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life on mars
American "Life On Mars" Getting A Sopranos Star
The U.S. remake of British time-travel cop show Life On Mars is trying to add some star power to its supporting cast, after the original U.S. pilot fell flat with... just about everybody, actually. The first addition to the U.S. cast: Michael Imperioli, who played the mobster/filmmaker Christopher Moltisanti on the Sopranos. He'll play detective Ray Carling, who's a Neanderthal who butts heads with time-lost detective Sam Tyler. Imperioli's casting is the best news we've heard lately about the new U.S. version of Life, headed up by a new team of producers from the short-lived show October Road.
steal this pitch
How To Fix Life On Mars: Bring In PRI's Favorite Son
We've given you the lowdown on the US remake of Life on Mars already, and the word is out: It's going to need a little work. But we think that the problem goes a little deeper than just casting and script - We think that it's going to take some major surgery to make this latest revamp work for an American audience. Maybe change the career of the time-lost hero... or even the identity of said hero. Broaden the scope of the show from cop drama to slice-of-dated-life human interest. It sounds extreme, I know, but picture the time-tossed cop recast as a brainy radio host, and the setting changed to an public radio station in 1970s Chicago. After all, who could resist This American Life on Mars? More »
11:00 AM on Sat Jun 28 2008
By Graeme McMillan
1,280 views,
7 comments
Latest by brentbent: @Thorfin: I guess you didn't see David Sedaris on The Daily Show because if you had you would've known he's quit smoking. more »
life on mars
Easy To See Why The American Life On Mars Needs A Total Reshoot
We already had an American version of British time-travel show Life On Mars — it was called Journeyman, and it ruled for the half season it was on the air. Sadly, someone decided we needed a literal cover version of Life On Mars, and we wound up with a shadow of the Brit version, as you can see from this side-by-side comparison of one of the most disturbing sequences from the original. More »
morning spoilers
The Explosive "Wanted" Shootout You Will Never Get To See
Today's spoilers include a scene from Wanted that destroyed James McAvoy's crotch, but ended up cut from the film — and it won't even be on the DVDs. (The scene's description also gives away the movie's big plot twist.) We also have our second batch of rumors about the villain(s) of the Avengers movie. And there's a new clip from Saturday's Doctor Who, and new details about Heroes, Chuck and the American Life On Mars. It may be summer, but the spoilers never stop flowing. More »
life on mars
Now It Sucks To Time Travel Via Head Injury
The American remake of British time-travel show Life On Mars has only just started airing trailers (with the wacky wa-wa pedal music) and it's already in trouble. According to Entertainment Weekly, David E. Kelley (Boston Legal) is out as executive producer, and ABC is bringing in a new team. Not only that, but the entire cast may be scrapped — with the possible exception of star Jason O'Mara. That means no more Colm Meaney as the gruff-but-brutal detective Gene Hunt. This chaos is starting to remind me of last fall's Bionic Woman, which suffered cast changes and behind the scenes shakeups before its launch... and a swan-dive in the ratings afterward. [Entertainment Weekly]
life on mars
BBC's "Life On Mars" Gets "Boston Legal" Treatment
Here's a first look at the American remake of the the BBC's time bending police drama, Life On Mars, which just got picked up by ABC for the fall season. Yes, it's kind of cheesy, especially the moment where the music suddenly gets fun-kay. But is it just a cheesy trailer — or a trailer for a cheesy show? On the plus side, Colm Meaney gives a great "employee orientation." The pilot episode was penned by Ally McBeal creator David E Kelley. Click through for more details. More »
martian geology
Martian Ice Ages Bolster Case for Life on Red Planet
Just ten million years ago (a geological eyeblink), Mars could've had an ice age. Even cooler, it may have been one of several, meaning the planet underwent freeze/thaw periods much like those here on Earth. And that means — you guessed it — the chances for liquid water and life on the Red Planet just went way up. Cooler still, those glaciers likely had liquid water near their base, and seeping into the rocks below. A new study in the journal Geology based on images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found compelling evidence that sheets of ice between 1 and 2.5 kilometers thick grew near the Martian equator some time in the recent past. More »
ashes to ashes
The '80s Stay Alive for BBC Time Travel Drama "Ashes to Ashes"
Break out your legwarmers and Frankie Says t-shirts - BBC time travel drama Ashes to Ashes has been given a second season despite losing more than a fifth of its audience by the end of its first. The show, which follows policewoman Alex Drake after she finds herself stuck in 1981 after being shot in 2008, is a sequel to the similarly-plotted Life on Mars, which starred John Simms (better known to US audiences as The Master in the third season of Doctor Who) as a policeman trapped in the early '70s following a contemporary shooting. More »
Will The Ministry Be Science Fiction?
We're super-psyched about The Ministry, the new BBC TV show that will fill the same time slot as Doctor Who, even though we don't know anything about it yet. For one thing, it's being developed by Tony Jordan, who created Life On Mars, the awesome time-travel cop show which is coming to U.S. TV in a no-doubt-inferior remake. For another, he's recruited two Doctor Who writers, Gareth Roberts and Stephen Greenhorn. All we know about the show's format is that "anything can happen." But we're also encouraged by Jordan's statement that instead of bringing back an old classic show, he wanted to create "something for the producers of 2028 to bring back." [The Stage]
We're super-psyched about The Ministry, the new BBC TV show that will fill the same time slot as Doctor Who, even though we don't know anything about it yet. For one thing, it's being developed by Tony Jordan, who created Life On Mars, the awesome time-travel cop show which is coming to U.S. TV in a no-doubt-inferior remake. For another, he's recruited two Doctor Who writers, Gareth Roberts and Stephen Greenhorn. All we know about the show's format is that "anything can happen." But we're also encouraged by Jordan's statement that instead of bringing back an old classic show, he wanted to create "something for the producers of 2028 to bring back." [The Stage]
what to watch
TV This Week: High School Superheroes And Time-Travel Drama
This week sees the end of Chuck (for now) and Life On Mars (for good). Can the U.S. launch of Torchwood season two compensate for the loss of those two shows? Your answer may reveal more about you than about television. Here's our guide to the week's television, including mild spoilers and trailers. More »
9:00 AM on Mon Jan 21 2008
By charliejane
1,924 views,
11 comments
tv this week
Kyle XY's Hot Clone and Sarah Connor's Creepy Ex
Did Jessi XX, the female version of Kyle XY, survive her cliff-dive last summer? You can find out tonight. The combo of a new Kyle XY and a new Sarah Connor Chronicles almost lets you pretend this is a real TV season. But the rest of the week has a few treats as well. Listings, with minor spoilers, after the jump. More »
9:00 AM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By charliejane
1,442 views,
10 comments
what to watch
Get Some Journeyman Closure This Week
Poor Journeyman. It started off as a total runt, and ended up the coolest new show of the season. And now its final two-parter airs on Monday and Wednesday at 10 PM. At least the show is going out with class, by answering our burning questions about Dan's time travel. And a ratings miracle could still save it. What else is worth watching this week? Click through to find out. More »
life on mars
Ally McBeal Meets Time-Traveling Cop in New Show
As of today, the second season of the time-traveling BBC hit show Life On Mars can be seen on BBC America here in the States, although producer David E. Kelley (who worked on Ally McBeal) is also working on an American version of the show for ABC next season, which probably means we'll have yet another bad adaptation of a British show to make fun of. Note how they try to hammer home the 1973 setting of the show by featuring a car in the publicity photos. "Hey! We're in 1973! Look how authentic it is!" More »
this week in tv
On Smallville, It's Okay To Be A Meteor Freak
Lex Luthor is in a tough spot as Smallville ends its fall block this week. If he doesn't confess his alien experiments, a maniac will blow up the perky Chloe. And thinking she's about to die, Chloe confesses that she's a "Meteor Freak." There should really be a flag for that. More Smallville spoilers, plus Journeyman and Life on Mars, after the jump. More »
time travel
