A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.
The actor John Simm described the show as "a cross between Back to the Future and The Sweeney", and it makes effective use of the disorientation of the unwitting time traveller while taking a post-modern romp through 1970s fashions and technologies, with due tribute paid to the classic police dramas of the day to fashion a truly unique programme.
First off, its a loooooooooong show. These Brits, when they say a show is 30-minutes or 60-minutes long, it is exactly 30-minutes or 60-minutes long. Americans on the other hand have 22-minutes for a 30-minute show and an average of 45-minutes for a 60-minute show.
Anyway, second....good writing. You can easily follow the story because there is a flow or structure to it. Also good premise. Just when you think this is another crime story, it isn't.
Third, subtle acting that suprisingly is more effective. No one over-acts in this show. Well, at least not on this episode.
Fourth, beautiful screen projection. A movie has beautiful cinematography...a TV show has what? Whatever it is called, it's...uh, beautiful. I like how it looks on TV. Plus, it does actually look 70-ish (costumes, setting, etc).
AXN should probably get this one in their line-up.
Life On Mars
Season 1 Episode 1
Original Air Date: January 9, 2006
Network: BBC
