When ABC trumpeted in some of their new, original shows 2 seasons ago, they seemed extraordinarily proud of a show called “Life on Mars”. They cast it with with Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Gretchen Mol, so you could see they meant business, but this was a cop show that involved a modern day detective travelling back in time to 1973. It’s a seriously original idea and not something you’d expect to see timid TV executives taking a risk on. Something else had to have been at work; and something was: Life on Mars was a UK TV series first, a successful one that even spawned a spin-off. Now after much patient anticipation, the original UK Life on Mars has come to North America on DVD.
Life on Mars stars John Simm as Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler, a by-the-numbers cop working the mean streets of Manchester, England. He is a pillar of professionalism and a tireless crusader for justice. When he is struck down by a speeding car in the middle of a case, he awakens in the year 1973. His collar is longer, the bells on his legs are bigger, and the rank on his badge is suddenly lower. He realises that he’s now a Detective Inspector working for the Manchester police, assigned to a case eerily similar to the one he left behind in 2006. Now he must race to find a murderer, while also figuring out whether he’s died and gone to some kind of weird Manchester themed heaven, he’s in a coma, or if he’s just totally nuts. Serving as his foil, nemesis, and boss is DCI Gene Hunt (played with reckless abandon by Philip Gleinister) a hard drinking, chain smoking, rule bending, employee punching man in charge. Together, they reach out the long arm of the law from very different angles, while Sam struggles to figure out how to get back to his friends and family in the “here and now”. It’s a refreshing spin on a stale genre that makes the most of what it has at hand, from music, to antiquated notions of sexual equality, to “classic” cars you’ve only seen in old family photos.
Limey Sam Tyler's Ford Cortina
Being totally clueless to anything about modern Manchester, let alone Manchester before I was born, I’ll have to take the Special Features word for it that everything’s accurately recreated, but it certainly looks authentic, from the smoky police station, to the pub down the street, to the drab rowhouses where Sam’s family still lives. From what I can tell, the show is laid out in meticulous detail, but I’m at a disadvantage watching the show because I don’t really know much about how Manchester should look back in 1973. That didn’t stop me from getting right into the action though. I suppose also left me at a disadvantage by not being a big David Bowie fan and don’t really know what the song Life on Mars (or Ashes to Ashes, the show’s spinoff series) is about. Beyond the fact that it’s the last thing playing on his MP3 player when he’s hit by that car, and the reference in the opening credits to being on another planet, but is there more to it? If there is, drop me a line and let me know.
Life on Mars‘ greatest strength is that while these old school 70s cops are busy solving some kind of mystery, there’s a whole existential mystery playing out. Where is Sam? Why is he in 1973? What’s with the weird flashbacks/flashforwards? Well, I’ll admit I’m guilty of a little bit of cheating as far as that goes. I did quite a bit of research on it back when they launched the American version of the show – so it seemed kind of obvious what was behind the whole “temporal regresssion” thing – but I don’t think that’s really the point of the whole show anyway – even if the question is repeated in the opening credits of each episode.
Yankee Sam Tyler's Chevrolet Chevelle
For those who are only familiar with the American version, I suppose the American Sam Tyler is pretty stylin’ in his 1971 Chevy Chevelle, but the BBC version is certainly uniquely British with their use of a Ford Cortina Mark III (looks kind of like an old Corolla), which was never even sold in the US. Other than automotive superiority though, I don’t think that the American version had anything to offer the pop-culture world that the UK version didn’t already offer. As far as music, and both shows do make very wise use of music of the era, you can’t really stake any kind of claim on which show can make use of which music, although you’d be surprised at how much great stuff there is to use from the UK back then: Pink Floyd, Cream, The Who, Wings, etc. Furthermore, the most striking difference was that they didn’t establish the American Sam as a straight-laced cop – which is supposed to be the main source of dramatic tension in the show in the first place. Maybe the British don’t mind seeing their heroes act like twits now and then, whereas American audiences don’t have the capacity to tolerate and kind of cop getting out-mavericked by a bunch of supporting characters. Americans don’t like cops who go by the book, they like cops who kick down doors, run red lights and argue with their chief. Americans love Harry Callahan, not Frank Wrench. What I think that leaves you with, if you actually are American, is the opportunity to rise above the proletariat and help to sophisticate your TV palette.
The special features seem pretty thrown together – but there’s enough there to satisfy your curiosity for the creative process. It’s not a dealbreaker, but I would have liked to see something a little more thoroughly produced. The commentaries are robust, and there’s enough outtakes to make it feel that you’re getting your money’s worth. Again though, I would not consider the features to be a centrepiece of this release.
The Verdict: This show just reeks of British credibility and you will have a great time getting to know DCI Gene Hunt. Totally a must for your collection.
