ABC’s Life on Mars is a show about a detective from the 2008 NYPD who is hit by a car and, upon coming to, finds that he is in 1973. It had the good fortune to debut at a time when most Americans feel like they have been hit by a car and, upon coming to, found that they are in 1973.
The show stars the strapping (and wonderfully Gaelically-named) Jason O’Mara as detective Sam Tyler. The 125th precinct’s class of 1973 includes Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, and, best of all, Michael Imperioli (or Christophah, if you watched The Sopranos) in the most incredibly awful retro-stache of all time. Really, it defies belief. That hair a thing of terrible and fierce beauty.
Tyler runs around 1973 New York City and struggles to figure out whether he is dead, crazy, or really in 1973. Gretchen Mol is concerned; Michael Imperioli wants him to go back to wherever he came from, and Harvey Keitel does not give a fuck. That, in a polyester-clad nutshell, Life on Mars.
The show is a remake of a BBC series with exactly the same premise, but in, uh, England. In the way of British shows, though, the original Life on Mars ran for only a season, its storyline completely contained in those original episodes. The US version has to translate the concept into something that can last several years, which means that at any moment it could run off the rails and explode, killing everyone on board. Kind of like watching CNBC! Only instead of your money and your life at stake, it’s your time and emotional involvement.
But, based on the three episodes I’ve seen so far, Life on Mars deserves a chance. Episode 4 premieres tonight at 10. You’ve got just enough time to get caught up, and the previous episodes are on ABC’s website, and really, what are you doing right now? Checking your 401(k)? Reading HuffPo?
Just watch the damn show. You can thank me later.
Oh, and:
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