Life On Mars US Ending…
Stumbled over this on YouTube, and just had to post it… It’s how they ended the US version of Life on Mars… Seriously a WTF moment. Who on earth pitched that as the ending over the original UK version ending!..
Harvey Keitel Life on Mars US Clip
Yeh, i know i’m a bit late to the party with this clip. First full clip of Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt in the US remake of Life on Mars. There has been a lot of discussion over ‘why remake it, the original was brilliant’. That’s very true. It is brilliant. But then, that’s not their reason for remaking it. It’s not because they think the original was bad. In fact, as with The Office, i rather suspect it’s the total opposite. It’s the fact that the original was so good, that drove them to remaking it for a US audience.
The one thing that works against LoM when selling it abroad is its very very British! Of course, for me, that is one of the great things about it, but i can see how something like episode 5 of series 1, which was about football hooligans, being hard to relate to a US audience. British and US New York policing in the 70s were worlds apart after all. I’m not expecting the US version to be better or worse necessarily. Just different.
Now, of course that doesn’t mean the US version will be any good… It maybe rubbish (and had they stuck with the 1st pilot, i’m fairly sure it would have been). I’m prepared to give it a shot and see what the 2nd pilot is like before condemning it though. Harvey might not be entertaining as Phil’s version of the Gene genie. I somehow can’t see “this investigation is going at the speed of a spastic in a magnet factory” getting passed a mainstream US censor! However, i do think Harvey pulls off the menace pretty well (he is Harvey Keitel after all!), and he’s certainly got a 70s US cop feel about him, and that was rather the point of remaking it in the first place!
Life on Mars US New Cast Pics!
The new cast photos for the recast US remake of Life on Mars have been released. It does to me look somewhat more convincing than the old US cast.
Much as i like Colm Meaney and thought it was more the script/direction than the actor that was the problem, if you are going to recast, you can’t do much better than Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt (well… not without convincing Philip Glenister cross the pond, and put on an american accent anyway!). I also loved The Sopranos and i can see Michael Imperioli doing a really good job as Ray Carling. He certainly looks the part (awesome ‘tache!) 
I wasn’t massively convinced by Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler in the first pilot, but with a better script and better direction, i’ll give him a second shot. I know nothing of Jonathan Murphy who’s playing Chris Skelton, or Gretchen Mol who’s playing Annie Norris (i’m assuming Cartwright isn’t a very American surname?)… They do all look more ‘the part’ though. Click the images below…
There’s also a few very quick snippets of the show over on the official website
Life On Mars US Gets It’s New Annie
She’s gone from a WPC to a member of the PWB (Police Women’s Bureau), and had a last name change from Cartwright to Norris, but American Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) has his new love interest…
TV Guide is reporting that Gretchen Mol has joined the cast as the lead female role of Annie Norris, replacing Rachelle Lefevre’s Annie Cartwright role.
“Annie is a member of the Police Women’s Bureau, making do with menial tasks and combating the sexism of the times, despite being the smartest person in the squad room”
Gretchen Mol is joined by Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt, Michael Imperioli as Ray Carling, and Jonathan Murphy as Chris Skelton.
This is shaping up to be a really interesting cast list!
Michael Imperioli Moving To Mars
Interesting little bit of news popped up on Hollywood Reporter this morning.
Michael Imperioli who played Christopher Moltisanti in the brilliant Sopranos has been cast as Detective Ray Carling in ABC US remake of ‘Life on Mars’.
I can see Imperioli doing a good job as Ray, and if it’s any indication of how the 2nd pilot is shaping up, i look forward to seeing it.
The casting is part of a revamp after David E. Kelley (L.A. Law, Ally McBeal, Boston Legal) left the project and ABC requested some major changes (and with good reason, as anyone has seen the 1st pilot would probably agree – it’s floating around on the interwebs if you want to see it.)
Updated as rumour: There are rumours, that they are also recasting Annie Cartwright (Rachelle Lefevre) and Gene Hunt (Colm Meaney).
If true, it’d be a shame about Colm. I felt he could have done a good job there, but was being reined in by US censors (or the writer/production team). They removed all the Geneisums that helped make the Gene “Let’s go play slappyface” genie so great, so it was a rather neutered version of Gene Hunt. I still find it hard to see anyone bettering Philip Glenister in the role though.
It looks like Jason O’Mara has survived and is still playing Sam Tyler. He didn’t strike me as anything outstanding in the 1st pilot, but it’s hard to tell, as Sam is supposed to pretty dazed and confused in the 1st episode.
The other major change has moved the shows setting from a pretty non-discript Los Angeles to a far more interesting ‘The French Connection’ era New York.
I know a lot of people would say ‘why remake such a great show’, but the original is SO British, (as with ‘The Office’) i can see why they’d like a US version for a US audience. I wasn’t overly impressed with David E. Kelley stab at Life on Mars, so i’m glad it’s getting a 2nd chance.
Life On American Mars!
It’s looking like the US remake of the genius UK series Life On Mars is being picked up by the US ABC network. David E Kelley (Boston Legal, Ally McBeal) looks to be the show runner. Interesting for a US remake, they’ve picked 2 irishmen to play the leads.. Having said that, they did offer the roles to Phil Glenister and John Simm to reprise, but they turned it down due to family, and fear of becoming “a nutter in The Priory if i’d gone to Hollywod” as Phil put it!
The setting is switched from 1973 Manchester UK, to 1972 Los Angeles. Sam Tyler, Gene Hunt and Annie Cartwright are all there, it doesn’t look like Ray or Chris’s characters make the transition though. The pilot appears to stick pretty faithfully to the plot of the UK show from what we can see. I’d expect that to vary more as the season progresses though.
Colm Meaney as has been cast as Gene Hunt – To scifi fans, Colm is best know as Miles O’Brien from Star Trek:TNG and DS9, and more recently Cowen, leader of the Genii in Stargate : Atlantis. His film work also includes Con Air, Layer Cake, and The Commitments.
I really feel Colm’s a very good fit for the US portrail of the ‘Gene Genie’. Gene is an Irish American cop, but still has UK Gene’s no-nonsense approch to police work! Colm’s proved over the years how good he is at switching from serious, to rough, to comic, all of which are interweaved aspects of Gene’s character.
Jason O’Mara is playing Sam Tyler. Got to be honest, don’t know this guys work at all…
You can see some of the all in action in the trailer below after the jump…
