Re: life on mars
 

Yep I watched and wish I hadn't. It just doesn't seem to work with American Actors and being set in the USA. no idea why it needed remade to be honest.

Re: life on mars
 

i think that is more because the mass market in the US just won't watch a programme with UK actors , set over here.

I'm sure some after watching the US version will seek out the UK version but not as many

Re: life on mars
 

Re: life on mars
 

I had the misfortune to watch the US v of LoM and words fail me.

Re: life on mars
 

I believe they are reshooting the first episode again - this time using actors :D

Re: life on mars
 

Uh oh....

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a11...ler-story.html

Looks like the yanks are going to butcher it then.

Re: life on mars
 

Typical :rolleyes:

When will they understand the world does not revolve around them.

Re: life on mars
 

The ambiguity was a large part of the series' appeal... :rolleyes:

Re: life on mars
 

didn't they understand that the whole point was "it wasn't just a cop show" or would that concept be too difficult for the average American to understand

Re: life on mars
 

It's just that they cannot believe that the average US viewer can actually think..

Re: life on mars
 

I'm guessing a 'cop' show in America needs to centre on either lots of explosions or catching terrorists.

Re: life on mars
 

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a11...-hunt.html?rss

Hopefully, this guy can play a better Gene Hunt than the other guy who was meant to play him.

Re: life on mars
 

I see its also going to be set in New York and not LA.

Re: life on mars
 

If they are not careful, setting it in NY and the tweaks to the format you could end up with another New Amsterdam.

Re: life on mars
 

I really liked Life on Mars, what a great story. It looks like they're trying to slaughter it on purpose.

Re: life on mars
 

I kind of liked New Amsterdam :/

Re: life on mars
 

So did I but it ended totally abrubtly. I wish when they did that they published the future scripts

Re: life on mars
 

Hmmm, the first proper episode of the US version is now out. It is a lot better than the pilot, I think I'll give it a few more episodes before giving my opinions on it.

Re: life on mars
 

Wow - your fast - I didn't even have to go find it - it came to my TV in lovely HD.
Yes the first proper episode is now out. The lead Jason O'Mara reminds me of a young Mel Gibson and I think the characters need a couple more episodes to grow into their roles (or maybe I am used to seeing John Simm play the role) but it was a good opener and pretty faithful to the original script.
The NYC location plays well and the nice use of the twin towers. Timing wise this actually works (compared to the slight twist of time in the UK one) as the towers were completed in 1972 and ribbon cut in April 1973.
Gonna keep watching but my damn DVR chopped the end of it - grrr.

Re: life on mars
 

Thinking more about this now I have seen it in a less sleepy state. Sam has the same sort of awareness as Alex Drake did in Ashes. It could work - it did in Ashes.

Re: life on mars
 

Hmm, not sure about Life on Mars US. They seem to have created a more authentic, well populated 1970s, but the fun and warmth seems to be missing, not just from the environment, but also from the characters. Keitel is a fine actor, but Glenister's Gene Hunt was an instant classic, and on first impressions, there's no real comparison the two. The guy playing Sam is kind of wooden, and although he seems less smarmy than John Simms, he doesn't really have much chemistry with either Keitel or Gretchen Mol, and in almost every scene, I kept thinking the guy from Journeyman would have been much better in the role. The only character that really caught my attention was The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli, and it was kind of nice to see Lisa Bonet back on TV as well.

I thought it was disappointing how closely the pilot followed the UK version, and as a result made many of the same mistakes, and even found room for some new ones. They rushed the setup, and the opening car sequence looked cheap and felt forced, which might not have seemed too important in the grand scheme of things, but it gave a bad first impression. They were sensible enough to cut the mind-numbingly stupid rooftop scene, although, it did serve the purpose of setting up the ending of the UK series, so hopefully this means future episodes will start to take a different route. The Office US was also off to a comparatively weak start, but eventually managed to not only match, but completely surpass the UK version, and certainly in terms of plot, that shouldn't be too hard for Life on Mars, but I do have my concerns about the characters.

First impressions: A resounding "meh".

Re: life on mars
 

I read something a couple of days ago (no idea the source) that said it will, Office style, take a different route going forward. Wait and see...

Re: life on mars
 

The second episode also is like the second episode of the UK version. 5 of them run out of a swimming pool, wearing nothing but swimming trunks etc.

Re: life on mars
 

wonder who will pick up the uk right's for the us LOM bet it's itv 3 or 4 :D

Re: life on mars
 

The second episode was not an improvement, once again following the original much too closely, and making more or less all the same mistakes.

It's funny, as crap as the British version was, it was still some of the best stuff you could hope to catch on British TV, but this is so far below the standards of US TV, you've gotta wonder how long they'll put up with this charmless, banal, heavy-handed crap. Maybe the 40% drop in ratings this week at least partly answers that question?

Re: life on mars
 

ABC has cancelled this after just one season which will end at 17 episodes.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a14...ne-season.html

Bloody hell, ABC will have no more shows left by May time. :erm:

Re: life on mars
 

watched this the first time round 2yr's ago i enjoyed it but did not like the other one they did with a woman copper

Re: life on mars
 

Wow, I couldn't think of an ending that was more different to the original.

Re: life on mars
 

Are you talking about the American remake? How did they end it?

Re: life on mars
 

Some of it may be wrong.

Re: life on mars
 

Annie did look hot at the end.:drool::drool::drool:

Re: life on mars
 

At first reading about the US ending I thought it was an April Fool!

Such a daft ending really.



Thats the quick short explanation...

Re: life on mars
 

That's a very American ending. They like neat explanations and less ambiguity.

Re: life on mars
 

Ending to be explained apparently - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s49...e-on-mars.html

Re: life on mars
 

Doh! They should have set it in 2038.

Re: life on mars
 

I don't like the sound of that at all, why do people need things to be explained? Some things are better left unsaid and imo this could well end up being one of them.

Re: life on mars
 

Just dragging one up from the depths of the ether!

Unfortunately for me I have just endured the first 6, the 11th & last 2 episodes of LoM ala the US version of it.
Never before (well not in recent memory anyway) have I watched such dire tripe & for the ending, well what can I say.

Going to have to watch the original just to try & remove the scars left by the yank effort :sick:

Re: life on mars
 

I watched the original US pilot with Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt and thought it looked rubbish, so didn't bother with the full series

Americans don't usually do remakes of British shows well (IT Crowd, Red Dwarf, Spaced, LoM to name a few) with the only real exception IMO being The Office: An American Workplace

Re: life on mars
 

Only other successful remakes I can think of is Shameless and Being Human.

Re: life on mars
 

And Sanford and Son.