8392225
Life. On. Mars.
What can I say? This is (always was) something else.
Firstly. It. Is. A. Bowie. Song.
A song powerful enough it INSPIRED a whole SERIES.
Please read the previous sentence again to appreciate THIS fact fully.
The. series. is. originally. british.
This fact, though it may not seem that significant, actually is. It's funny, too. There exist more than 2 series of this exact name. If we talk about english-spoken version of Life On Mars, BEWARE extremely. There are TWO of them and they were released only 2 YEARS APART. They have identical synopsis.
!!!MAKE SURE YOU ARE WATCHING BRITISH (UK) AND NOT AMERICAN (US) VERSION!!!
Forgive me, but I can't stretch this enough:)
The other funny part is now the series being adapted in asia. This is quite an unique situation. As we all know, most of original ideas come FROM asia, morelike LOL.
We can take it from the most iconical sci-fi to a mellow romance as 'The Lake House' with Sandra Bullock. It is just adorable that THIS TIME the original idea is english:)
What Is The Original Idea? What Is The Original Concept?
Well it is EXACTLY that thing what makes some people here rate this lower than 10. It's the series being MYSTERIOUS genre, not a Sci-fi. The questions ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO be answered!! (Though 'Ashes To Ashes' did - that's also the reason it's not as good). The main hero IS NOT SUPPOSED TO be any wiser, to have time travel machine, produce future technology to amaze everyone, to be an astronaut, to become his own superior's mentor, to guide and protect everyone around him, etc.!!
The most endearing, AND funny, AND compelling, AND emotionally thrilling, is the fact the main hero remains misunderstood and unbelieved by the others as to where he came from. He got transferred from HYDE, and that's it. LOL. The story IS NOT, and thankful for that, about him convincing everyone that he is from the future. Kindly watch any sci-fi series for THAT. It's not about him getting all the answers and it's not about exploring what is this phenomenon, either. Sorry but if you won't set your head straight about this, then don't keep watching. Keep watching if you want to watch something different and FUN!
The Story.
One thing is the running-on story and the actual story. Most of the sreentime is (seemingly) filled with detective solving cases. But don't get sidelined by that into thinking the writers wasted an opportunity here.
HE SOLVES CASES BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE DOES.
He is a detective. If he was other sort of person, he would've just as well kept doing some other work. That is not what is essential here. The 'Life On Mars' is not actually about that, but it takes time for some viewers apparently, to realize. Though the cases remain part of the show's entertainment, of course. And the entertainment is PLENTIFUL, on so many levels. It's in picture, sound, and dialogue... It's in the main character's dynamics with others. For instance, his new boss thinks HE is the one taking HIM under his protective, guiding wing. That makes it all 100 more hilarious. Not to mention theirs is the best bromance I've seen ever. But by mentioning it, I am of course, getting closer to what 'Life On Mars' is really about...
The Atmosphere and The Humour. The People.
Surprise, surprise... That's the closest I'll tell you (without spoilers) what this show is actually about. You'll get to know what it is about by the series' end. And it might be for each viewer not necessarily the same. It's an amazing series and now we have korean version, even:)) Forgive me, but I can't quit being amused by this fact alone. So, SKIP the american adaptation if I can beg you, and let's see!
The Korean Version
Traveling to 80's Korea contrary to 70's Britain IS DIFFERENT and we can all probably agree we can't be surprised with that, LOL. It's good that this version can stand alone as such. It should have (hope it does, because I don't really know the iconical 80's korean music, hairdos, and so on) their own culture jokes and atmosphere and people. Something that american one failed to do, AMONG other things (though obviously, just like americans they also used the Bowie song... Looks like South Korea also doesn't have their own song equally as powerful as 'Life On Mars'). Even as 80's korean-culture ignorant I enjoyed this version, though.
Korea can do dramas so there's no need for anyone to worry about good enough cast, script or music to enjoy, just like any regular (good) k-drama. This would be a 10 rating no matter the Life-On-Mars theme. And if you don't seem to be interested/capable to see deeper, you might try to be a bit benevolent as an audience. Quit demanding the so-called "time travel" to get fully explained, just go with the flow by watching episode after episode, forgive the show if being occasionally "weird", and simply enjoy the period police drama of it. That itself is good. And you might surprise yourself in the end, if you see more in it after all. Or not. Just don't stretch yourself beforehand:)
The main thing about watching this is to ENJOY the watching, no stretching about "how is this going to be explained?". If you watched like this, come back to it and watch it again.
It's worth it.
What can I say? This is (always was) something else.
Firstly. It. Is. A. Bowie. Song.
A song powerful enough it INSPIRED a whole SERIES.
Please read the previous sentence again to appreciate THIS fact fully.
The. series. is. originally. british.
This fact, though it may not seem that significant, actually is. It's funny, too. There exist more than 2 series of this exact name. If we talk about english-spoken version of Life On Mars, BEWARE extremely. There are TWO of them and they were released only 2 YEARS APART. They have identical synopsis.
!!!MAKE SURE YOU ARE WATCHING BRITISH (UK) AND NOT AMERICAN (US) VERSION!!!
Forgive me, but I can't stretch this enough:)
The other funny part is now the series being adapted in asia. This is quite an unique situation. As we all know, most of original ideas come FROM asia, morelike LOL.
We can take it from the most iconical sci-fi to a mellow romance as 'The Lake House' with Sandra Bullock. It is just adorable that THIS TIME the original idea is english:)
What Is The Original Idea? What Is The Original Concept?
Well it is EXACTLY that thing what makes some people here rate this lower than 10. It's the series being MYSTERIOUS genre, not a Sci-fi. The questions ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO be answered!! (Though 'Ashes To Ashes' did - that's also the reason it's not as good). The main hero IS NOT SUPPOSED TO be any wiser, to have time travel machine, produce future technology to amaze everyone, to be an astronaut, to become his own superior's mentor, to guide and protect everyone around him, etc.!!
The most endearing, AND funny, AND compelling, AND emotionally thrilling, is the fact the main hero remains misunderstood and unbelieved by the others as to where he came from. He got transferred from HYDE, and that's it. LOL. The story IS NOT, and thankful for that, about him convincing everyone that he is from the future. Kindly watch any sci-fi series for THAT. It's not about him getting all the answers and it's not about exploring what is this phenomenon, either. Sorry but if you won't set your head straight about this, then don't keep watching. Keep watching if you want to watch something different and FUN!
The Story.
One thing is the running-on story and the actual story. Most of the sreentime is (seemingly) filled with detective solving cases. But don't get sidelined by that into thinking the writers wasted an opportunity here.
HE SOLVES CASES BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE DOES.
He is a detective. If he was other sort of person, he would've just as well kept doing some other work. That is not what is essential here. The 'Life On Mars' is not actually about that, but it takes time for some viewers apparently, to realize. Though the cases remain part of the show's entertainment, of course. And the entertainment is PLENTIFUL, on so many levels. It's in picture, sound, and dialogue... It's in the main character's dynamics with others. For instance, his new boss thinks HE is the one taking HIM under his protective, guiding wing. That makes it all 100 more hilarious. Not to mention theirs is the best bromance I've seen ever. But by mentioning it, I am of course, getting closer to what 'Life On Mars' is really about...
The Atmosphere and The Humour. The People.
Surprise, surprise... That's the closest I'll tell you (without spoilers) what this show is actually about. You'll get to know what it is about by the series' end. And it might be for each viewer not necessarily the same. It's an amazing series and now we have korean version, even:)) Forgive me, but I can't quit being amused by this fact alone. So, SKIP the american adaptation if I can beg you, and let's see!
The Korean Version
Traveling to 80's Korea contrary to 70's Britain IS DIFFERENT and we can all probably agree we can't be surprised with that, LOL. It's good that this version can stand alone as such. It should have (hope it does, because I don't really know the iconical 80's korean music, hairdos, and so on) their own culture jokes and atmosphere and people. Something that american one failed to do, AMONG other things (though obviously, just like americans they also used the Bowie song... Looks like South Korea also doesn't have their own song equally as powerful as 'Life On Mars'). Even as 80's korean-culture ignorant I enjoyed this version, though.
Korea can do dramas so there's no need for anyone to worry about good enough cast, script or music to enjoy, just like any regular (good) k-drama. This would be a 10 rating no matter the Life-On-Mars theme. And if you don't seem to be interested/capable to see deeper, you might try to be a bit benevolent as an audience. Quit demanding the so-called "time travel" to get fully explained, just go with the flow by watching episode after episode, forgive the show if being occasionally "weird", and simply enjoy the period police drama of it. That itself is good. And you might surprise yourself in the end, if you see more in it after all. Or not. Just don't stretch yourself beforehand:)
The main thing about watching this is to ENJOY the watching, no stretching about "how is this going to be explained?". If you watched like this, come back to it and watch it again.
It's worth it.
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