Life on Mars US Finale
So apparently the Life on Mars US finale aired last night. I’d rather claw out my own eyes than watch that travesty of a show, but I did read the spoilers on Wikipedia, which says:
At the end of the series it is revealed that Tyler’s 2008 & 1973 realities were both fictitious, created by the futuristic computer – named Windy – aboard a space ship that is carrying Tyler, Hunt, Norris, Carling and Skelton on the first ever manned mission to the planet Mars. Tyler’s actual reality is the year 2035, and the crew he worked with in the past are just virtual reality versions of his fellow spaceship crewmembers. The reason why he had travelled back to 1973 was due to a temporary malfunction on board the ship: to sustain their lives, all of the crew were routinely kept active while asleep using virtual reality “neural stimulation” programs of their own choosing, but a meteor storm caused a momentary glitch in the program (Sam had chosen his 2008 identity as part of his VR program, but the program accidentally kicked him back to 1973). Frank Morgan is the Mission Control flight director, Annie Norris is the Colonel in charge of the mission, and Gene Hunt – “Major Tom” – is also revealed to be Sam’s father.In a final wink to its fans, the writers describe the mission as one of science; looking for evidence of life…. a “gene hunt”.
To which all I can respond is… WHAT.
No, seriously. I can’t even follow that with a snarky comment because it’s too absurd. And stupid. And, as a Sam/Gene (UK) shipper, EWWWWW. It relies on a gimmick and a bad pun and utter nonsensical crack, and unlike the UK ending, says nothing meaningful about life or imagination or reality or about who the characters are.
Seriously, you guys, if you’ve never seen Life on Mars UK, it’s not only a million times superior to the US version, but its ending is brilliant and dark and complex and moving and pretty much perfect.
Look, you can even pre-order it in the US now, or get it from Amazon UK (on sale for £9–that’s like $13! and overseas shipping isn’t bad, though of course you need a region free DVD player).
In other news:
* I sincerely have no attraction to Neil Gaiman. What’s wrong with me?
* And I’m getting excited about DreamWidth, which looks wonderful. I’m pleased about the lack of ads, the code improvements, the ability to import your journal and comments, and the owners’ friendliness toward fandom, but my favorite aspect is that you’ll be able to separate “who can read your posts” from “whose posts you want to read.” This has the potential to change the way (this corner of) fandom is structured, to get us out of our little bubbles of like-minded people and expose us to many more perspectives, since we’ll be able to check out new and interesting people without having to allow them in to our personal locked posts.
Tags: dreamwidth, life on mars
14 Responses to “Life on Mars US Finale”
minervamoon on April 2, 2009 1:40 pm | Link
Just watched the episode (before reading the spoilers; I had to see it for myself) and it was HILARIOUS. Oh my God, I don’t know what they thought they were doing. I came out of LoM UK in tears . . . same thing happened here, but the tears were for an entirely different reason. That was the finest butchering job I’ve seen in a long time. Everyone expects it to be a dream, but what’s the point if he simply shakes it off as one?
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 1:46 pm | Link
It reads like the kind of outlandish fan theory that would normally be greeted by mockery. Who put these people in charge of writing a television show???
I’m almost tempted to watch it for the lulz, but I’m afraid it would taint my memories of the UK version.
[reply to this comment]
rainkatt on April 2, 2009 2:19 pm | Link
OK, when I first read this, I thought it was some kind of horrible April Fool’s joke. REALLY? REALLY? I’m so glad I stopped watching it after the first one. Which I didn’t make it through.
I cry all the way through the UK finale, every time. (Just rewatched it a week or so ago, so it’s fresh in my mind.)
Now I’m a little tempted to watch this, just for the hilarity, but I have to be careful of my blood pressure.
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 4:29 pm | Link
I might watch it this weekend, but only if I’m really drunk and have the UK version on hand to scrub the horror from my brain.
The UK version is just amazing. It makes me cry every time, too.
[reply to this comment]
Blue Rose on April 2, 2009 4:07 pm | Link
Wow. That is some cracked out shit. I’m glad that I never bothered with the US version.
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 4:31 pm | Link
ME TOO. And even I didn’t expect it to get *this* bad.
[reply to this comment]
versaphile on April 2, 2009 5:38 pm | Link
Re: LOM Ending. Holy crap, you have got to be shitting me. It has to be an April Fools joke. That is too stunningly awful to even contemplate.
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 5:48 pm | Link
I thought that for a minute, too, but nope, Stephanie Zacharek mentioned it in her ode to the US series in Salon. She excuses the ending as “just 10 minutes out of the show’s life” and mentions that she’s never seen the UK version. I felt compelled to register and exhort her readers to watch the UK version. The US version makes me embarrassed to be American. :P
I’m thinking of maybe getting really drunk this weekend and seeing for myself, but I’m not sure if my mind can take the trauma.
[reply to this comment]
Jerry on April 2, 2009 6:12 pm | Link
I greatly enjoyed the US series, but the ending was amazingly awful. It kind of makes me think the producers got a last-minute note from the network demanding that, given the title, the show had to somehow be about Mars. :)
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 8:29 pm | Link
Did you see the UK version? What did you like about the US version? I’m slightly interested in its take on NYC, but I don’t think I can tolerate the dumbing-down of the fantastic subtlety, wit, psychological nuance, and social commentary of the UK version.
It kind of makes me think the producers got a last-minute note from the network demanding that, given the title, the show had to somehow be about Mars.
Aaaahhhhh, I wonder if they ever even listened to the song. I like how the UK version took a Wizard of Oz motif from it. The literal question “is there life on mars?” is not what I get from that song!
[reply to this comment]
Jerry on April 2, 2009 10:15 pm | Link
I haven’t seen the UK version – maybe I’ll track it down now. I was never all that enthused by the time travel aspect of the show, and more attracted to the 1973 New York setting (I do at least vaguely remember 1970’s New York, and my father was on the force at the time), as well as the cast. 1970’s England has no particular appeal to me, but I imagine the show has other merits.
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 3, 2009 10:43 am | Link
1970’s England has no particular appeal to me, but I imagine the show has other merits.
Yeah, I wasn’t watching for 1970s England either! It’s got wonderful characters, acting, directing, story, music, pretty much everything you could want out of a TV show, done brilliantly.
[reply to this comment]
shipperx on April 2, 2009 8:35 pm | Link
At the end of the series it is revealed that Tyler’s 2008 & 1973 realities were both fictitious, created by the futuristic computer – named Windy – aboard a space ship that is carrying Tyler, Hunt, Norris, Carling and Skelton on the first ever manned mission to the planet Mars.
Seriously?
[reply to this comment]
rusty-halo on April 2, 2009 10:13 pm | Link
I think the fact that most people respond to hearing about this ending with the suspicion that it’s an April Fool’s prank pretty much says it all.
[reply to this comment]