DVD Review: Life On Mars: Series 1 (U.K.): John Simm, Philip Glenister: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Life On Mars: Series 1 (U.K.): John Simm, Philip Glenister: Movies & TV
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A thoroughly engrossing and unpredictable police drama with a fantastic twist, Life on Mars concerns Manchester, U.K. police detective Sam Tyler (John Simm), who is hit by a car while investigating the disappearance of a colleague. When Tyler comes around, he’s still in the street where he was knocked down–but the year is 1973, 23 years before the accident. Certain he’s dreaming or in a post-accident delusion, Tyler drifts through the streets in shock and skepticism about everything he sees–especially the dark, smoky, thuggish atmosphere of his police precinct, nothing like the clean, high-tech office with which he’s more familiar. After a brutal introduction to his boss, Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), Tyler tries to reconcile his apparent responsibilities as a 1973 cop with disturbing suggestions he is trapped inside his own mind, suffering a coma in the 21st century.
Part of the fun of Life on Mars is watching Tyler come to terms with the primitive state of crime-solving in the era of Starsky and Hutch. Forget state-of-the-art investigative science, and forget institutional regard for suspect rights and police procedure. Rather than accept Hunt’s status quo, however, Tyler fights every step of the way for progressive policing, putting him on a daily collision course with other cops. Still, over the eight episodes in Series One, Tyler does make some inroads and gains the respect of his commander–which doesn’t mean the two don’t throw their fists at one another regularly. As anxious as Tyler is to get back to the future, his romantic connection to a policewoman (Liz White) helps ground him (or trap him?) in his perhaps-unreal surroundings. Still, there’s a question: is there a reason Tyler has turned up in a year when he was still a little boy, facing difficult times? The answer is remarkable, as Life On Mars: Series One moves toward a powerful conclusion. Life on Mars proved such an attractive concept that the show was remade for American television in 2008, starring Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler and Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt, and with Gretchen Mol, Michael Imperioli, and Lisa Bonet also in the cast. –Tom Keogh
Stills from Life on Mars: Series 1 (U.K.) (Click for larger image)
Product Description
The time-warping detective series seen on BBC America
Dreaming, delusional, or displaced in time? Police detective Sam Tyler (John Simm, State of Play) must decide which describes him in this intriguing twist on the police procedural that has won two International Emmys® and rave reviews from critics and fans.
Hot on a killer’s trail in modern-day Manchester, Tyler gets struck by a passing car and wakes up in 1973. The high-tech tools and respect for proper procedure have vanished. Instead, he finds himself working on a homicide squad where hard drinking replaces hard thinking; forensics takes weeks to analyze; and his boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister, Cranford), has no qualms about roughing up suspects–or Sam himself. Still, Tyler has real-world crimes to solve, even as strange voices call him back to his 21st century life. But when he bonds with sympathetic policewoman Annie Cartwright (Liz White, The Fixer), Sam wonders: does he really want to return?
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Journey Back to 1973 Manchester,
By Kimberly (Philadelphia, PA United States) -
I am ecstatic to see this wonderful series from the UK come out on DVD for us Americans to own. Life on Mars is one of the best live action series I have seen in a long time with a combination of great drama, comedy, and superb performances by all involved. John Simm and Philip Glenister who play Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt are especially fantastic, their chemistry as a team is exceptional.
If you happen to have seen the US series please give this version a chance as well. While the premise is the same they are very different in tone. The original UK series is grittier and the 1970’s Sam finds himself in is much more politically incorrect adding a bit more conflict and spice to the series. Sam and Gene’s relationship is also more of a buddy cop type compared to the father/son type relationship you get from the US version. Even the ending is completely different and in my opinion much more emotionally satisfying than the US one. The UK series is really one of a kind and should not be missed.
Note: This DVD only has the first 8 episodes of the series. The DVD with the final 8 episodes will be coming out sometime in 2010.
John Simms is the best Sam Tyler,
By Jillian P. Phippen (Orem, UT USA) -
There is a one star review for this item from a person who has only seen the American version of Life on Mars. That review grouses about “only 8 shows” and that this is “only half a season.”
This is NOT a short season. In Great Britain, seasons are 8 shows. If you watched it on BBC, you waited a year to see the next season. Doctor Who is the only current British show to have 13 episodes (like an American season). You end up with 16 total episodes, each a year apart.
As for PRICE: a full season of Doctor Who is between $65 and $75 per 13 episode season, so the price is absolutely in line with that. Judging the British counterpart by its American (failure) is a really poor idea by someone who doesn’t *know* anything about the British season and has now artificially lowered the rating of this superior British piece.
BBC’s Life on Mars was amazing as it came out. It really ignited my imagination. John Simms gives a stellar performance. If you like the American series, the British series is much tighter, has better symbolism, reminds viewers that the past is different than the present, and it puts into perspective modern detective work as it’s performed without CSI and million-dollar-crime labs.
Another BBC show that’s trumped its American re-shoot.
FINALLY!!!,
By Ti-Leigh Telford “Ti-Leigh” (Maryland Heights, MO) -
I too gave the American version of this a chance. I’m sorry. As much as I admire Harvey Kietel, he is no Philip Glenister. He makes this series. The sequel series, Ashes to Ashes is even better. I was sorry to see the American version do so badly as this will turn people off from watching the British version. DON’T! It is superb. You will not be disappointed.
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