Life On Mars – The Complete Series (2008/U.S. Remake/ABC DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C
In an
example of a U.S. remake of a U.K. hit not working, ABC/Disney decided to try
and turn the big British hit Life On Mars
into a hit of their own and their version ended after only 17 episodes when it
could have run long than the U.K. version.
Why? For starters, here is our
coverage of the first season of the original hit:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8816/Life+On+Mars+%E2%80%93+Series
The U.S.
version has Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler, the detective who lands up back in 1973
after being struck by a car. Turns out
ABC produced a TV movie remake first with O’Mara, a different cast and
director, but were not happy with that one.
It does not appear on this set either.
I am not happy with this one, especially when there were opportunities
to make this work in ways the original U.K. show did not.
Despite
getting a cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Lisa Bonet and
Michael Imperioli, the show is a mess.
When they begin, they rush everything in the worst possible way. Then they botch the transition by not
allowing it to unwind smoothly or in a realistic way, even though they were
able to license the David Bowie remake of the Marillion hit. The first confrontation with the police chief
of the past (Keitel) rings bad and brief, then the show moves on including an
early, cheap shot reference to The World Trade Center Towers that epitomizes
how frivolous the production is overall.
The shows
then are often remakes of the British shows and are so slap dash about it that
you wonder why anyone bothered to remake this in the first place. Wonder what the network would have done if
this were a hit? Either way, we strongly
recommend you see the U.K. original before even considering this retread, which
is dumbed down, throws science out the window and is barely about any mystery
or suspense. At least the original knows
how to send up police procedurals. This
version does not know what that is!
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft throughout, foiling some good
looking shots here and there. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is very dull throughout with a narrow soundfield and limited
sonics. The combination is disappointing
and not as good as the U.K. version on DVD.
Extras include deleted scenes, audio commentaries, bloopers, two making
of featurettes and an interesting piece Flashback:
Lee Majors Goes To Mars that is as good as anything here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
