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Trivia

# The original BBC series took its name from the David Bowie song, "Life on Mars".

# In the episode, "Let All the Children Boogie" Rocket Girl's father says that he lost his daughter to music when his wife brought home a Beatles 45, noting, "'Love me do I think it was.'" This is a line taken from the song "Shooting Star" by Bad Company in which the main character becomes infatuated with music after hearing the exact same song.

Life on Mars is an American science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. Co-produced by Kudos Film & Television, 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios, it is about a New York City homicide detective who suddenly finds himself inexplicably transported from 2008 to 1973. The series was adapted from the BAFTA-winning British series of the same name, shown by the BBC.

Like its British counterpart, Life on Mars is set in 1973, telling the story of detective Sam Tyler (played by Jason O'Mara), who believes himself to be from 35 years in the future. Fringing between multiple genres, including thriller, science fiction and police procedural, the series remains ambiguous regarding its central plot, with the character himself unsure about his situation. It has garnered critical praise for its premise, acting, and depiction of the 1970s, but has suffered from a declining viewership since its premiere. Life on Mars also stars Harvey Keitel, Jonathan Murphy, Michael Imperioli, and Gretchen Mol.

The series premiered in North America on October 9, 2008 on ABC, following Grey's Anatomy. Internationally, it also airs on Global in Canada, and on Network Ten in Australia. On November 20, 2008, ABC ordered four additional episodes to the show's original thirteen episodes. After its winter hiatus, the series was shifted to a Wednesday night timeslot on January 28, 2009, following Lost.

On March 2, 2009, it was announced that ABC would not be ordering a second season. Fans drafted a petition imploring ABC to keep the show on the air, but to no avail. The cancellation decision came early enough to allow producers time to wrap up the show's storyline. The network aired all 17 episodes ordered, with the final episode airing April 1, 2009.

A DVD set of the complete series is scheduled to release on September 29, 2009.

Production

David E. Kelley was the initial writer and executive producer of the series pilot, but later handed over production responsibilities to others. The executive producers of the show are Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg, the producers of the ABC drama October Road.

After reviewing the pilot episode, ABC ordered an overhaul. Several members of the cast and crew were replaced, with production moved from Los Angeles to New York, "to allow producers to take advantage of recently enacted local and state tax credits for shows filmed in that state." The setting of the series was also changed from Chicago to New York, taking place at the fictional 125th precinct of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The script was rewritten, with permission of the original creators, to remove the "unsatisfying" ambiguity of Sam's story in favor of a "mythological element" and "deeper mystery".

In the original ABC pilot, Rachelle Lefevre was cast as Annie Cartwright and Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt. However, in June 2008, the two roles (Cartwright and Hunt) began recasting in accordance with an overhaul of the series. After revisions by the producers, Irish American actor Jason O'Mara, being the only actor kept on from the original ABC pilot, is still in the lead role of Detective Sam Tyler. He is joined by Michael Imperioli, the Emmy Award-winning actor from The Sopranos who plays Detective Ray Carling, and Harvey Keitel was cast in the role of Lieutenant Gene Hunt.[18] Gretchen Mol plays Tyler's 1973 co-worker, Annie Norris, replacing Lefèvre. Lisa Bonet, formerly of The Cosby Show, was cast as Tyler's present-day love interest, Maya Daniels, replacing Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen. Detective Chris Skelton is played by Jonathan Murphy.

Philip Glenister and John Simm, stars of the UK version, had been approached for lead roles in the series, but had turned them down, partly due to family commitments.

********Warning Spoilers******

Characters

Main characters

* Det. Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) - Astronaut from 2035, in stasis on a manned mission to Mars in 2035. For neural stimulation, he chose to live the life of a New York City police officer from 2008. However, due to a technical glitch he found himself experiencing the simulation in 1973, with his 2008 "memories" intact. He often finds his 2008 values in conflict with the 1973 values of his colleagues, and is forced to rely on his wits when the commonplace technologies he's used to from modern life aren't available or don't even exist yet. His situation has him hopelessly confused: is he in a coma? Dead? Crazy? Being manipulated by evil forces? A Detective Second Grade, Tyler is Hunt's senior ranking detective. He frequently uses pop culture references from his era as undercover aliases, such as "Luke Skywalker" (for dealing his mother in the era, claiming it's a Navajo name), "Tom Cruise," and "Sam Bono." In reality, as it is revealed on the final episode, Tyler is actually an astronaut from the year 2035. His BBC counterpart is DI (DCI in 2006) Sam Tyler.

* Det. Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli) - An ambitious and bluntly macho detective with the 125th Detective Squad, he is arrogant and condescending to almost everyone but his mentor, Lt. Gene Hunt. Carling resents Tyler's arrival, having expected to be Hunt's senior detective. His BBC counterpart is DS Ray Carling.


* Policewoman Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) - A uniformed policewoman with an undergraduate psychology education who has aspirations of making the detective squad, Norris constantly struggles against sexist attitudes about the role of a woman in police work. Owing to her gender, her nickname among the detectives is "No Nuts Norris". She is the only one on the force to whom Sam has revealed that he's from the future — although she doesn't actually believe him, she's the most willing of any of his colleagues to listen to and offer kind advice about his state of mind rather than simply dismissing him as crazy. After Sam's seemingly crazy prophecy results in him saving her life, Annie is less willing to simply dismiss his incredible stories. Her BBC counterpart is WPC Annie Cartwright.


* Det. Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy) - A young junior detective. He is sometimes a bit naïve about the demands of police work, but he's also much gentler, more kindhearted and more likable than Ray. He's also the most willing of the detectives to consider that as crazy as Sam may be, he does have valuable and useful skills from which the others can learn something. Unlike his older and more traditional colleagues, he's also a fan of current pop culture, including contemporary glam rock music. His BBC counterpart is DC Chris Skelton.



* Lt. Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel) - Commander of the 125th Detective Squad, Hunt is a hardened older cop who's largely set in his ways. He accepts and even encourages the casual corruption and physical abuse rampant in the police force, although he lives by a very strict code of loyalty toward fellow officers and honour toward law-abiding citizens even if he personally dislikes them. He is often exasperated by Sam's outspoken insistence on doing things differently, but seems to have a grudging respect for Sam's crime-solving ability nonetheless. His BBC counterpart is DCI Gene Hunt.


Minor characters

* Maria Hunt Belanger (Maggie Siff) - A youth social worker who assists when a young child is a witness to a crime. Although she's Gene's daughter, they have a strictly professional relationship and are largely estranged from each other on a personal level. She and Sam are immediately attracted to each other, and end up having sex in the precinct house's file room. However, Sam only later learns that she's the boss' daughter, and desperately tries to keep Gene from finding out what happened. She has no counterpart in the original BBC series.

* Sizable Ted (John Cenatiempo) - A fellow detective, known for his strong physical appearance. He is part of Gene Hunt's 125th Detective Squad.

* Windy (Tanya Fischer) - A free-spirited hippie neighbor of Sam's in three early episodes, who encourages him to embrace higher consciousness and makes him pot-laced lasagna. She may or may not even be real. Her cryptic statements often have double-meanings that can be interpreted as applying to both an issue at hand, and to Sam's confusing journey back in time; in this regard, she is the counterpart to the BBC series' barman character, Nelson.

* Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet) - Sam's professional and personal partner in 2008. She plays a prominent role in the first episode, when her apparent abduction leads to Sam's car accident, but in subsequent episodes she appears only occasionally in visions Sam sees of a future that may or may not be happening. Her BBC counterpart is Maya Roy.

* Rose Tyler (Jennifer Ferrin) - Sam's mother. Struggling to make ends meet, she takes out a loan from a gangster, forcing Adult Sam to step in and protect her. Due to the situation, Sam uses the pseudonym Luke Skywalker instead of revealing his real last name to her. Her BBC counterpart is Ruth Tyler. The daughter of the creator of the British version of Life on Mars named the main character "Sam Tyler" after "Rose Tyler", the companion of the Doctor in Doctor Who.


* Vic Tyler (Dean Winters) - Sam's father. Sam discovers some disturbing information about Vic, as well as the real reason he disappeared on Sam's fourth birthday. His BBC counterpart is Vic Tyler.


* Detective Fletcher Bellow (Edi Gathegi) - A young, African-American detective in another squad, who will be Sam's mentor and Captain in the future. He and Sam cooperate on an investigation into Black militants. His BBC counterpart is DC Glenn Fletcher.



* Agent Franklin Morgan (Peter Gerety) - Sent to the 125th Precinct from FBI headquarters when Sam's infiltration of an Irish-American gang ends disastrously, Agent Morgan hints that he knows that Sam has been displaced in time, but Morgan has secrets of his own. His BBC counterpart is DCI Frank Morgan.

 Plot

The series centers around Detective Sam Tyler, assigned to the 125th Precinct Detective Squad of the New York City Police Department.

At the show's outset in 2008, he cohabitates with his girlfriend and coworker, Detective Maya Daniels. Maya, to Tyler’s horror, is kidnapped by a murderer they are investigating. In the midst of the fiasco, Tyler is hit by a speeding car bearing the license plate reading "HYDE 73". This accident, for an unknown reason, sends him back to the same spot in the year 1973, from which he sees the construction site of the apartment buildings he had been about to enter, and the World Trade Center in the distance. He finds himself dressed in period civilian attire, carrying a period-accurate identity card with his badge, and equipped with a vintage automobile. Both the iPod in his 2008 car and the 8-track tape deck in his 1973 car are playing David Bowie's 1971 song, "Life on Mars?". Confused, Tyler treks to his precinct house and finds everything different: vintage clothing, no personal computers, lack of diversity, no diet sodas, inter alia. Curiously, everyone at the squad has been expecting him, thinking that he is a transfer from Hyde Park. In a shouting fit, Tyler demands to know why his computer, desk and chair are missing. The detectives marvel at his outburst, particularly for Tyler thinking he should have a computer at his workplace, something that was considered absurd for a detective to be issued in 1973. They seem uncertain whether Tyler has a unique way of establishing authority, is a science fiction fanatic, or both. Hence, Tyler is nicknamed "Spaceman" by Detective Carling. After the atmosphere quiets down, the detectives delve into a case that strongly resembles the one Tyler was investigating before his apparent time travel.

Some plots are driven by the conflict between Sam's 2008 values and the more corrupt, almost vigilante-style policing of the era he finds himself in, while others are driven by Sam's discovery of more personal information that radically reshapes his understanding of the life he's left behind. Surreal visions and cryptic telephone calls give him confusing connections to 2008.

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".

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