Life On Mars: "My Maharishi is Bigger than Your Maharishi" 10/23
- Thread starter Aragorn
- Start date
Must be spring I guess, because of the whole tax thing.
Anyhoo, for a moment I thought they were going to do a Marty McFly and have the hippy girl be his mother because of all those flashback thingies.
Not to say too much I guess, but it looks like they are following the original with Sam seeing himself... but hopefully they'll be able to put their own twist on it.
Anyhoo, for a moment I thought they were going to do a Marty McFly and have the hippy girl be his mother because of all those flashback thingies.
Not to say too much I guess, but it looks like they are following the original with Sam seeing himself... but hopefully they'll be able to put their own twist on it.
Excellent episode - a few observations...
- So Sam's dad disappeared during his 4th birthday party? Interesting... Really curious how that's going to play out...
- Thought it was fascinating that the shoe box turned out to be another kid's and didn't contain Sam's GI Joe figures after all, despite all indications that it had been his room... He sees himself at the end of the episode, but did it register for him as just another hallucination, much like seeing himself earlier at the party? Just after seeing himself he stares into the crowd but loses track of himself almost immediately... It just seems somewhat ambiguous to me.
- A minor thing, but I loved Ray dripping mayo on the corpse at the beginning - much more effective than the equivalent event in the first ep of the BBC series.
- Gene and Sam certainly aren't on the same wavelength, but they don't seem to be at odds with each other nearly enough either. While I really liked Gene's speech to Ray, I felt that it would've worked better if he'd otherwise been more hardheaded. I'm really enjoying Keitel's Gene and O'Mara's Sam, but something just seems to be missing from the conflict between the two.
- As much as I like the cast in general, Imperioli's performance rises above the rest in my opinion. He owns the character completely and makes Ray utterly believable.
- Just a thought in general - given that, assuming the show remains successful, we're looking at many more eps than the BBC version, I can't help but wonder if some future episode might involve them tracking a criminal to Manchester... It's the fanboy in me, I know, but the idea, if well executed, appeals to me somehow.
Anyway, really enjoying the show thus far, and I'm hoping it continues to gel with each episode.
- So Sam's dad disappeared during his 4th birthday party? Interesting... Really curious how that's going to play out...
- Thought it was fascinating that the shoe box turned out to be another kid's and didn't contain Sam's GI Joe figures after all, despite all indications that it had been his room... He sees himself at the end of the episode, but did it register for him as just another hallucination, much like seeing himself earlier at the party? Just after seeing himself he stares into the crowd but loses track of himself almost immediately... It just seems somewhat ambiguous to me.
- A minor thing, but I loved Ray dripping mayo on the corpse at the beginning - much more effective than the equivalent event in the first ep of the BBC series.
- Gene and Sam certainly aren't on the same wavelength, but they don't seem to be at odds with each other nearly enough either. While I really liked Gene's speech to Ray, I felt that it would've worked better if he'd otherwise been more hardheaded. I'm really enjoying Keitel's Gene and O'Mara's Sam, but something just seems to be missing from the conflict between the two.
- As much as I like the cast in general, Imperioli's performance rises above the rest in my opinion. He owns the character completely and makes Ray utterly believable.
- Just a thought in general - given that, assuming the show remains successful, we're looking at many more eps than the BBC version, I can't help but wonder if some future episode might involve them tracking a criminal to Manchester... It's the fanboy in me, I know, but the idea, if well executed, appeals to me somehow.
Anyway, really enjoying the show thus far, and I'm hoping it continues to gel with each episode.
entfan4ever
Captain
I have to admit...I'm having a wee bit of trouble following what's going on.
At one point Sam was investigating the hippies with Ray, then he sees a boy who he's going to follow up some stairs. He then bumps into his neighbor, who is a dancer downstairs? Then he sees the Maharishi. Were all these in the same place?
The disconnectedness reminds me of that movie, "Jacob's Ladder".
Be that as it may, I'm still enjoying the hell out of the show so far.
At one point Sam was investigating the hippies with Ray, then he sees a boy who he's going to follow up some stairs. He then bumps into his neighbor, who is a dancer downstairs? Then he sees the Maharishi. Were all these in the same place?
The disconnectedness reminds me of that movie, "Jacob's Ladder".
Be that as it may, I'm still enjoying the hell out of the show so far.
I enjoyed it. Great hour of television.
Yeah, I think that was part of the whole "no coincidences" theme of the episode.
I thought this one was rather lackluster. Keitel, who shines in this role, wasn't used very well - his Afternoon Special chewing-out of moustache-guy seemed forced and inserted into the story as an afterthought.
I also think that the police procedural/mystery aspects of the scripts continue to fall flat - the detectives arrive at solutions in very pat ways, and the culprit is (so far) always easily identified early in the episode. Last week, the secretary's involvement in the robberies was telegraphed from the moment she got shot at the crime scene. This week - did anyone not pick out the former C.O. as the murderer the moment he first opened his mouth?
I also think that the police procedural/mystery aspects of the scripts continue to fall flat - the detectives arrive at solutions in very pat ways, and the culprit is (so far) always easily identified early in the episode. Last week, the secretary's involvement in the robberies was telegraphed from the moment she got shot at the crime scene. This week - did anyone not pick out the former C.O. as the murderer the moment he first opened his mouth?
I'm not sure there's ever going to be a procedural that's interesting unless they all do multi-episode arcs like the Canadian show Regenesis. The best they can do is a fake out, but you can always see those coming too.
I thought this one was very good. Would have been excellent, but it took Keitel the first 1/3rd of the episode to finally get into a solid character interpretation. I thought he was outstanding after that. I hope it continues, because after 2 and 1/3rd episodes of him bumbling about in the shadow of Glenister, it was very refreshing to see Keitel create a badass Hunt for the US version.
I might go home and rewatch it, simply because him getting into character was like someone through a switch.
I might go home and rewatch it, simply because him getting into character was like someone through a switch.
Scott,
You have seem to have seen this series from the UK so you would know if I'm right or not. What I was thinking was that the photo Sam finds in the shoe box might be of Maya's family. Just a thought.
Atavachron
The guy made it up to stay in the closet.
Dean Winters must have one hell of an agent, to get major credit despite appearing onscreen for maybe 1 second and having no dialogue...
The scene where the dim detective realizes his uncle was gay because 1.) he took the nephew to Broadway musical and 2.) he looked like a presumably gay man in the park was painfully bad, though not as godawful as the jovial fisticuffs last week.
But moving on to something more substantive---the mysteries so far have been so sucky because the character development has been so sucky. The cops ignored the incredibly suspicious presence of the secretary at a crime scene because the story was supposed to show the affection and trust Hunt had for his people, even the little ones. And to wallow in his angst at being betrayed. Similarly, the cops ignored the obviously disingenous story by the CO so the story would show Hunt as a man of principle chewing out Deppity Dorky. His brutality in other words is not something he does for ignoble reasons, but is inspired by the the intenisty of his commitment.
This is all sentimental cliche. Curmudgeon with a Heart of Gold crossed with Magnificent Bastard. Blending two cliches is not complexity. Worse, they are smarmy and conformist cliches. Frankly I don't believe that Hunt would be so sentimental over a secretary. Nor do I believe that a conservative guy who would chase after a queerkiller on principle would not also get that beating suspects up is also wrong. Cops beating up prisoners has been the norm historically. The prevalence of crime has also been the norm historically. Thinking that a dedicated cop could be brutal and that would also make him effective (Isn't the choice of evils just too delightfully morally ambiguous or flawed or shades of grey for words?) is just wingnut LaLa Land horseshit.
What then to make of Tyler's speech about al Qaeda and the WTC? Well, it's not that daring politically. First, the notion that al Qaeda is down on the US because it has things like tolerance for gays is just another verision of "they hate us for our freedoms." There are lots of people in this country who hate such freedoms. Al Qaeda has some rather specific political grievances as well.
Second, congenial as the notion of tossing the irony into a bigot's face is, the conflict is not actually dramatized. Tyler can fire off this shot, but Deppity Dork doesn't even get it. Somehow, these cops can hear these modern day views without either resenting Tyler, much less rejecting him. Yeah, right. I'm not sure whether a series about political strife in the squad room would be interesting or entertaining---but why did they have Tyler bring it up?
There are also significant plotting errors. The cops did not consider drugs or gambling. They did not check his workplace situation (was he gainfully unemployed?) The accountant and the matches provided two separate leads to the gay angle, which sure seems a waste of time to me. And questioning the queer bashers together, and beating a prisoner in front of hostile witnesses was simply stupid. Having this stupid brutality actually work of course if de rigueur for contemporary TV.
The only cleverness displayed was in the cutting of the hallucinations or whatever. I find that I'm not very interested in the time travel angle, as it just seems like nonsense. How could he be sent back in time and suddenly appear in a squad room as someone with a job? And the coma theory is just silly.
Even though this episode is less brutal to my political sensibilities, I can't rate it higher than average. If it wasn't for the smooth handling of the boy image I'd have rated it poor.
PS Mars Attacks! was funny, as it was meant to be. Total Recall was funny in spots, and it wasn't meant to be.
But moving on to something more substantive---the mysteries so far have been so sucky because the character development has been so sucky. The cops ignored the incredibly suspicious presence of the secretary at a crime scene because the story was supposed to show the affection and trust Hunt had for his people, even the little ones. And to wallow in his angst at being betrayed. Similarly, the cops ignored the obviously disingenous story by the CO so the story would show Hunt as a man of principle chewing out Deppity Dorky. His brutality in other words is not something he does for ignoble reasons, but is inspired by the the intenisty of his commitment.
This is all sentimental cliche. Curmudgeon with a Heart of Gold crossed with Magnificent Bastard. Blending two cliches is not complexity. Worse, they are smarmy and conformist cliches. Frankly I don't believe that Hunt would be so sentimental over a secretary. Nor do I believe that a conservative guy who would chase after a queerkiller on principle would not also get that beating suspects up is also wrong. Cops beating up prisoners has been the norm historically. The prevalence of crime has also been the norm historically. Thinking that a dedicated cop could be brutal and that would also make him effective (Isn't the choice of evils just too delightfully morally ambiguous or flawed or shades of grey for words?) is just wingnut LaLa Land horseshit.
What then to make of Tyler's speech about al Qaeda and the WTC? Well, it's not that daring politically. First, the notion that al Qaeda is down on the US because it has things like tolerance for gays is just another verision of "they hate us for our freedoms." There are lots of people in this country who hate such freedoms. Al Qaeda has some rather specific political grievances as well.
Second, congenial as the notion of tossing the irony into a bigot's face is, the conflict is not actually dramatized. Tyler can fire off this shot, but Deppity Dork doesn't even get it. Somehow, these cops can hear these modern day views without either resenting Tyler, much less rejecting him. Yeah, right. I'm not sure whether a series about political strife in the squad room would be interesting or entertaining---but why did they have Tyler bring it up?
There are also significant plotting errors. The cops did not consider drugs or gambling. They did not check his workplace situation (was he gainfully unemployed?) The accountant and the matches provided two separate leads to the gay angle, which sure seems a waste of time to me. And questioning the queer bashers together, and beating a prisoner in front of hostile witnesses was simply stupid. Having this stupid brutality actually work of course if de rigueur for contemporary TV.
The only cleverness displayed was in the cutting of the hallucinations or whatever. I find that I'm not very interested in the time travel angle, as it just seems like nonsense. How could he be sent back in time and suddenly appear in a squad room as someone with a job? And the coma theory is just silly.
Even though this episode is less brutal to my political sensibilities, I can't rate it higher than average. If it wasn't for the smooth handling of the boy image I'd have rated it poor.
PS Mars Attacks! was funny, as it was meant to be. Total Recall was funny in spots, and it wasn't meant to be.
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In Life on Mars UK, Maya is half white British and half Ugandan Asian (Idi Amin forced out many of the Indian and Pakistanis who settled in Uganda for generations and many relocated to the UK in the early 70s since they still held a form of British citizenship). Sam meets Maya's father and mother when she is pregnant with Maya in series 2. Maya's father is subsequently killed and her mother raises her by herself.
So if the US producers followed the UK lead on Maya, Sam will eventually meet her parents before she is born in a storyline involving recently arrived refugees. Interestingly, both LA and NY have cast mixed-race actresses to play Maya, which indicates they may have been keeping the option open to echo this storyline.
So if the US producers followed the UK lead on Maya, Sam will eventually meet her parents before she is born in a storyline involving recently arrived refugees. Interestingly, both LA and NY have cast mixed-race actresses to play Maya, which indicates they may have been keeping the option open to echo this storyline.
I have indeed seen the BBC version. I'll say this - your supposition is fascinating - I'd be very interested in seeing them tie that in...
