A Review of "Life on Mars"

I was born in 1971. This means that during my early formative years it was the 1970s. During my early and middle-teen years I was raised in the Reagan-dominated, end-of-the-cold-war era. Then, during the 90s, I became an adult, heading off to college and finally starting to discover what the world was really about.

In that time, I turned from having a small record player where I played 45-records. Then, during the 80s, I bought up cassette tapes like crazy and played them on my Sony Walkman. I remember when I first heard Nirvana and one of the first CDs I ever bought was "Nevermind." These days, I now download multiple albums at once and carry them around on an MP3 player smaller than a pack of cigarettes.

I bring all of this up to prove that in thirty years, things have changed a lot. In the vast scheme of things, thirty years isn't very long at all. So much has changed, that a person who was raised mostly in the 80s and 90s would be shocked at just how primitive things were in the 70s. This is the basic premise of the new ABC television series "Life on Mars."

The show first came into the world as a BBC drama. It ran well in Britain and then became a bit of a cult hit when it rand on BBC America. David E. Kelley took the show and created the pilot episode. At that point, the folks at ABC decided they wanted some changes and the first episodes were rewritten with new characters and different actors.

Detective Sam Tyler is in a relationship with his partner, Maya. They are tracking down a serial killer who kidnaps women, keeps them alive for thirty hours, and then kills them. He leaves a bloody and torn shirt behind as his calling card whenever he takes one of the women.

The two detectives and, in fact, most of the NYPD, track down the man they think is responsible. This impressive foot chase opens the firs episode as Tyler pursues the man over streets and rooftops and over fences. A technicality gets perp off and then Maya gets in trouble. Then, in the middle of it all, Tyler his hit by a car, send end-over-end into the air and ends up unconscious on the street.

When he wakes up, his car looks older and different. The neighborhood around him is different. There is an 8-track player in his car rather than the iPod he had earlier. Then, the shock of all shocks happens, when he looks around and sees the twin towers of the World Trade Center still standing and dominating the New York Skyline.

Tyler was hit by a car and knocked unconscious in 2008, but wakes up in 1973. Things are vastly different. Cops routinely beat anyone they feel like. The very idea of "rights" for criminals is laughable. The fingerprint analysis takes weeks and weeks and the blood work takes longer. The idea of using fibers to track down criminals is seen as science fiction. When Tyler asks where his computer is, the other cops laugh and want to know if he means HAL from "2001."

Is Tyler dead? Is he in a coma? Is he in some kind of limbo? Did he actually travel back in time? The first episode certainly doesn't answer that question, but the plot, acting, direction and story sure grab you, take hold and then propel you forward just as fast as that first foot chase.

Jason O'Mara plays Tyler and he is excellent. He manages to be tough and likeable at the same time. I found myself actually caring about his guy. Lisa Bonet is his modern-day girlfriend Maya.

In 1973 he is surrounded by a colorful cast. Gretchen Mol looks fantastic as the blond, uniform-wearing female police officer that not a single cop takes seriously. Sexism is alive and well in 1973 New York. Michael Imperioli shows up wearing a 70s mustache that would make most porn stars of the era proud. Then, finally, there is Harvey Keitel as the captain of the precinct. If you want a tough guy cop, you need look no further than Harvey Keitel.

The show is weird, dramatic, exciting, funny, tense, quirky and very, very well done. This is a worthy companion to shows like "Lost" and fans of that show should really get in on the ground floor with this one as well. Thankfully, Americans seem to be doing a lot better with adapting television shows from the BBC these days.

I haven't a clue where this show is going from here. I can only hope that it manages to keep up the excellent writing and performing from the first episode. It's hooked me and it will definitely keep me coming back for more.

The 70s don't seem that long ago. But when you look at the world the way it is now and then compare it minutely to the days of the past, you realize that it really is like another planet. It's amazing how far we have come so fast, and yet the problems, people and things that they all do is very much the same.

This is a very good show and I hope it gets the chance it deserves.