November 20, 2008
Life on Mars will be moved to Wednesdays starting mid-season. Yeah, that's old news already. It's been two weeks, in fact, since the news was announced, and we're just waiting for the half-season to end before seeing whether the British import will benefit in the long run.
Admittedly the show isn't really in a good place. Last week, it found itself on third place in its time slot, beaten by CBS' Eleventh Hour (with 11.69 million viewers) and NBC's ER (with 9.80 million viewers, although this is partly because former cast member Anthony Edwards returned to the show as a guest). Overall, it's a victim of circumstance, with CBS wheeling out really strong programs on Thursdays (Survivor and CSI) and NBC wheeling out their star comedies (The Office and 30 Rock). Life on Mars is, in theory, supposed to benefit from the big ratings that Grey's Anatomy, the show preceding it, draws in. But explain a drop of viewers, from 15.59 million for Grey's to 8.94 for Mars?
November 13, 2008
Previously, we learned that ABC is moving its British import Life on Mars to Wednesday at 10pm come mid-season to follow the returning Lost (and Pushing Daisies?). While shifting schedules mid-season have annoyed fans in the past, this move had sunk well with fans as Wednesday will now be a sci-fi block and Grey's Anatomy will be paired off with its spin-off Private Practice during Thursdays. The two line-ups ideally attract the same demographic, making each more compatible with each other, making the lead-ins work better for their lead-outs.
On the last episode of Life on Mars, a racial fight erupted between the African American and Puerto Ricans when a young African American girl was found dead. Meanwhile, Sam was assigned to the case and thought about his mentor in 2008 in order to get an edge on the case. That episode also had the likes of special guest star Whoopi Goldberg as Brother Lovebutter.
November 11, 2008
The great ABC scheduling debate has gone on for four years and has yet to be answered conclusively. What show should ABC air after Lost? There have been numerous contenders, none of which have performed particularly well. It's long been argued that no matter what is placed after Lost, the Lost audience isn't going to stick around. Why? Because Lost is such a interactive, thought-provoking series, that after every episode fans would rather discuss the events and theorize than watch another hour of television. Perhaps this is a flawed theory, and ABC just hasn't found the right series to pair with Lost. We shall see – it was announced today that freshman series Life on Mars will follow Lost on Wednesday nights come mid-season.
November 6, 2008
Last week on ABC’s Life on Mars, Sam Tyler pulled out their latest murder victim from the East River. More interestingly, he ran into his circa-1973 mother, who was being harassed by the local mobsters after she gets tangled up with a loan boss who Sam later met through Tyler’s crew. Later on, Tyler got into trouble with Adrienne, who tried to seduce him but failed. After an odd hallucination, Tyler woke up in the nude and in handcuffs, only to find out that Adrienne took some lewd photos of him so that Elliot could have ransom.
Tonight on Life on Mars, the suspense and drama continues as Episode 1.05, “Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead” airs at 10pm on ABC.
October 30, 2008
Remakes are in again. That seems to be the trend nowadays, when networks tend to snatch a British series format and create their own based on the original. This holds true for ABC’s
Life on Mars, which recently debuted earlier this month. The series stars
Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler, the detective who gets thrown into New York circa 1973 after being hit by a car in present time. While there, he tries to fit in while juggling his job under Gene Hunt (
Harvey Keitel) and working alongside Ray Carling (
Michael Imperioli), Annie Norris (
Gretchen Mol) and Chris Skelton (
Jonathan Murphy).
Recently, Michael Imperioli spoke to the New York Times, saying that his role on the show allowed him to stay with his family in New York, where they are currently filming. The 42-year-old father of three also grew up in the area of Mount Vernon, near New York City.
October 23, 2008
Tonight, Detective Sam Tyler will explore his past once again in a new episode of Life on Mars. But before the preview, here's what has happened so far. Still beleaguered by the turn of events in his life, Sam tried to focus his attention on a series of fatal robberies while proving himself to Lt. Hunt and the rest of the squad members.
In the third episode of Life on Mars called “My Maharishi is Bigger Than Your Maharishi," the 125th precinct is forced to deal with controversial issues after the murder of a returning Vietnam veteran. But as the squad further investigates the case, the case becomes even more complicated and notorious, sending Lieutenant Hunt in an outrage as he demands a quick resolution.