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Review: Life on Mars (American version)
No spoilers. Just a bit of my opinion.
I liked it, and I say this as someone who saw and hated the initial American pilot (set in Los Angeles). The revised pilot is set in New York and there have been major cast changes, for the better. Unfortunately, the role they most needed to recast, Sam Tyler, is still played by Jason O'Mara and good Lord, I could see him acting throughout most of his scenes. He needs to get better, fast. But if you can get past his acting, LOM was a solid effort.
Already I've seen plenty of criticism about how the show is "too much" like the British original and also how it won't be enough like it because of certain plans TPTB have mentioned for further down the line. Really, all TPTB can do is try to put together the best show they can, because there's no way they're going to make everyone happy.
I won't even get started with my answer to the "Why did they even bother to do a remake/why don't they just air the original series instead?" question right now. Yes, I can address that issue in some depth, because I understand why the British series is not simply rerun on a major American network--I've made a bit of a study out of the American TV industry, just as a hobby, and along the line it's become clear that I know more about it than most people care to. Therefore, I'm fairly likely to agree with network decisions to, say, cancel programs (including shows I like--Veronica Mars, I'm looking at you), because I see the numbers and have a reasonably good idea of what they mean and whether a series is financially viable. In fact, one of my pet peeves is the misspelling of Nielsen, as in those handy Nielsen ratings that measure series performances.
But back to LOM: I judged the show on its own merits, not against the original. I enjoyed it. Will I like next week's episode? Hell, I don't know. I might hate it. Then again, I could say that about any show on the air, including my favorites like Gossip Girl and The Amazing Race. The best I can do is go week to week, and this week, I liked Life on Mars.
I liked it, and I say this as someone who saw and hated the initial American pilot (set in Los Angeles). The revised pilot is set in New York and there have been major cast changes, for the better. Unfortunately, the role they most needed to recast, Sam Tyler, is still played by Jason O'Mara and good Lord, I could see him acting throughout most of his scenes. He needs to get better, fast. But if you can get past his acting, LOM was a solid effort.
Already I've seen plenty of criticism about how the show is "too much" like the British original and also how it won't be enough like it because of certain plans TPTB have mentioned for further down the line. Really, all TPTB can do is try to put together the best show they can, because there's no way they're going to make everyone happy.
I won't even get started with my answer to the "Why did they even bother to do a remake/why don't they just air the original series instead?" question right now. Yes, I can address that issue in some depth, because I understand why the British series is not simply rerun on a major American network--I've made a bit of a study out of the American TV industry, just as a hobby, and along the line it's become clear that I know more about it than most people care to. Therefore, I'm fairly likely to agree with network decisions to, say, cancel programs (including shows I like--Veronica Mars, I'm looking at you), because I see the numbers and have a reasonably good idea of what they mean and whether a series is financially viable. In fact, one of my pet peeves is the misspelling of Nielsen, as in those handy Nielsen ratings that measure series performances.
But back to LOM: I judged the show on its own merits, not against the original. I enjoyed it. Will I like next week's episode? Hell, I don't know. I might hate it. Then again, I could say that about any show on the air, including my favorites like Gossip Girl and The Amazing Race. The best I can do is go week to week, and this week, I liked Life on Mars.
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I'll be interested in seeing reactions from people who haven't seen the original, though, because I am honestly very biased by my reaction of "but I've SEEN this already" - I don't have the time or desire to rewatch something done very slightly differently. I'm totally not the right audience for this show.
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If the main focus down the line is going to be on this one being a cop show, I can see it running a while. I'm not a big fan of police shows/procedurals (too plot-driven for my tastes) but look at all those procedurals on CBS. Half their schedule is CSI: whatever, Cold Case, and the like, and tons of people watch, year after year. Just not me. ;)
I haven't seen the ratings yet. Those will be interesting--it's a tough timeslot and even really good shows have failed while airing there.
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When channel surfing I noticed that there were a couple of overseas series that were being...um...Americanized. This makes me wonder if the networks have ran out of writers or have the writers for the networks ran out of 'fresh' ideas. This is also prevalent in movies, especially after I heard they are filming parts of the remake of Children of the Corn not twenty miles from where I live.
What's next?
Oh wait they already tried to revamp Night Stalker...
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I don't mind remakes. When they work (Ugly Betty, The Office), they can be great. If they don't work, I usually just find something else to watch that's on at the same time. Networks like to try remakes because if a show succeeded somewhere else, obviously something about it worked with audiences. I guess I'd rather have a LOM remake than the umpteenth cookie-cutter CSI clone, popular as those may be with other viewers.
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Also, by the end, Veronica Mars deserved to be canceled, as not only did its ratings suck, it had become painful to watch.
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The later episodes in the third season of VM were by far my least favorites. Even at that, it had a chance at coming back (one concept I heard for season 4 was a flashforward of several years, when Veronica would be working as an FBI agent), but three years of tiny viewership sealed the show's fate.
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There are always new surprises to be on the lookout for; you don't want to be stuck in the 70's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryWvd1-0c6w