Comments on: Life On Mars – The Best Show You Might Never Get To See http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm Everyone has an opinion. Yours is probably wrong. Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:28:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: ST http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm/comment-page-1#comment-212 ST Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:13:31 +0000 http://www.goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm#comment-212 Life on Mars was a great example of why the BBC rocks. Life on Mars always kept you guessing as to what Sam was going through. Was he dead? Was he in a coma? And sadly this is why ABC bought the rights to make it state-side. "Hey, Lost has those kind of questions, so this should work, too!" Uh, no. The American remake of Life on Mars has been plagued with recasting, rewrites and even showrunner changes. Not a good sign. The promo I have seen for this looks like they made good use of a studio backlot to look like... a studio backlot. It won't matter if people have seen the original. I predict five episodes and out for this revamp. Then maybe the BBC version will come out on DVD and people can see true genius. Hell, I even loved the mind bending ending of the series. Other reasons the BBC rocks: Ultraviolet, Jekyll, Dr. Who, Torchwood, Coupling and Father Ted. Life on Mars was a great example of why the BBC rocks. Life on Mars always kept you guessing as to what Sam was going through. Was he dead? Was he in a coma? And sadly this is why ABC bought the rights to make it state-side. “Hey, Lost has those kind of questions, so this should work, too!” Uh, no. The American remake of Life on Mars has been plagued with recasting, rewrites and even showrunner changes. Not a good sign. The promo I have seen for this looks like they made good use of a studio backlot to look like… a studio backlot. It won’t matter if people have seen the original. I predict five episodes and out for this revamp. Then maybe the BBC version will come out on DVD and people can see true genius. Hell, I even loved the mind bending ending of the series. Other reasons the BBC rocks: Ultraviolet, Jekyll, Dr. Who, Torchwood, Coupling and Father Ted.

]]> By: Jeffrey Williams http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm/comment-page-1#comment-210 Jeffrey Williams Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:39:07 +0000 http://www.goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm#comment-210 My hunch is that part of the deal that ABC struck with the BBC for the rights to "Life On Mars" involves not releasing the original series on DVD in region 1. I'd also bet that there's a clause preventing BBC America from running the original series again until ABC's version is dead and gone. Smart move on ABC's part. If the original version was widely available here, the re-make would be completely dead in the water. We'll get DVDs of the original eventually, but it won't be until long after ABC declares their interest in the property dead. My hunch is that part of the deal that ABC struck with the BBC for the rights to “Life On Mars” involves not releasing the original series on DVD in region 1. I’d also bet that there’s a clause preventing BBC America from running the original series again until ABC’s version is dead and gone.

Smart move on ABC’s part. If the original version was widely available here, the re-make would be completely dead in the water.

We’ll get DVDs of the original eventually, but it won’t be until long after ABC declares their interest in the property dead.

]]> By: Francine http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm/comment-page-1#comment-209 Francine Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:03:33 +0000 http://www.goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm#comment-209 Agreed, Life On Mars blew me out of the water. It was an amazing tv show. Oh, I wish so much that another cable channel had bought the rights to show it. For what it's worth, I bought the DVD set and downloaded the series. I couldn't play the DVDs until just recently, when I bought a new DVD player (Philips dvp5140) and entered the 'cheat code' to make it play PAL discs. I have NO IDEA why the BBC--or whoever is in charge--isn't releasing this show on NTSC DVDs. They must be nuts. Agreed, Life On Mars blew me out of the water. It was an amazing tv show. Oh, I wish so much that another cable channel had bought the rights to show it.
For what it’s worth, I bought the DVD set and downloaded the series. I couldn’t play the DVDs until just recently, when I bought a new DVD player (Philips dvp5140) and entered the ‘cheat code’ to make it play PAL discs.
I have NO IDEA why the BBC–or whoever is in charge–isn’t releasing this show on NTSC DVDs. They must be nuts.

]]> By: Jeffrey Williams http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm/comment-page-1#comment-185 Jeffrey Williams Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:57:45 +0000 http://www.goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm#comment-185 I'm excited for Ashes To Ashes, even if it's not up to the caliber of Life On Mars. There isn't a US airdate yet, so I'm going to hit the torrents for it. The ABC version won't make it 3 episodes. And the awful thing is that the network is re-tooling the show to run for four or five years. A big part of the beauty of Life On Mars is the finite length of the series. It's not a concept that works on an indefinite run - it's like a short novel that ends without overstaying its welcome. I’m excited for Ashes To Ashes, even if it’s not up to the caliber of Life On Mars. There isn’t a US airdate yet, so I’m going to hit the torrents for it.

The ABC version won’t make it 3 episodes. And the awful thing is that the network is re-tooling the show to run for four or five years. A big part of the beauty of Life On Mars is the finite length of the series. It’s not a concept that works on an indefinite run – it’s like a short novel that ends without overstaying its welcome.

]]> By: Joanne http://goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm/comment-page-1#comment-184 Joanne Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:24:08 +0000 http://www.goodisthenewbad.com/life-on-mars-the-best-show-you-might-never-get-to-see-148.htm#comment-184 I LOVED BBC’s Life on Mars! I read about the American version a few months ago and looked into getting my hands on the original because it sounded like such a fantastic concept. I don’t get BBC America (I believe they chopped 10 min or so out of it for American airings anyhow) and I don’t have a Multi-Region DVD player so, determined to see this show, I wound up having to grab a torrent and download it. It was well worth the several gig download. I won’t add to Jeffrey’s show description. If what you read doesn’t lure you in immediately, then this show isn’t for you anyway. What a job they did writing and casting these great characters. So well written and performed. It’s clever, but not over the top. It’s funny, but not predictable. We don't hit all of those bulls-eyes very often anymore here in America. If you’ve seen the extended promo for ABC’s Life on Mars you might feel safe in guessing that we may have missed the mark again. I’m trying to hold on to some hope that it won’t be nearly as bad as it looks, but I’m not too optimistic. The Brits have a follow up show to Life on Mars called Ashes to Ashes. It’s good, but not as enjoyable. The best thing about it is that Gene Genie is back, as are Ray and Chris, but I’m not so certain about DI Alex Drake. I’m not sure if it’s the character, the actress or the decade, (That perm she’s sporting is pretty awful) but I don’t enjoy this show nearly as much as I did Life On Mars. These are the first two British TV dramas I’ve been drawn to and I plan to check out some more. I LOVED BBC’s Life on Mars! I read about the American version a few months ago and looked into getting my hands on the original because it sounded like such a fantastic concept. I don’t get BBC America (I believe they chopped 10 min or so out of it for American airings anyhow) and I don’t have a Multi-Region DVD player so, determined to see this show, I wound up having to grab a torrent and download it. It was well worth the several gig download.

I won’t add to Jeffrey’s show description. If what you read doesn’t lure you in immediately, then this show isn’t for you anyway.

What a job they did writing and casting these great characters. So well written and performed. It’s clever, but not over the top. It’s funny, but not predictable. We don’t hit all of those bulls-eyes very often anymore here in America. If you’ve seen the extended promo for ABC’s Life on Mars you might feel safe in guessing that we may have missed the mark again. I’m trying to hold on to some hope that it won’t be nearly as bad as it looks, but I’m not too optimistic.

The Brits have a follow up show to Life on Mars called Ashes to Ashes. It’s good, but not as enjoyable. The best thing about it is that Gene Genie is back, as are Ray and Chris, but I’m not so certain about DI Alex Drake. I’m not sure if it’s the character, the actress or the decade, (That perm she’s sporting is pretty awful) but I don’t enjoy this show nearly as much as I did Life On Mars.

These are the first two British TV dramas I’ve been drawn to and I plan to check out some more.

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