Enjoy the dream
When police detective Sam Tyler is hit by a vehicle unexpectedly, he wakes up to something particularly strange; he wakes up in the 70s. Trying to figure out whether he’s dreaming, in a coma or actually time traveling, Sam Tyler makes his way through his new confusing life as he did in his original life, as a police detective. He reluctantly helps out his new police force in solving cases and helps apply his 21st century techniques.
What’s truly brilliant about this show is that the actors are positively buying into their roles. Unlike the U.S. version of the show, which simply had the wrong people, the wrong place and the wrong premise. Thankfully, the U.K. version of this show is done extremely well. John Simm (Sam Tyler) puts on a powerful role as a man thoroughly baffled by his new environment and one who doesn’t easily accept his fate as someone who truly belongs in the 70s. He’s incredibly convincing, charming and just fun to watch as a main character. (SPOILER ALERT — turn away if you don’t want to know) When he discovers that he is indeed in a coma, he puts on a riveting performance as someone who desperately wants to go home and will do anything to accomplish this. At times it’s incredibly sad as you feel for his situation. The episode towards the end of the series where the real world is going to pull the plug on him at 2pm, it will make you sweat; and you’ll enjoy every minute of it. So, without John Simm, the show simply doesn’t work. (SPOILER ENDS) This leads to the point where the U.S. version terribly failed. The replaced the main character with someone who could not live up to Simm’s Sam Tyler. What makes Simm’s great is that he fluctuates his character from strong, needy to team player. There’s so much range that you simply can’t put a good-looking, buff gentleman in his place and expect the same results. His looks are tough, but his character can be vulnerable at times; this is what makes an audience comfortable with such a character and an actor.
His supporting cast is damn good, too. Philip Glenister’s Gene Hunt is brutal, funny and uncaring. He is the perfect opposite of Simm’s Sam. He’s old, fat and rude versus Sam’s young, hip and somewhat dashing (too much?). His introduction in the first show pretty much lays the foundation for his character throughout the series. Much like Simm, Glenister doesn’t falter from character once. He is who he says he is from the beginning to the end of the series. He never strays, even when the character should call for it. Again, just like Simm, he plays an amazing character and one that is extremely memorable. As for Sam’s love interest, Annie Cartwright (played by Liz White), she fits perfectly into the scheme of things. White’s character is a tough woman who knows her place in the 70s (sorry ladies, but it’s true). She takes nonsense with stride, but also makes sure everyone understands how series she takes her job. White’s Liz isn’t a damsel in distress, she’s simply helping out. Not typical of women in television these days, but very refreshing to say the least. White, like the others, never breaks stride and plays Cartwright perfectly until the end.
From the beginning of series one the show simply captures and demands your attention. Even as the first show wraps with the solving of a mystery, it keeps opening more and more; this leads you on through out the entire eight-show run for the series. Much like Sam, you’ll find yourself getting lost in the moment. You’ll find yourself loving the 70s and forgetting that Sam actually traveled back from the 21st century; that’s how deep each episode is. The show also toys with the concept of ‘hero’. As you’re someone who is living in the 2000s (at least I hope everyone reading this believes that), you’ll always want to sympathize with Sam and stand behind his theories and logic. Naturally because Sam comes from a time where everything is so precise and accurate, it’s only fair to believe that his conclusions would be the best. The show allows you to think this, but everyone gets to play round-table hero during the series. Even some episodes where Sam has the case figured out, you’ll never be one hundred percent sure he’s right until the end. Your attention will always be glued to details and consistencies.
Now, what’s truly remarkable about the show is the writing consistency.
I had a tough time understanding what Sam was dreaming about when he was hit by the car at the beginning and the writers don’t let go of that. They don’t simply put that in for filler, it becomes important later on in the last episode. The writing for Life on Mars makes this all happen. They must have flow-charted this sucker pretty darn well and made sure their loose ends were tied up they needed to. The show forces your attention back and forth, plays with your mind here and there, and more importantly treats you like it’s treating Sam Tyler; you’re trying to get your ground, but every time you seem sure it’s all okay, something else happens. I would like to refer to this as the Twin Peaks effect where you’re pretty sure you know what’s going on, but it turns out that you’re dead wrong. What’s even funnier about this is that the writers will plainly give you the answers to what is happening to Sam at the very beginning of the series, but that doesn’t ease your tension. You have to love shows just like this. For an American audience we’re not use to such intelligent writing, as it is far and few between here in the states. It’s either a sitcom or a reality show, creativity barely scratches the surface nowadays. With a show like Life on Mars it shows how patient a television network can be. This show didn’t take off for many reasons in the state, but the general set-up was there from the British show. The difference was that the BBC (as the special features explained) took a chance on a couple of writers who really took a story out to left-field. For a network like ABC, if it didn’t see it successfully in the U.K. then it wouldn’t have touched the idea with a ten-foot pole. So, with that said, the writing really drives home the entire show, as it’s intelligent, witty and somewhat mysterious. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and slowly push you back at times (only to bring you back out — it’s a vicious emotional game). Add the writing to an already fun cast of blokes (and a cool gal) and you’ve got yourself a helluva combination.
So with all this greatness, this clever writing and acting, what could possibly be the show’s negatives? Well, for an American audience you’ll have a language barrier to climb over. If you’re not use to actual English from the English (you like that?) then you might as well turn on your subtitles as soon as the show starts. By show five you’ll have the lingo down and you’ll be comfortable enough to turn them subtitles off. The second negative, which again relates to the American audiences, is that you may not relate well to British situations or references. For example, if you’re not a futbol fan then you may not fully understand the passion behind the sport over in England. I certainly didn’t know how series the English take their futbol, but from the episode that has a fan getting killed over their team I certainly understand now. Going back and watching the episode again really helped bring out the best emotional roller-coaster ride I could take. If you’re patient enough, it’s worth the rush.
Certainly not a God-awful small affair
While I’ve certainly experienced better features from a show, I did have a pleasant time with the ones they included. The audio commentary from the cast and crew were top-notch. I loved what they had to say about many things in each episode and they brought sort of a witty, intelligent amount of insight to an already solid playing field. The featurettes were brilliant, the best one being Take a Look at the Lawman which gives you interviews with cast and crew and provides to how the show was picked up, what they were looking for out of it and more little surprises to make the show an even better experience.
I don’t mean to be a debbie downer here, but the outtakes just weren’t that great. Generally you’re supposed to laugh at those things, but they weren’t as funny as others that I’ve seen on television show releases. Before you ask let me just say, no it didn’t have anything to do with me being American. I love British humor and can identify it without subtitles.
Anyway, at the end of the day you get a solid set of features to accompany a fantastic show.