Well, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the (American) Life on Mars series finale. When they said they were going with something completely different, they totally weren't kidding, but they still made it work.
I have to say, looking back overall I really did end up enjoying this version of the series. While it still can't hold a candle to the original, it was a fun trip that I am glad I got to take. Though I am glad it only got one season, and a shortened one at that. While seeing how they had planned to end the series does make me think in hindsight that maybe they might have been able to sustain it over several seasons--I still think this story idea is one that works best in the short term. Then again, most of this show's more entertaining moments/episodes were those that weren't trying to steal from the British series, the good stuff was when they went their own way. Maybe passing the original number of episodes/plotlines to steal would have demanded more creativity on the part of The Powers That Be and we would have gotten a really cool sustained series. Oh well, guess we'll never know now, huh?
*Spoiler Alert*
Below the awesome bird picture (done by my lovely sister) there be spoilers for both the British and American finales.
So let's just compare real quick how the two series endings differed, for the heck of it.
British version: Turns out Sam was in 1973 as the result of a coma caused by the whole being hit by a car thing. He wakes up from the coma to find himself back in 2003 and realizes that real or not he belongs in the "dream" world of 1973 that he had been living in. He also realizes he left all of his friends back there to die and tries to figure out a way to get back to them and save them. In the end, Sam jumps off of a building, committing suicide in the present--to go on to what we can only assume is some sort of "afterlife" in 1973, returning in time to save the day. He lives happily ever after.
American version: Just as Sam finally resolves his daddy issues and realizes he loves Annie and doesn't want to leave 1973, he wakes up in 2035. Turns out he is actually an astronaut (yay, Spaceman!), part of the first crew to actually go to Mars. The crew spent two years in a VR stasis type situation. Sam had set his simulation to play out that he was a cop in 2008 but a glitch that occurred in the system after the shuttle flew through a meteor shower changed his VR to 1973 but left his 2008 memories intact in error. In a very "Wizard of Oz" moment, all of the people from the 125--Annie, Chris, Ray, and Hunt--are his other crew members. Also, turns out that Hunt is actually his dad. The show ends with Sam realizing that maybe he has a future with Annie--Colonel Norris in "real" life--and with the crew stepping foot on the red planet.
Completely different. Also, I am pretty sure my description is not doing it justice--but it was actually very decently executed. As I said, quite pleasantly surprised.
As this did end up just being the one season, I very seriously might try to sweet talk my hubby into getting it for me on DVD when it comes out. It wasn't nearly the disaster I was afraid it would be this time last year. And the soundtrack--A1 stuff man.
In other slightly related news--I have given up on Ashes to Ashes (the sequel series to the British version of the show). While it is expected to be somewhat derivative, it just seems to me to be more of a pale copy of the original rather than trying to do something new and unique or to further the universe of the first series. Detective Drake has just as many mommy/daddy issues as Sam did, and she is more annoying because she thinks she knows what is going on and, IMO, is not handling it very well--at least not in a way that is entertaining to me as a viewer. I mostly just want to smack the bejeezus out of her. Also, they seem to be trying to make her hook up with Hunt, and that just...no. No. Nope, can't go there, I just can't.
Rather unexpectedly, as well, the reprisal of the roles of Chris and Ray just don't work for me at all. Chris was always one of my favorites on the British LOM, and I never really paid much attention to Ray at all. He was a main character, but not one I cared about. Oddly enough though, the American versions of those characters seemed to have so much more depth, and watching their British counterparts out of context, so to speak (in the 80's rather than the 70's) is just kind of surreal.
Anyhoo. So there you have it.
And now it's just about time for my bedtime. So long, Life on Mars.
And it all comes back to David Bowie.
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