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locker_monsterIt remains to be seen whether they'll be changing the characters for Life on Mars US. From what I saw, the personalities are staying the same. Sam does seem a little different. I always thought he ended up in the past to learn a lesson of sorts, that police work can more than computers and DNA. He starts thinking less with his head and trusts his gut feelings. If you've seen UK Life on Mars all the way through, Sam does change from his experience in 1973, makes him a better person. US Sam ends up in 1973 for no real apparent reason, though that remains to be seen. The US producers could be taking this show in any direction.
But the characters. All the familiar names are there.
DC Chris Skelton.
Not sure what Chris' rank is in the US version. Do they have different levels of detective in America? Either way, he's still the young guy on the force, who does Sam's grunt work when need be.
DS Ray Carling.
The mustache seems to be a prerequisite for the character. :-) Ray's still the rude guy, though he doesn't seem to hate Sam as much in the US version, at least not yet. I didn't really care who was playing either character. Chris and Ray were just there; they weren't major characters like Sam, Annie, and Gene. And speaking of Gene...
I love the character of Gene Hunt. Gene Hunt, who's fond of saying "You're surrounded by armed bastards!" to the baddies. Philip Glenister managed to make Gene a likeable character even if he was an ass sometimes. And I think he learned a lot from Sam just as much as Sam learned a lot from Gene.
So no offense to Harvey Keitel, who I'm sure is an awesome actor, but I like UK Gene more. They kept Gene's line to Sam about being the "king of the jungle", but somehow I like the line more coming from Philip Glenister. There's a line from Gene in resposne to Sam's question about what year it is and UK Gene's response, "[It's] 1973. Almost dinner time. I'm 'aving hoops" just sounds, I dunno... cooler. Maybe it's because I have no idea what he's talking about. :-)
Both Genes still enjoy beating up Sam, though. Nothing like having the boss punch you in the stomach on your first day in another decade.
I read somewhere the US producers are trying to make the mythology of the show different from the UK version. I'm really not sure what that means, but I assume it's in reference to the truth about Sam's jump from 2008 to 1973.
Sam still hears the doctors working on him, though US Sam is a little bit more melodramatic. This seems to support the "Sam's in a coma" solution, but US Sam also brings up time traveller and lunacy, just as UK Sam does. Now, I don't see how this is the US producers trying to change the mythology. What other reasons could there be? Aliens? Alternative reality?
The plot lines here take a little detour from each other, though they still end up at the same place.
Just want to mention dialogue is taken line for line here. US Sam has the same freak out and says the same things as UK Sam. They even keep the gag with Sam asking Chris to check the stomach contents of the victim and Chris starts to lift the sheet over the victim instead of checking the post-mortem report. And both Sams notice a clue on the victim, which helps to crack the case. But enough about that.
Sam meets Annie Cartwright, a Woman Police Constable. She helpfully checks him over after his accident and UK Annie gets in a punch to Sam's kidneys, which is quite cute.
US Annie is actually Annie Norris, nicknamed Annie "No Nuts" by the boys. She doesn't seem like a love interest for Sam at the moment. US Sam seems really devoted to US Maya, while UK Sam and Maya were growing apart. Due to time restrictions, some of the plot details in the UK pilot are cut out from the US pilot, notable Sam giving Annie details about his life in the present. So UK Annie's ex-boyfriend, Neil, who may or may not be a hypno-therapist in the present trying to help Sam, is gone. Which is a shame, but it gave UK Sam a real head trip about what was real and what wasn't.
Sam/Annie! Hee!
No, Sam isn't feeling up Annie. ;-) At least they kept this the same, though US Annie places Sam's hand on her heart, where UK Sam reaches out on his own. But either way, it establishes a connection between Sam and Annie, though I feel it's more profound in the UK version. However, I admit I might be slightly bias because I think UK Sam and Annie are so cute together.
A cute little moment between Sam and Annie, with Annie trying to convince Sam she's actually real.
The "Sam's crazy" idea is also brought up. Everything's exactly the same here, too. Same late night math program, same professor guy who suddenly starts talking about Sam's condition, Sam yelling at the TV...
No creepy test card girl though. I doubt the US has an equivalent. Maybe that Native American chief guy, but he's wouldn't be as creepy as a little girl with a clown doll.
Let's not forget Nelson, the friendly barkeep at the local bar/pub. UK Nelson dished out philosphical advice to Sam along with drinks. Dunno if that'll be true for US Nelson.
So Sam attempts to use his present day skills to track down the killer, like profiling.
Word for word dialogue here, with Sam trying to get Annie, who took psychology in university, to help with the profiling. The guys don't take it seriously, naturally.
More copied dialogue. Sam wants to walk until his mind can't think up any more details. The camera 360 move is also duplicated. Even the music, "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, is copied.
Sam and Gene spring into action after they realize who the killer is. So for whatever reason, they need to jump over the desk.
It feels less weird on the UK version. Maybe it's because UK Sam and Gene had a few scenes interacting with each other while doing some police work at the same time. It's established they want the same things, it's just their methods that differ. US Sam and Gene jumping over the desk feels out of place.
So things do change a little towards the end. US Sam confronts the killer, and tries to goad the killer into shooting him. His reasoning is it'll be the jolt that wakes him up. It differs from UK Sam's solution, which is to jump off a building. I prefer, not surprisingly, the UK version.
Actually, I like the UK version because the idea gets picked up again in the series finale. UK Sam is ready to jump off a building to get back to the world where he belongs. US Sam feels more desparate; it's hard to tell whether he's just trying to disarm the killer or he geniuely wants to die because he can't stand living in 1973.
The resolution is a bit unsatisfying in the US version. In both versions they catch the killer and Sam realizes the guy he was hounding in the present actually lived next door to the 1973 killer. UK Sam finds a doctor's note in the 1973 killer's house, stating the guy is mental disturbed and the guy belongs in a high security mental hospital, not a jail for life. US Sam, not so much. UK Sam faces a bigger dilemma because he faces a choice of either doing the right thing and sending the killer to the hospital or ignoring the note and sending the guy to prision for life. US Sam just debates shooting the present killer when he's still a kid to prevent Maya's kidnapping. UK Sam ignores the note to up-hold the law; US Sam just wants to help his girlfriend.
For US Sam, it's Maya's voice on the police radio that stops him from shooting the present day killer as a kid. Which works fine, I guess. Supports US Sam's love for Maya. UK Sam has Annie telling him to stay, but there's really no resolution. No one from the present appears to tell him to step away from the ledge.
I was worried they would change the characters drastically, but that doesn't seem like the case. Still, it's weird seeing other actors playing versions of these characters.
Ultimate verdict: UK Life on Mars. Sorry, but I guess I like British television better. :-)
But the characters. All the familiar names are there.
DC Chris Skelton.
Not sure what Chris' rank is in the US version. Do they have different levels of detective in America? Either way, he's still the young guy on the force, who does Sam's grunt work when need be.
DS Ray Carling.
The mustache seems to be a prerequisite for the character. :-) Ray's still the rude guy, though he doesn't seem to hate Sam as much in the US version, at least not yet. I didn't really care who was playing either character. Chris and Ray were just there; they weren't major characters like Sam, Annie, and Gene. And speaking of Gene...
I love the character of Gene Hunt. Gene Hunt, who's fond of saying "You're surrounded by armed bastards!" to the baddies. Philip Glenister managed to make Gene a likeable character even if he was an ass sometimes. And I think he learned a lot from Sam just as much as Sam learned a lot from Gene.
So no offense to Harvey Keitel, who I'm sure is an awesome actor, but I like UK Gene more. They kept Gene's line to Sam about being the "king of the jungle", but somehow I like the line more coming from Philip Glenister. There's a line from Gene in resposne to Sam's question about what year it is and UK Gene's response, "[It's] 1973. Almost dinner time. I'm 'aving hoops" just sounds, I dunno... cooler. Maybe it's because I have no idea what he's talking about. :-)
Both Genes still enjoy beating up Sam, though. Nothing like having the boss punch you in the stomach on your first day in another decade.
I read somewhere the US producers are trying to make the mythology of the show different from the UK version. I'm really not sure what that means, but I assume it's in reference to the truth about Sam's jump from 2008 to 1973.
Sam still hears the doctors working on him, though US Sam is a little bit more melodramatic. This seems to support the "Sam's in a coma" solution, but US Sam also brings up time traveller and lunacy, just as UK Sam does. Now, I don't see how this is the US producers trying to change the mythology. What other reasons could there be? Aliens? Alternative reality?
The plot lines here take a little detour from each other, though they still end up at the same place.
Just want to mention dialogue is taken line for line here. US Sam has the same freak out and says the same things as UK Sam. They even keep the gag with Sam asking Chris to check the stomach contents of the victim and Chris starts to lift the sheet over the victim instead of checking the post-mortem report. And both Sams notice a clue on the victim, which helps to crack the case. But enough about that.
Sam meets Annie Cartwright, a Woman Police Constable. She helpfully checks him over after his accident and UK Annie gets in a punch to Sam's kidneys, which is quite cute.
US Annie is actually Annie Norris, nicknamed Annie "No Nuts" by the boys. She doesn't seem like a love interest for Sam at the moment. US Sam seems really devoted to US Maya, while UK Sam and Maya were growing apart. Due to time restrictions, some of the plot details in the UK pilot are cut out from the US pilot, notable Sam giving Annie details about his life in the present. So UK Annie's ex-boyfriend, Neil, who may or may not be a hypno-therapist in the present trying to help Sam, is gone. Which is a shame, but it gave UK Sam a real head trip about what was real and what wasn't.
Sam/Annie! Hee!
No, Sam isn't feeling up Annie. ;-) At least they kept this the same, though US Annie places Sam's hand on her heart, where UK Sam reaches out on his own. But either way, it establishes a connection between Sam and Annie, though I feel it's more profound in the UK version. However, I admit I might be slightly bias because I think UK Sam and Annie are so cute together.
A cute little moment between Sam and Annie, with Annie trying to convince Sam she's actually real.
The "Sam's crazy" idea is also brought up. Everything's exactly the same here, too. Same late night math program, same professor guy who suddenly starts talking about Sam's condition, Sam yelling at the TV...
No creepy test card girl though. I doubt the US has an equivalent. Maybe that Native American chief guy, but he's wouldn't be as creepy as a little girl with a clown doll.
Let's not forget Nelson, the friendly barkeep at the local bar/pub. UK Nelson dished out philosphical advice to Sam along with drinks. Dunno if that'll be true for US Nelson.
So Sam attempts to use his present day skills to track down the killer, like profiling.
Word for word dialogue here, with Sam trying to get Annie, who took psychology in university, to help with the profiling. The guys don't take it seriously, naturally.
More copied dialogue. Sam wants to walk until his mind can't think up any more details. The camera 360 move is also duplicated. Even the music, "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, is copied.
Sam and Gene spring into action after they realize who the killer is. So for whatever reason, they need to jump over the desk.
It feels less weird on the UK version. Maybe it's because UK Sam and Gene had a few scenes interacting with each other while doing some police work at the same time. It's established they want the same things, it's just their methods that differ. US Sam and Gene jumping over the desk feels out of place.
So things do change a little towards the end. US Sam confronts the killer, and tries to goad the killer into shooting him. His reasoning is it'll be the jolt that wakes him up. It differs from UK Sam's solution, which is to jump off a building. I prefer, not surprisingly, the UK version.
Actually, I like the UK version because the idea gets picked up again in the series finale. UK Sam is ready to jump off a building to get back to the world where he belongs. US Sam feels more desparate; it's hard to tell whether he's just trying to disarm the killer or he geniuely wants to die because he can't stand living in 1973.
The resolution is a bit unsatisfying in the US version. In both versions they catch the killer and Sam realizes the guy he was hounding in the present actually lived next door to the 1973 killer. UK Sam finds a doctor's note in the 1973 killer's house, stating the guy is mental disturbed and the guy belongs in a high security mental hospital, not a jail for life. US Sam, not so much. UK Sam faces a bigger dilemma because he faces a choice of either doing the right thing and sending the killer to the hospital or ignoring the note and sending the guy to prision for life. US Sam just debates shooting the present killer when he's still a kid to prevent Maya's kidnapping. UK Sam ignores the note to up-hold the law; US Sam just wants to help his girlfriend.
For US Sam, it's Maya's voice on the police radio that stops him from shooting the present day killer as a kid. Which works fine, I guess. Supports US Sam's love for Maya. UK Sam has Annie telling him to stay, but there's really no resolution. No one from the present appears to tell him to step away from the ledge.
I was worried they would change the characters drastically, but that doesn't seem like the case. Still, it's weird seeing other actors playing versions of these characters.
Ultimate verdict: UK Life on Mars. Sorry, but I guess I like British television better. :-)
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Date: 2008-10-11 11:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-11 04:09 pm (UTC)It definitely wasn't as horrible as I imagined it could have been, but the exact same details the US producers kept makes the whole pilot feel lazy. Once they start to come up with their own ideas, maybe I'll care enough to watch again.