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Network: ABC

Premiere: Thursday, October 9, 10pm

Cast: Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Lisa Bonet

Premise: A modern-day detective gets into a car accident and wakes up in 1973.  Somehow, in the seventies, he continues to work his same job.

Adapting popular overseas programs to American television has proved a difficult task over the years.  When you're looking for successful adaptations, the list pretty much begins and ends with The Office, and that was a long shot.  Life on Mars is attempting to bring a British series over and make it an almost identical series to the United States.  Having never seen the original Life on Mars (like most of you), I don't really have to regard the series as an adaptation.  This certainly helps its potential for success – The Office, especially, was saddled early on by the comparisons to its British counterpart.  The British Life on Mars hasn't gained much traction stateside and, therefore, most TV viewers probably won't even know that Life on Mars is an adaptation. 

I have no idea if Life on Mars will be good, but that premise is damn enticing.  I have no problem with hugely high-concept shows, and the fish out of water conceit is well-worn but generally effective.  The cast brings some excitement.  Jason O'Mara will play the lead, who is fairly unknown, but the supporting cast is what gets me pumped.  Gretchen Mol and Lisa Bonet will play characters in the seventies universe, and Harvey Keitel recently signed on for a role originally inhabited to Colm Meaney.

There are some worrisome behind the scenes issues.  The pilot, shot in Los Angeles, was almost entirely re-shot in New York.  David E. Kelley was originally attached as a producer, but he eventually left the project and the team of Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg have taken over the show-running duties.  Those three last teamed up for October Road, the mostly horrible ABC drama.  Hopefully, the trio will redeem themselves with Life on Mars.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of ABC)