Life on Mars mostly-nonspoilery squee post

[sholio]

That sound you hear is my fangirl soul being sucked down into another black hole. :D

We've just mainlined the first season of Life on Mars (thank you, Derry!) and it's awesome. It's like CSI: David Lynch with a nigh-impenetrable Manchester accent.

I have fallen completely and utterly for Sam and Gene. I keep telling myself that I really should not like Gene as much as I do. He's an ass in pretty much every way: a violent, crude, mysogynist thug. But he's, uh. A very likable thug? And then there's Sam, with his woobiness and his constant struggle to do the right thing in the face of ubiquitous corruption and betrayal. And together, they're ♥ ♥ ♥.

Gene: I think you've forgotten who you're talking to.
Sam: An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding.
Gene: (slight pause) You make that sound like a bad thing.

I love how they handle 1973 as a real place with its own issues and a cultural climate that's very different from what Sam's used to in 2006, in all its little details: the way everyone is smoking all the time, the way that Sam is the only one who treats Annie like a person and listens to her ideas, since he's internalized the idea of working as equal partners with female co-workers in a way that no one around him has. I also love the way that death, corruption and violence are a normal part of their lives, and yet the show doesn't cheapen or trivialize it. You aren't allowed to forget that the murder victims, drug dealers and domestic terrorists that they deal with are real human beings, with families. The main characters themselves are so flawed -- when you have an episode about a cop on the take, or one who accidentally caused the death of a suspect in custody, it's not some random guest star who was brought on so that the lily-white main characters could find them out; it's people we know and (mostly) care about who are doing these things, struggling with their own consciences, dragging each other down or lifting each other up. I love their messy, dark, hilarious, tragic world.

I'm currently avoiding fan sites so as not to be spoiled for season 2 until we get done with that (which, at the rate we're going, shouldn't take very long), but if any LoM fans on my flist could point me to good fic or vids that are safe from S2 spoilers, that would be lovely!

Edit: And this probably goes without saying, but I thought I'd mention it because I have had to enforce my "no spoilers" policy lately -- please don't spoil me for S2 in the comments if you can help it. I won't kick you out, but I'll be very unhappy. I'm sure I'll be done with it very soon and we can talk about it then. :D

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I watched and enjoyed the first season a while back, but still haven't watched the second. I was a bit disappointed that it focussed less on the time travel/sci-fi elements and more on the police show elements, though.

[sholio]

I actually really like the way it's woven together -- and how you never can be quite sure if he's dreaming the whole thing, or if he's actually always been in 1973 and he's insane, or if it's a genuine sci-fi thing where they're both true. As opposed to most sci-fi shows where the SF premise is right up from and you know that (for example) Sam Beckett isn't a mental patient who just thinks he's a time traveler. With this show, you really can't be sure, and I'm fascinated by that.

[sgatazmy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love that show! I've only seen most of season 1 though.

[sholio]

Isn't it fun? I keep feeling vaguely guilty about liking Gene so much -- I'm sure I'd hate him instantly if I met him in real life -- but I can't help falling for him on the show.

[alipeeps.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to watch this. I somehow missed it completely when it aired in the UK and never got around to looking it up but I always heard good things about it and, post-Season 3 Doctor Who, I have a little squeee in my heart for the awesome John Simm.

I may have to rent the DVDs or something... :)

Oooh d'you know I heard not long ago they are making a US version with Colm Meaney in the Gene role! :D

[sholio]

You should give it a try, at least! It's tons of fun and the h/c potential is through the roof. :D

A US version ... I don't know how to feel about that. Well, no, I know how I feel about it -- my knee-jerk reaction is DO NOT WANT. My love for LoM is so thoroughly tied up with those characters, those actors -- I can't even imagine the show with different actors as the leads. It'd be like seeing SGA recast with all different actors and set in a different place; I don't want something new that co-opts the same names, I want the show and the characters I fell in love with!

[leesa_perrie]

I loved Life on Mars - brilliant (and weird) show!! Sam is great, and I love Gene despite his views on life and police work etc. I really like Annie as well.

I've never seen is as sci-fi but as a police show with a difference, but I guess it could be sci-fi now that I think about it!

There's also another show, Ashes to Ashes, set in the eighties with a female lead - I'm not so into that one despite all the cool, my era 80's music and the Gene Genie, but you'll have to make your own mind up when it eventually reaches you.

Really trying not to post spoilers here...!

[sholio]

Oh, that's what Ashes to Ashes is! I'll have to look for it when we're done with LoM. Don't tell me any more, please. :D

It's sci-fi-ish. I guess it depends on how you look at it -- it's really more of a police show, but there's that dreamlike quality through it (the odd camera angles, the hallucinations) that give it a slightly out-of-the-ordinary feeling.

[dovil.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough as soon as you said that you were a fan of Dead Like Me I wondered if you might like LoM - there's that slightly quirky element tempered with good writing, good acting tied together with a whole lot of fun. Or something. :)

[sholio]

Heh, funny you should mention that, because I keep thinking of Dead Like Me as I'm watching LoM! :D It's got a similar vibe -- the quirkiness, the humor, the flawed-yet-likeable characters, the sense of gritty realism wrapped up with surreal, slightly magical elements.

... aargh! Now I want to watch more! And hubby's not home from work yet...

[tabby333.livejournal.com]

Life on Mars is an absolutely awesome show. Enjoy!

[sholio]

I am! :D And I'm looking forward to coming back after we finish season 2 for a full-on spoiler squee. :D

[sheron]

I've heard about it while traversing the Doctor Who fandom, and since time travel is right up my alley I might check it out...but my resolution is to let it get to at least three seasons before I start, heh. I tend to watch a season a week when I get into it, and I don't want to be stuck waiting for the new eps.

[sholio]

It's well worth watching whenever you're ready! I'm really loving it.

[blucola.livejournal.com]

I love this show. I also really enjoy how much it makes me nostalgic for 70s cop shows. That is, if 70s cop shows were somewhat creepy at times...

No worries about spoilers for season 2 from me, I've been watching the show in dribs and drabs on Youtube. I've actually only seen the entire 3rd season.

You can tell the actor who plays Gene Hunt has a ball with the role. The stuff he spouts and the look in his eye that seems to say; "I'm getting away with saying things that would normally get me slapped. Fantasic."

[sholio]

I agree with you, I love Gene's scenery-chewing and it's clear that he's having a lot of fun playing the character. :D I wonder if he has trouble keeping a straight face as he gets through his lines! I also get the idea that he and John Simm really enjoy playing off each other.

[naye]

Ack! I was gonna watch that show! Actually, I did watch the first couple of episodes, but I never had them myself... Will need to look for some way of getting them, so I can watch the whole thing!

[sholio]

Oh, you should! It's a very fun show and the snark is awesome; there's a wonderful balance of serious/sad and funny/sweet moments. I'm really loving it and I'd love having someone else to talk to about it!

(Psst: There's a tag for it at the comm you know about -- see, this is me being all sneaky, except not XD -- though I don't know if any of the links are still good. I wouldn't mind making copies of the eps I have for you, either, if you want to deal with snail mail.)

Life on Mars ... Rez Rambles ...

[roving-rez.livejournal.com]

Friendshipper!!!! At last you have come along to the LoM fandom! Oh my god, isn’t its brilliant?!
You are so right – Gene and Sam are the most amazing dynamic duo. The show is brilliantly shot and edited and the writing and acting is spot on. But the characters make it – they are so perfectly flawed.
I’ve seen both seasons but I promise not to spoil a thing. Also, do not read anything about Ashes to Ashes (which is also good…different but good) because it will spoil season 2 of LoM. My favourite bits of season 1 of Life on Mars are the episode where … wait…. I best not spoil anything of Season 1 for anyone who hasn’t seen it. But I’ll say the episode where Sam, Gene and Annie are locked in the closet (forget which number ep that was) and also the second last episode of the first season. NOTE: its episode 6 and 7.
The cool thing about this series is that while the premise is pretty far out for the mainstream audience, the content and themes are so well done that you forget that this is a 2006 cop stuck in 1973. I LOVE the concept and John Simm is such an amazing actor.
The thing I like is how they portray Sam and Gene as fundamentally different but in some circumstances they are remarkably similar. Gene is threatened by Sam and is annoyed by his methods, and yet Gene recognises the potential that Sam holds and trusts him. I also like in the Honey-trap episode where Sam acts a lot like Gene (in the freezer scene, Sam is even dressed similarly). Despite their differences, they can come together as a remarkable team.

I always thought Rodney McKay had the best quotes in TV. I was wrong. Gene has them.

Gene: Anything happens to this motor and I come over to your house and stamp on all your toys… got it? Good kids.

Gene: My friend here is going to ask you some questions. Personally, I hope you don’t answer them because I want you to die in here and end up in a pork pie

Bad guy: I can’t tell you, he’ll kill me
Gene: Least it would have been a warm death.

… And of course, the music is AWESOME.
I went on an iTunes frenzy getting a heap of 70s songs that feature in the series. Ballroom blitz, Blockbuster, Wings’ Live and let Die….. Speaking of which, the beginning of the second episode with the chase from the pool is quite possibly the best opening of an episode of TV I’ve seen is a very long time.

I’ve got the box set of season 1 and the audio commentaries are pretty good. The writers, producers and actors all join in – great stories and behind the scene insights.

Sorry... I've written all over your comments ...

Re: Life on Mars ... Rez Rambles ...

[sholio]

You can write all over my comments any day!

I went on an iTunes frenzy getting a heap of 70s songs that feature in the series. Ballroom blitz, Blockbuster, Wings’ Live and let Die…..

Hee! I've been doing the same! I just bought Live and Let Die last night ...

Gene is threatened by Sam and is annoyed by his methods, and yet Gene recognises the potential that Sam holds and trusts him.

Yes! And Sam, in turn, keeps trying to dredge out Gene's inner good cop. They have a really interesting give-and-take -- and I love how they do role-switch occasionally, and how Sam's figured out, for the most part, how to deal with Gene (after being totally floored by him at first) and doesn't let him bully him. We're a couple episodes into series 2 now, and the scene where Gene locked him in the trunk just about killed me. :D

(By the way -- do you know what Sam said to him at the very end of that episode, where they're in the bar and Sam asks if Gene wants his evaluation? Every once in a while, there's a line of dialogue I can't parse because of the accent, and I just can't catch that one -- but I want to know what he said!)

And Gene's definitely right up there with Rodney for best lines. :D I just want to quote the whole show!

[ceitie.livejournal.com]

All of a sudden a bunch of people on my flist have started talking about Life on Mars and how cool it is. So I spent half of last night watching clips on Youtube. I hope you're happy! (:D I get what you mean about Gene. He's a complete bastard, but you end up being kind of fond of him despite it all.)

Re: Life on Mars ... Rez Rambles ...

[sholio]

Er. Oops. :D But yeah ... he's just such a complete ass, and yet you can't really help liking him in spite of his (massive) flaws.

[jayne-perry.livejournal.com]

I loved Life on Mars. I loved the way it kept you guessing about what he'd have to do to get back. (don't worry, not saying if he does or not :)). And the first time I saw the 'test card girl' (the girl from the telly) it creeped me out.

There were just so many good touches, showing how technology has moved on since then. eg no mobile phones.

My hubby watched it mainly for the old cars!!!!!

Excellent Show.

[sholio]

Yeah, the little girl is creepy as all heck! Is that an actual, old BBC test screen? I was wondering that, watching the show. I imagine there are a lot of little details that I'm missing, being American.

I love how they treat 1973 as a real place -- it's not silly or sensationalized, but they're very true to the era, the technological changes as well as the social changes too.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of that show, and I refuse to be led down the path of temptation by you again. I mean, it's bad enough I've got the Hellburner crew begging for my time because I got curious, but...

...man, that sounds like a fun show. I wonder how much the DVDs are -- your entries lead to expensive habits.

[sholio]

Me? Tempting? Never! :D (So you did get the Hellburner books? What did you think?)

BBC Test Card

[scifichick42.livejournal.com]

The test card is a real BBC one. When I was little it was what you would see on the television before my much waited for cartoons started early in the morning.

Re: BBC Test Card

[sholio]

Ha, thank you for the info! I guessed it was probably a real one, but didn't know for sure. (And that little girl is pretty creepy even when she's NOT out in the room talking to him!)

[naye]

Ehehe. Well, that went fast. XD Oops?

...it's a wonderful show. ♥ One thing I love, love about these British shows - something I very rarely get from the US shows I watch - is the vulnerability of the main characters. And it might be coming out all wrong, since I only just finished season one three seconds ago, but - the fact that this is breaking Sam, into itty bitty little bits. That he wants to have his father back so bad he's ready to do anything - anything - to get it. Even after he knows that his father wasn't a very good man at all...

Actually, on the subject of Sam's dad - Vic strikes me as psychopath. Not just a crook, but an actual, certifiable psychopath. He seems to genuinely care about his family, but then again he was playing Sam like a fiddle - would've run rings around the entire police force if it wasn't for the fact that Gene is a suspicious bastard. He knew exactly how to appear as harmless as harmless can be, and how to say the things that would get to the people he could influence around him - in this case, Sam. So who knows how much of that "doing it for my family" thing was just another part of his act.

But the whole show! Is - eee~! ♥ I love well-made shows, and BBC sure knows all about that. I'm very impressed with how they created 1973 as a believable world. Not just costumes and props and everything, but - all of it, together, it's so real. And it's not exactly a place I'd want to visit, but I can't help but be fascinated by it when I watch the show!

And the characters are, of course, awesome. I already mentioned that I love the way John Simm is allowed to play Sam as a man about to shatter. When he first arrives, and he's so incredibly confused and disoriented and he thinks he's going mad - he owns the part, right from the very beginning. But then as the show goes on, and there is the creepiness and the way Sam hears things that - well, the only reason the coma theory makes sense is that we-the-audience got to see Sam in his 2006 life. And we know that he's talking about things like search engines and mobiles and whatnot - things that do exist in 2006, but that he wouldn't know about if he was just going nuts. Or would he?

Anyway! It's the way he plays that, with desperation varying from frantic to exhausted. And then he has to deal with the emotions he's been trying to suppress since he was four - the emotions and the memories and the way it all comes crashing down on him and you can see it tearing through him.

And then there's Gene! Who shouldn't be likable - I agree! But... how can you help it? When he's smart enough to realize that Sam does have a point, even when he's the high-and-mighty new kid on the block, and Gene listens. And Gene's methods... well, they work, don't they? Most of the time. To do a job that's not exactly easy on anyone, and when it goes badly... Gene doesn't do the woobie the way Sam does, but when things go horribly, horribly wrong it's not like he finds them amusing or anything. We just don't get to follow him home to his private break downs.

Plus, the relationship the two of them develop is just... it's such a weird "best rivals" sort of thing; their differences complementing each other, and when they're on the same side the bad guys don't stand a chance.

I also love Annie, who is brave and loyal and tough and everything without being the typical "tough chick" - she's not a part of the team, she's not one of the boys, but she's one of them. And like you said - Sam actually knows how to respect that, and take advantage of it. But the fact that she deals with the kind of crap she has to put up with every day, and never ever comes across as a victim - she is brilliant. ♥

And I've got a soft spot for Chris, poor thing.

...so. Now for season 2! Yay~!

Hee! And I thought *I* mainlined it fast! :D

[sholio]

One thing I love, love about these British shows - something I very rarely get from the US shows I watch - is the vulnerability of the main characters.

Oh, yes indeedy. Books are a somewhat different thing, but it seems like American mainstream entertainment industry (TV and movies) is really hung up on the whole concept of the tough, infallible, lantern-jawed hero. His facade can crack every once in a while, but god forbid if he's a sensitive dork with sanity issues. :D

Which makes the U.S. travesty of LoM all the more sad, really. If you sat down and came up with a parody of LoM based on everything you'd THINK Hollywood might do to it (let's toughen up Sam and give him an extra 50 pounds of solid muscle! And let's make the 1970s very PC!) that's exactly what they seem to have produced.

*weeps for humanity*

Anyway - back to Sam, and not the Hollywoodized version! Like all the rest of them, he's so wonderfully broken and compelling and real. I love how he is so much more than just the enlightened 2006 cop sent back to teach those 1973 bastards a thing or two about policing -- he screws up as much as he gets right, and there are plenty of times when Gene's street smarts and physical bullying are a lot more effective than Sam's future-boy approach. And yet, when he's not caught completely off guard by culture shock and hallucinations, he's almost scarily competent. Despite being a skinny little thing *g* he can totally hold his own in a fight. And he's not afraid to talk back to Gene, which is really fun to watch. No one else seems to do that -- Gene appears to have one of two effects on people: either they hate/fear him, or they hero-worship him, but what they don't do is criticize his policing methods and try to push him to be a better person.


Actually, on the subject of Sam's dad - Vic strikes me as psychopath. Not just a crook, but an actual, certifiable psychopath.

Oh, I agree! I thought they did a fantastic job with luring us in (just like Sam was lured in) with Vic's nice-guy act, only to have it turn out to be an act. And poor Sam, so utterly torn and confused about the "right thing" to do in that situation -- not only because he loves and idolizes his father, and is trying to deal with his massive psychological trauma left over from childhood, but also because it's his own past he's messing with (what if he screws up something important?) and because of his ongoing doubts about the reality of what's around him. Could the situation be any more complicated?


But then as the show goes on, and there is the creepiness and the way Sam hears things that - well, the only reason the coma theory makes sense is that we-the-audience got to see Sam in his 2006 life. And we know that he's talking about things like search engines and mobiles and whatnot - things that do exist in 2006, but that he wouldn't know about if he was just going nuts. Or would he?

I KNOW! Is he really in 1973, and crazy? Or is he really in 2006, and dreaming? Or are they both true? The show does such a wonderful job of keeping you guessing, because he really does act certifiably insane at times.

I also love Annie, who is brave and loyal and tough and everything without being the typical "tough chick" - she's not a part of the team, she's not one of the boys, but she's one of them.

Tons of agreement, once again! :D Annie is wonderful, because she's very clearly a product of her era and not a tough gun-toting fighter-woman -- and yet she's brilliantly portrayed as a strong, independent woman who has to deal with a ton of crap in order to do her job, and keeps being the strong, sweet person that she is, despite it all.

And I like Chris, too, loveable dork-boy that he is. :D