Exploring ‘Life on Mars’ (Thursdays on ABC)
The new series Life on Mars debuts this Thursday on ABC at 10pm PST, following Grey’s Anatomy. While I never watched the original UK version of the show, the premise is intriguing and this American adaptation seems promising.
Here is the official description from ABC.com:
Where were you in 1973? NYPD Detective Sam Tyler finds
himself in the cultural hotbed of New York City in the tumultuous times
of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women’s lib and the civil and gay rights
movements – without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player –
suddenly hurtled back in time when he’s ripped from 2008 after being
hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He’s trying mightily to
understand what has just happened to him and how he can get back “home.”
Last week, I had the opportunity to listen in on a teleconference call with lead Jason O’Mara (who was recently on both Men in Trees and Grey’s) and co-executive producer Josh Appelbaum (October Road, Alias). The creators of this show were huge fans of the original, and aim to honor the spirit and tone of the British series; in addition to relocating it to New York, there will only be “one key change to the mythology.”
The show is set in the 1970′s, and Appelbaum talked about the importance of portraying that era authentically (rather than with parody and stereotype); evoking nostalgia a la The French Connection and Serpico. They are huge fans of Mad Men, and recognize that everything from the set and costume details to the soundtrack and NY dialects are significant to the success of the series.
In addition to O’Mara, the stellar cast includes veteran film actor Harvey Keitel (in his very first foray into series television), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Gretchen Mol (3:10 to Yuma, The Notorious Bettie Page), Jonathan Murphy (October Road) and Lisa Bonet (High Fidelity, Enemy of the State).
Although it was not initially on my radar of new shows to set a TiVO Season Pass for, after listening to O’Mara’s enthusiasm for the series and Appelbaum’s perspective on this unconventional version of the NY detective genre, I will definitely be tuning in every week to Life on Mars and recommend that you do the same!