Life on Mars, ABC

But an entirely different cuture. Which is what made it so fascinating for so many, I think. And of course, the language is an integral part of the specific culture.

And the brilliant writing and acting.


Made it fascinating, I mean.

Hey, wanna try it out?

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars/index?pn=index

You have to download a plugin from ABC to view the episodes on the Web, and I'm not sure if ABC lets you view it in Oz, or if your connection across the Pacific will be fast enough for movies. But the series is definitely worth that you try.

Oh Jeeze . . . i saw the pilot or the first episode of this in the English version without knowing what it was. Absolutely the stupidest, worst-written crime show tripe i'd ever seen. Maybe it got better after that first episode, but after about 20 minutes of boringly predictable schtick (for chrissake, i figured out that the clown had been transported back in time while he continues to stumble around asking stupid questions)--i gave up and shut off the tee vee.

According to Wikipedia, the part about how he got from 2008 to 1973 was re-written in the American version.

Copyright.

But..it is apparently making its way here via slower channels.

Sounds eminently watchable. I mean...HARVEY KEITEL!!! And SOPRANOS actors.


I did kind of enjoy the contrast between the coppers in the past and the current protagonist in the Brit ne, so I'll doubtless not mind that in the US one.


Enough to make a goil fizz at the bung a tad.

Perhaps that's why it looked so idiotic to me, because i missed the opening, and didn't know he'd been transported back in time--i.e., i didn't know we were working with a sci-fi premise. But i figured it out in minutes, and he didn't. What kind of cop is this, i asked myself (when i realized he was supposed to be a cop), who isn't sufficiently resourceful to deal with the situation, doesn't recognize the culture of his youth, and isn't clever enough to dissemble in a strange situation. (Think Richard Prior and Gene Wilder walking through the prison, scared to death, saying: "We cool . . . we bad . . . ") By the time he got to the squad room (or whatever the Limeys call that) and was still playing little boy lost, i'd had enough. The brutal detective inspector (reminded me of the narcissistic young cop at the beginning of "A Clockwork Orange") was the last straw for me, so i shut it off.

Episode 5: Whoopie Goldberg as a radical Black Panterish radio DJ. She's talking with a very low-pitched voice so she comes across over the airwaves as a man and gets more respect. Very, very funky!

I might have developed more interest if i had thought of it as a comedy . . .

I sympathize. Considering your feeble sense of humor, that thought must have had a hard time occurring.

***

Love the guy who jumps out the window because he lost his shirt in the stock market: He had invested all his fortune in a company making portable phones -- so small they fit into a briefcase! Comments Christopher Montisanti, er, detective Ray Carling: "What an idiot! Who wants to carry around a phone?" Go Carling!

***

Two days and a half after first hearing about the show, I've seen every episode except the fourth. (The first four episodes were available online until Thursday, but ABC seems to have taken them off.) Guess I'm hooked.

Family guy?

My Name Is Earl?

Married With Children?

Roseanne?

I Love Lucy?

... on reflection, it probably is easy to mistake for a non-comedy if you didn't see the opening.

Not that this would keep me from seizing the opportunity for a gratuitous but cathartic personal insult.

Considering the remote resemblance of anything on the screen to humor, it is small wonder that i was unimpressed. I have a low threshhold of boredom (which is why i have trouble with any post of yours longer than about three sentences) which means that a television program gets about ten minutes at the outside, and then i'm off to watch or to do something else.

Think i'll go watch one of my Chrimbo prezzie DVDs.

It certainly wouldn't deter me.

Has anyone watched yesterday's episode? I like that Annie is developing beyond the wallflower role she'd had until now. Liked how Hunt finds out about Tyler and Maria. Loved the attitudes the 1973 men reveal about the proper roles of 1973 women. I'm not liking that I can't get Supersonic Rocket Ship out of my ear now. It's corny.

Indeed....kewl.

I just caught up with the episodes until the season finale. They were intriguing, so I checked Wikipedia about season 2. Well, the news about that is there won't be a season 2. Now I'm pissed off. What a waste of opportunity!