The US "Life on Mars"
Monday, October 13, 2008
I missed it, and I am cursing myself.
For one thing, I wanted to see how Harvey Keitel handled the Philip Glennister role. Gene Hunt is so closely linked with his manner and mannerisms that I wondered whether the character would work for me when played by someone else.
By all accounts, it's good. Better than the first pilot. Yes, let's be honest, it'll have to go some in order to be better than the original - but Ashes to Ashes had to work for a similar place in my affections and it managed it.
The thing that makes me want to watch the show, though, is how they handle the basic question. Is Sam Tyler mad? Back in time? In a coma? If they follow the story as set out in the UK version, we know the answer. But if they do, there are elements of the show that might not work and I am fascinated by the prospect that they might have decided to take one of the other two routes.
Here's why:
In the original, Sam Tyler comments that he's just going to walk until he can't make up any more faces. His theory, at that point, is that if his mind is coming up with his 70s Manchester surroundings there must be a limit on the details and complexity that his brain can generate. It's a good point. One of the things about the original LoM was the occasional and apparently deliberate inclusion of anachronisms. If Sam is really making it all up as his brain struggles for life, he's be bound to get things wrong. Plus, it explains Gene and the Boys - as Sam grew up he would have watched TV shows like The Sweeney (and say what you like, Gene Hunt is definitely in the Regan mould); Sam's brain papers over assorted cracks in his memory and mental landscape by filling this stuff in with whatever it can. It strip mines his memory for "70s stuff" and that includes Regan and Carter.
Historically, the Sweeney were a response to the changing face of crime. At the end of the 60s there were far less old London Gangsters and far more small groups of armed robbers turning over banks and the like. The Flying Squad, and the TV show based on them, were a response to that change of playing field. Prior to The Sweeney, the most realistic TV depiction of policing had been Z Cars and the two shows were poles apart. For one thing, The Sweeney was cooler, but the important thing is that it couldn't have happened at all without definite changes in the real world.
Does LoM America have the same kind of backdrop?
How does the American Sam paper over his mental gaps? Assuming, of course, that he's not mad or back in time?
The cop shows of the time included Charlie's Angels, Cannon, Starsky and Hutch, Police Woman and Kojak. If Sam is still in '73, he's a year too early for The Rockford Files (which is a shame, because if they'd stuck with L.A. we might have seen Sam living in a trailer near the beach). The landscape of police shows is very different to the on in the UK at the time. How will the American production team cope with this? Which direction will the show move in?
For once, an American remake which has already risen from the ashes once, has a lot to offer; a genuine sense of "I wonder how they're going to pull this off?"
For one thing, I wanted to see how Harvey Keitel handled the Philip Glennister role. Gene Hunt is so closely linked with his manner and mannerisms that I wondered whether the character would work for me when played by someone else.
By all accounts, it's good. Better than the first pilot. Yes, let's be honest, it'll have to go some in order to be better than the original - but Ashes to Ashes had to work for a similar place in my affections and it managed it.
The thing that makes me want to watch the show, though, is how they handle the basic question. Is Sam Tyler mad? Back in time? In a coma? If they follow the story as set out in the UK version, we know the answer. But if they do, there are elements of the show that might not work and I am fascinated by the prospect that they might have decided to take one of the other two routes.
Here's why:
In the original, Sam Tyler comments that he's just going to walk until he can't make up any more faces. His theory, at that point, is that if his mind is coming up with his 70s Manchester surroundings there must be a limit on the details and complexity that his brain can generate. It's a good point. One of the things about the original LoM was the occasional and apparently deliberate inclusion of anachronisms. If Sam is really making it all up as his brain struggles for life, he's be bound to get things wrong. Plus, it explains Gene and the Boys - as Sam grew up he would have watched TV shows like The Sweeney (and say what you like, Gene Hunt is definitely in the Regan mould); Sam's brain papers over assorted cracks in his memory and mental landscape by filling this stuff in with whatever it can. It strip mines his memory for "70s stuff" and that includes Regan and Carter.
Historically, the Sweeney were a response to the changing face of crime. At the end of the 60s there were far less old London Gangsters and far more small groups of armed robbers turning over banks and the like. The Flying Squad, and the TV show based on them, were a response to that change of playing field. Prior to The Sweeney, the most realistic TV depiction of policing had been Z Cars and the two shows were poles apart. For one thing, The Sweeney was cooler, but the important thing is that it couldn't have happened at all without definite changes in the real world.
Does LoM America have the same kind of backdrop?
How does the American Sam paper over his mental gaps? Assuming, of course, that he's not mad or back in time?
The cop shows of the time included Charlie's Angels, Cannon, Starsky and Hutch, Police Woman and Kojak. If Sam is still in '73, he's a year too early for The Rockford Files (which is a shame, because if they'd stuck with L.A. we might have seen Sam living in a trailer near the beach). The landscape of police shows is very different to the on in the UK at the time. How will the American production team cope with this? Which direction will the show move in?
For once, an American remake which has already risen from the ashes once, has a lot to offer; a genuine sense of "I wonder how they're going to pull this off?"
Powered by ScribeFire.
0 comments:
Post a Comment