If you’re not familiar with the premise of the show it surrounds a cop named Sam Tyler. Hot on the trail of a serial killer, Sam is hit by a car. When Sam wakes from his violent slumber, he finds himself transported back to the 70s. He is in the same town as he was before, and even meets people in his life, but something is very strange about this entire affair. Periodically through the day-to-day life he gets messages from the future that lead him to believe that he’s in a coma. His dilemma is that he has to survive his life in the 70s and find some way back home in the 2000s.
While I’ve already detailed how great this show in the reviews of the first and second series, I just want to reiterate the brilliance of the writing and acting.
One thing that will always separate American television from British television is the ability of the Brits to stop a show when it needs to be stopped. Life on Mars was created to be two series and only two series. When creators put together the storyline they had full intentions on ending the series on the note it was intended to end on. Sending Sam Tyler through various twists and turns and incorporating solid storylines of 70s cop mysteries and Sam’s life back in the real world is nothing short of clever.
It’s tough to describe how this series is brilliant; you’ll simply have to see it yourself.
Now, on to why you want to own this collection. If you’ve never seen the show then you should just purchase this collection because you’re going to get the second series anyway. Having reviewed the first in July 2009 and having to wait until November 2009 to review the second series created the most anticipation I’ve had for a television series. The way it leaves off in the first series will drive you to the second and what better way to transition then to have the entire thing in one box set.
No, I’m not trying to sell it. I’m just telling you that having both series readily available for your viewing pleasure will be imperative to your happiness.
What makes this set particularly interesting is that you get some pretty damn good special features. You start with commentary on all the episodes of series one. The audio commentary is brilliant, as you get some good in-depth info on what the creators were thinking and how it turned out.
One of the more impressive parts of the special features is how many featurettes you get with the collection and how long they run. For example, you get a featurette called The Return of Life on Mars. The documentary gives you great insight, including spoilers of how the series ended, about the second series. You get to hear from the cast and creators about their small stories of how the first and second series went for them. What is specifically amazing is how each documentary (and you get six of them) ranges from 14 minutes long to 64 minutes long. You get every type of possible insight from the show and every bit of side story information about how the production went.
Very impressive stuff for a television series. You wouldn’t get this with most television DVD/Blu-ray releases.
Other features included with this include outtakes and interview clips.
Honestly, it’s a complete package and it has a very reasonable price tag. The only thing missing from this bunch is that it isn’t on Blu-ray. Standard DVD quality is nice, but man I would just completely die to see this entire series with a high-def upgrade.