Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
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''Life on Mars'' is an American version of a UK
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
which originally aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original British series of the same title produced by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The series was co-produced by Kudos Film and Television,
20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
, and
ABC Signature ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
. The series tells the story of New York City police detective Sam Tyler (played by
Jason O'Mara Jason O'Mara (born 6 August 1972) is an Irish actor. He has starred in the American television network dramas ''In Justice'', ''Life on Mars'', '' Terra Nova'', ''Vegas'', and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. O'Mara won an Irish Film and Television A ...
), who, after being struck by a car in 2008, regains consciousness in 1973. Fringing between multiple
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s, including thriller,
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and police procedural, the series remained ambiguous regarding its central plot, with the character himself unsure about his situation. The series also starred
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
, Jonathan Murphy,
Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
, and
Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ( ...
. ''Life on Mars'' garnered critical praise for its premise, acting, and depiction of the 1970s. Shortly after its premiere, the show's momentum was interrupted by a two-month hiatus followed by a timeslot change which led to a decline in viewership. On March 2, 2009 ABC announced that it would not be ordering a second season. A DVD set of the complete series was released on September 29, 2009.


Synopsis

The protagonist of the series is Detective Sam Tyler, assigned to the 125th Precinct Detective Squad of the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
. At the show's outset in 2008, he cohabits with his girlfriend who is also his
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
assigned partner, Detective Maya Daniels. Maya, to Tyler's horror, is kidnapped by a murderer they are investigating. While responding to a radio call as he crosses the street, Tyler is distracted and hit by another responding speeding police car. He regains consciousness in the same spot in the year 1973, dressed in period civilian attire, carrying a period-accurate identity card with his badge, and equipped with a vintage automobile, a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle — and, astonishingly, he's parked within sight of the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
. He returns to his precinct house to find an unfamiliar early-1970s police squad, with contemporaneous equipment - rotary dial telephones, reel-to-reel tape recorders, typewriters - and culture which he likens to finding himself on a different planet. However, the detectives have been expecting him, thinking that he is a transfer from a place called "Hyde". His disorientation and frequent reference to things from the future brand him as eccentric, being labeled with the nickname "Spaceman", but he becomes a valued member of the squad. Later on in the series, with Sam supposedly in a coma in 2008, Maya decided to end the relationship. Several of the show's plots involve Sam looking into earlier versions of his cases from 2008, such as in "Out Here in the Fields" where he discovers the sociopath mentor of a future serial killer, and in "The Simple Secret of the Note in Us All" where Sam has the opportunity to stop a serial killer early in his career. Additional storylines are driven by the conflict between Sam's 2008 values and the more corrupt, almost
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
-style policing of the era he finds himself in, while others are driven by Sam's discovery of more personal information about his past in this era that radically reshapes his understanding of the life he's left behind. He engages in an ongoing struggle to figure out what has happened to him, torn between his developing relationships in 1973 and his desire to return to 2008. His 2008 reality frequently intrudes into 1973 through surreal,
anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...
visions and cryptic telephone calls. In one episode he sees a man in a nightclub wearing a
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
T-shirt, in several early episodes he sees the face of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on the front page of the newspaper, and he frequently sees
Mars rover A Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny pos ...
robots following him or attempting to enter his body. At other times, he also hints at his knowledge of the future to his colleagues; in a discussion of then-President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
he confuses them by asserting that Nixon won't be in office much longer, he makes a veiled allusion to the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
when advising them against engaging in hate speech, and he uses then-future cultural references as undercover pseudonyms — sometimes giving his name as "
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...
", "
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...
" or "Sam Bono", and giving Gene and a female companion the undercover names "
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
and Laura Bush". At the end of the series, it is revealed that Tyler's 2008 and 1973 realities were ''both'' fictitious, created by the onboard computer of a spacecraft that is carrying Tyler, Hunt, Norris, Carling, and Skelton on the first ever human mission to the planet Mars, in 2035. The crew he worked with in 1973 were just
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
versions of his fellow spaceship crewmembers. His room number, "2B", is his sleeping unit; his old precinct, "Hyde", and his new precinct, the "125", are based on the name of the spacecraft — "Hyde 125"; his neighbor, Windy, is the name of the computer
A.I. Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech rec ...
; Frank Morgan, an FBI agent in the series, is the Mission Control flight director; in a reversal from her struggle to be taken seriously as a police officer in 1973, Annie Norris is the ship's commander. To sustain the crew, their minds were routinely kept active while asleep using virtual reality "neural stimulation" programs of their own choosing, but Sam's choice of a scenario where he was a police officer c. 2008 was abruptly changed to a 1973 setting by a computer glitch induced by a
meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
-storm. The identity of Maya in 2035, however, is left unexplained. In a twist, Gene Hunt in 1973 turns out to be astronaut '
Major Tom Major Tom is a persona of David Bowie's, referenced in songs "Space Oddity", " Ashes to Ashes", "Hallo Spaceboy", "Blackstar" and " Angel With A Shotgun" Bowie's own interpretation of the character evolved throughout his career. "Space Oddity ...
' Tyler — Sam's father — in the conclusion. Just as Maria was estranged from Gene in 1973, Sam was estranged from his father until the very end of the series, when he reconciles with his dad before they step out onto the bare ground of the Red Planet. However the final shot shows, not an astronaut boot, but Gene Hunt's signature white loafer taking the first step onto the Martian surface, casting doubt once again onto the ending.


Cast


Main

*
Jason O'Mara Jason O'Mara (born 6 August 1972) is an Irish actor. He has starred in the American television network dramas ''In Justice'', ''Life on Mars'', '' Terra Nova'', ''Vegas'', and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. O'Mara won an Irish Film and Television A ...
as Sam Tyler, who is struck by a car in 2008 and awakes in 1973, often finding his modern values conflicting with 1973 culture. *
Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
as Ray Carling, an ambitious and short-tempered detective. *
Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ( ...
as Annie Norris, a policewoman who has aspirations of making the detective squad and struggles against sexist attitudes about policewomen in the 70s. * Jonathan Murphy as Chris Skelton, a kind but naive junior detective. *
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
as Gene Hunt, the hardened commander of the detectives.


Recurring

*
Maggie Siff Maggie Siff (born June 21, 1974) is an American actress. Her most notable television roles have included department store heiress Rachel Menken Katz on the AMC drama '' Mad Men'', Dr. Tara Knowles on the FX drama '' Sons of Anarchy'' for which ...
as Maria Hunt Belanger, a social worker who assists when a young child is a witness to a crime. She is romantically involved with Sam for a brief time during the series, and turns out to be Gene Hunt's daughter. *John Cenatiempo as Sizable Ted, a fellow detective known for his strong physical appearance. *Tanya Fischer as Windy, a free-spirited hippie neighbor of Sam's. * Lisa Bonet as Maya Daniels, Sam's professional and personal partner in 2008. *
Jennifer Ferrin Jennifer Ferrin (born February 25, 1979) is an American actress. Early life and education Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir. Up ...
as Rose Tyler, Sam's mother who struggles to make ends meet. *
Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama '' Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and the City'' and '' Law & Order: Special Vict ...
as Vic Tyler, Sam's father in 1973. *
Edi Gathegi Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series '' House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''Gone Baby Gone'', Laurent in the films ''Twi ...
/
Clarke Peters Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambrea ...
as Fletcher Bellow, a young African-American detective. *
Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...
as Franklin Morgan, an agent set to Sam's precinct when one of Sam's missions fails. *Michael Bertolini as Colin Raimes, a suspected serial killer. *
Peter Greene Peter Greene (born Peter Green; October 8, 1965) is an American actor. A character actor, he is generally known for portraying villains. He is best known for the roles in the 1994 films ''The Mask'', where he plays the films antagonist, Dorian ...
as Jimmy McManus, an Irish gang leader in New York.


Production

David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...
was the initial writer and executive producer of the series pilot, but later handed over production responsibilities to others. The executive producers of the show were
Josh Appelbaum Josh Appelbaum is an American television writer, screenwriter, showrunner and producer. Biography Appelbaum is from a Jewish family.André Nemec André Nemec (born 1972) is an American writer, showrunner and producer. His screenplays include '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. He is also the co-creator of CBS's summer hit series ''Zoo'', as ...
, and Scott Rosenberg, the producers of the ABC drama '' October Road''. After reviewing the pilot episode,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
ordered an overhaul. Several members of the cast and crew were replaced, with production moved from Los Angeles to New York to allow producers to take advantage of recently enacted local and state tax credits for shows filmed in that state. The setting of the series was also changed from Los Angeles to New York, taking place at the fictional 125th precinct of the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD). The script was rewritten, with permission of the original creators, to remove the "unsatisfying" ambiguity of Sam's story in favor of a "mythological element" and "deeper mystery". The series premiered in North America on October 9, 2008, on ABC, following ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
''. Internationally, it also aired on
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in Canada, on FX in the UK, and on Network Ten in Australia. On November 20, 2008, ABC ordered four additional episodes to the show's original thirteen episodes. After its winter
hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * Gl ...
, the series was shifted to a Wednesday night timeslot on January 28, 2009, following ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
''. On March 2, 2009, it was announced that ABC would not be ordering a second season. The cancellation decision came early enough to allow producers time to wrap up the show's storyline. The network aired all 17 episodes ordered, with the final episode airing April 1, 2009.


Episodes


Reception


Commentary

In a UK interview with '' SFX'', Matthew Graham—co-creator of the original ''
Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
''—was asked his opinion on the US remake. His opinion was "Have you seen it? It beggars belief, doesn't it?" He goes on to speak of how he discussed future '' Ashes to Ashes'' endings and theories with the US team, stating they thought the UK ending "wasn't extreme enough". He spoke of how strong endings should be there for the viewer to work out, whereas the US ending was like "coming up with something and going 'Hey-hey, you never knew this, but Gene is a Martian!, which he felt was a mistake.


U.S. ratings


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Life on Mars (US) American Broadcasting Company original programming American television series based on British television series 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s American crime drama television series 2000s American police procedural television series Television series set in the 1970s Fiction set in 1973 Television series set in 1973 Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series by ABC Studios Television series by Endemol Television shows about virtual reality Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department English-language television shows Television series created by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec Life on Mars (franchise) American time travel television series Television shows set in New York City 2000s American time travel television series