liz White and has an adult's speaking voice.
The primary story is another middle-of-the-road mystery, involving a bunch of lefty student radicals called the Weather Underground, apparently led by their political science professor Pat Olsen (Janel Moloney) and instructed to blow up police officers. Their first target being cop bar Glenister's -- a cute reference to Philip Glenister, the original Gene -- where they kill five people, three of whom were cops Gene knew. Along the way we come to realize that the cops targeted are part of the mythical "Red Squad" (a cabal of vigilante cops that targeted subversives), and that Gene may have been part of their clique, so is thus their next target.
A tiny subplot finds Sam in session with Dr Goldman (Austin Pendleton), a psychiatrist who helps him resolve to embrace his life -- and, by extension, his existence in 1973. Basically, Sam's decided to just accept how things are and perhaps start putting down roots. Incidentally, something neither version of LOM has done is have Sam investigate his own background. Surely there's paperwork that shows his supposed birthdate, birthplace and family tree? All we're ever told is that he transferred in from Hyde, so it would be interesting if he investigated his own past. Or is his life mysterious threadbare? That in itself could be construed as a clue.
Anyway, best not get sidetracked by offhand plot ideas. LOM:US is winding up its story with a run of pedestrian, self-contained episodes, it seems. This week's storyline had potential given the inherent tension over bombings, but never fires on all cylinders. The best thing about "Revenge Of Broken Jaw" was guest-star Janel Moloney -- lumbered with a weak character, but somehow able to overcome it. Her interrogation scene was entertaining to watch and actually seemed to energize Keitel's performance
Overall, a fairly empty episode that should have popped given the literally explosive subject-matter, but was allowed to fizzle. The opening sequence set to Elton John's "Rocket Man" (with Sam walking through the city and discovering time has frozen at work) was nice but unnecessary, I also enjoyed seeing Sam use his knowledge of the future to win a bet with Ray (by predicting the result of the Ali/Norton boxing match), but LOM:US is definitely stuck in a mid-season quagmire, slowly sinking as the end approaches.
4 March 2009
ABC, 10/9c
Writers: Meredith Averill & David Wilcox
Director: Stephen Kay
Cast: Gretchen Mol (Annie), Jonathan Murphy (Chris), Michael Imperioli (Ray), Harvey Keitel (Gene), Jason O'Mara (Sam), John Cenatiempo (Sizable Ted), Austin Pendleton (Dr. Goldman), Anslem Richardson (Sergeant Hoyte), Mary Testa (Phyllis), Brendan Sexton III (Danny Krasner), Carleigh Chirico (Laura Olsen), Kevin Kilner (Dr. Richard Olsen), Janel Moloney (Pat Olsen), Arthur J. Nascarella (Rooney), Michael Cullen (Fire Chief Gibney), Billy Devlin (Bomb Squad Guy) & Christopher Backus (Rodney Slaven)
