I wasn't particularly looking forward to the U.S. remake of Life on Mars. The original British show is one of my favorites of the last few years -- a tasty mix of weird fantasy, SF, cop shows and 1970s cultural commentary, not to mention lead turns by John Simm and Phil Glesner -- and I couldn't imagine how a U.S. version could improve on it.
After watching the show's debut, I'm still not sure. At times, "Out Here in the Fields" was a shot-by-shot recreation of the original show, with the changes working in a hit and miss faction. On the up side, the cast is top notch and slip easily and convincingly into their roles. The chemistry between confused time traveler Sam Tyler and 1970s woman cop Annie also shows a bit more fire from the get go. The New York milleu is a perfect way to contrast the high-tech '00s with the grungy '70s (with a heart wrenching view of the Twin Towers -- hopefully the creators don't go back again and again to the image; once is touching; more than that just feels explotatitve).
On the downside, I knew exactly where it was going, with the exception of one incredibly stupid twist. The modern-day suspect turns out to be the actual killer in this case, aided by his -- surprise! -- twin brother, who provides an alibi. Don't you think the high-tech, highly competent cops of the 21st century might have sussed this out before they brought their suspect in? (It also doesn't explain why the suspect, a young boy in 1973, waited so long to start his copycat spree). Also, 30 seconds of Internet research would have shown the creators that a New York City cop wouldn't be surprised by someone driving a "Jeep," as they had been commercially available for decades by that point. Oh, and the music could have dug a bit deeper -- only one of the tunes was actually from 1973. Considering the era and the location (one strain of punk rock was in the process of being born downtown) they could do better than "Signs."
That aside, there is potential here, but we won't really get to see it until the show moves beyond the British one into its own space, much in the way the American Office has done. That will be born out in the coming weeks.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Back from the world of madness with 10 thoughts
Really, I don't want to go into what's been up for the last two months. Suffice to say, not a barrel of fun (or even of monkees). A few thoughts to get the day going:
1. Two million more people watched Knight Rider last Wednesday than Pushing Daisies. So, Americans are choosing a Ford-commercial retread of a show that wasn't very good in the first place over a colorful and innovative fantasy. This is why the terrorists hate us.
2. Can we come with a new term for "science"-based TV shows that have little-to-nothing to do with, you know, actual science. It used to be that creators appeared to have sat in some general science course, but had not really paid attention. Now, it appears that the creators just half-listened to a couple of people talk about a science class that they, in turn, really had paid attention to either. To be frank -- I'm tired of shows about guys having information downloaded into their heads, having chips implanted in their heads, using shitty "science" to solve either very easy or needlessly Baroque problems. Most of all, I'm really sick of time travel. Well, at least on Heroes and Sarah Connor Chronicles. Doctor Who gets grandfathered in, because, well time travel is really just a means to an end on the show.
3. Of all this awfulness, Fringe has emerged to be something that's, at least, OK. There's a great mad scientist vibe about it (John Noble is gold in the role) and some hints about a strange and dark world underneath it all.
4. On the other hand, Shirley Manson -- the new liquidy villain on Sarah Connor -- is the worst actor I've ever seen. And I've covered community theater in my day.
5. Finally saw Iron Man over the weekend. A fun romp that scratched at the barest surface of an interesting story about an arms dealer dealing with he world he helped create. However, I really wish we could get past remedial plotting 101. It took about 10 seconds to work out who the villain was, and much of the action went by the numbers. Come on, we've all seen these superhero movies in the last decade. We know the plotting drill. Give the audience some credit for brains and try for something a tad more complex and deep.
6. On a sports note -- while I don't expect a football game to approach art, the Vikings-Lions game yesterday was enough to make my eyes bleed. Truly the worst performances I've ever seen. And again, I've covered community theater.
7. The spoils of an 8 1/2 minute interview with Rufus Wainwright are now up at Lavender. With any luck, I'll see the songster this Wednesday.
8. As a result of one of the aforementioned things I don't want to talk about, I have a new car. It not only runs better than the old one (it had better for what I paid), but came with auxilary jack in the stereo, perfect for plugging an iPod into. I may never buy a CD again.
9. However you do it -- physical album, download, listening to a friend listen to it on their headphones -- check out the new Lucinda Williams disc, which comes out tomorrow. It's another brilliant chapter in a consistently brilliant career.
10. My copy of Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book arrived last week. I've been putting off reading it, because I wanted to savor each moment. I'm just a few pages in right now, but am absolutely hooked. Sadly, another item that I don't want to talk about prevented me from attending Neil's reading last week. At least it's available online to watch.
1. Two million more people watched Knight Rider last Wednesday than Pushing Daisies. So, Americans are choosing a Ford-commercial retread of a show that wasn't very good in the first place over a colorful and innovative fantasy. This is why the terrorists hate us.
2. Can we come with a new term for "science"-based TV shows that have little-to-nothing to do with, you know, actual science. It used to be that creators appeared to have sat in some general science course, but had not really paid attention. Now, it appears that the creators just half-listened to a couple of people talk about a science class that they, in turn, really had paid attention to either. To be frank -- I'm tired of shows about guys having information downloaded into their heads, having chips implanted in their heads, using shitty "science" to solve either very easy or needlessly Baroque problems. Most of all, I'm really sick of time travel. Well, at least on Heroes and Sarah Connor Chronicles. Doctor Who gets grandfathered in, because, well time travel is really just a means to an end on the show.
3. Of all this awfulness, Fringe has emerged to be something that's, at least, OK. There's a great mad scientist vibe about it (John Noble is gold in the role) and some hints about a strange and dark world underneath it all.
4. On the other hand, Shirley Manson -- the new liquidy villain on Sarah Connor -- is the worst actor I've ever seen. And I've covered community theater in my day.
5. Finally saw Iron Man over the weekend. A fun romp that scratched at the barest surface of an interesting story about an arms dealer dealing with he world he helped create. However, I really wish we could get past remedial plotting 101. It took about 10 seconds to work out who the villain was, and much of the action went by the numbers. Come on, we've all seen these superhero movies in the last decade. We know the plotting drill. Give the audience some credit for brains and try for something a tad more complex and deep.
6. On a sports note -- while I don't expect a football game to approach art, the Vikings-Lions game yesterday was enough to make my eyes bleed. Truly the worst performances I've ever seen. And again, I've covered community theater.
7. The spoils of an 8 1/2 minute interview with Rufus Wainwright are now up at Lavender. With any luck, I'll see the songster this Wednesday.
8. As a result of one of the aforementioned things I don't want to talk about, I have a new car. It not only runs better than the old one (it had better for what I paid), but came with auxilary jack in the stereo, perfect for plugging an iPod into. I may never buy a CD again.
9. However you do it -- physical album, download, listening to a friend listen to it on their headphones -- check out the new Lucinda Williams disc, which comes out tomorrow. It's another brilliant chapter in a consistently brilliant career.
10. My copy of Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book arrived last week. I've been putting off reading it, because I wanted to savor each moment. I'm just a few pages in right now, but am absolutely hooked. Sadly, another item that I don't want to talk about prevented me from attending Neil's reading last week. At least it's available online to watch.
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