Life On Mars: "Tuesday's Dead" 11/13 - Grading & Discussion

[Aragorn]

Spoiler: Tuesday's Dead

n a life-and-death hostage situation that parallels his own strange circumstances, Sam Tyler is ordered with the rest of the 125 to diffuse a potentially deadly face-off at a hospital where a crazed gunman is trying to force a doctor to reverse a dangerous operation on the brother of the gunman.

 

[Aragorn]

Did people stop watching?

So Sam "knows" he's in a coma. Now what? Besides getting it on with imaginary blonde coworker?

 

[Jimilu]

just 2 votes!? I thought it was a excelent episode. And the first scenes when Sam is dancing were very funny.

 

[deh34]

i thought it was another great episode. i was surprised to see them go down the coma road so decisively, but i'm interested to see where they take it and if it may turn out to be just a red herring or something.

i just think the quality of this show is so high and the writers and actors just seem to be so sure of themselves, in a good way. it's the only show i look forward to right now.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I voted 'above average'...which is how I've voted for the past few weeks.

I liked this one. The hostage plotline was fairly predictable...but I do like how they are revealing what is going on in 2008.

It's odd though - we know he's in a coma in 2008...but I'm not convinced that 1973 is 'imaginary'. I think that somehow, he is meant to go back and effect the past for good (sorta Quantum Leap-esque) and/or he is meant to find out some things about his own childhood and family that he needs to know in 2008.

I'm still interested and I'm still eager to find out how this will play out.

And I'm still absolutely in awe of how well they are doing the period stuff.

My only beef (once again) is that they are really wasting Michael Imperioli. He is capable of much more than playing 'the squadroom asshole' week after week.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked this one. The hostage plotline was fairly predictable...but I do like how they are revealing what is going on in 2008.

I loved how Sam's situation in '08 manifested itself as a crap 70's soap opera.

 

[Capn Flukie]

^ yeah, that was pretty cool.

I voted Excellent. Since I grew up in the seventies, it's like old home week for mr.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Is the bar where - in the present day - Sam first meets Maya, the same one where he and his 1973 cop buddies hang out?

Also, was there ever a hospital in New York which had a subway entrance inside it?

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I liked this one. The hostage plotline was fairly predictable...but I do like how they are revealing what is going on in 2008.

I loved how Sam's situation in '08 manifested itself as a crap 70's soap opera.

Agreed.

Good lord - could Lisa Bonet's hair be any more 70's Black Power 'Fro???

But that's what I'm talking about with this show - they do the period stuff so incredibly well. They never miss a beat in that regard, IMO.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked this one. The hostage plotline was fairly predictable...but I do like how they are revealing what is going on in 2008.

I loved how Sam's situation in '08 manifested itself as a crap 70's soap opera.

Agreed.

Good lord - could Lisa Bonet's hair be any more 70's Black Power 'Fro???

But that's what I'm talking about with this show - they do the period stuff so incredibly well. They never miss a beat in that regard, IMO.

Almost makes one wonder what they'd do with a US Ashes to Ashes...I'd love to see how these guys would tackle 80's culture.

 

[Scott Delaney]

Didn't get to see it until tonight, got tied up last night. Thought this was fantastic, the ending finally hit the mark dead on. Ray and Gene's comments to Sam in the bar were pitch perfect, and although I've been enjoying it from the first, I'd say that now I'm finally hooked!

 

[firehawk12]

This was another sort of side-ways adaptation of an episode from the British series... I'm not sure which one I like better though, because this one was pretty good.

I'm just wondering what happened to hippy girl.

 

[Super Grover]

I voted 'above average'...which is how I've voted for the past few weeks.

I liked this one. The hostage plotline was fairly predictable...but I do like how they are revealing what is going on in 2008.

It's odd though - we know he's in a coma in 2008...but I'm not convinced that 1973 is 'imaginary'. I think that somehow, he is meant to go back and effect the past for good (sorta Quantum Leap-esque) and/or he is meant to find out some things about his own childhood and family that he needs to know in 2008.

I'm still interested and I'm still eager to find out how this will play out.

And I'm still absolutely in awe of how well they are doing the period stuff.

My only beef (once again) is that they are really wasting Michael Imperioli. He is capable of much more than playing 'the squadroom asshole' week after week.

I've been thinking. I remember a Sliders episode where the original group landed on a world that was still in the 80s. The Professor mentioned an alternate universe theory that of all the multiple realities there was one universe that moved at a slower rate than the rest. And I remember reading the book Timeline where they discover that time travel isn't really time travel at all, it's just traveling from one alternate universe to another where their present is our past. This might be what happened. I"m also thinking that when Sam was hit by the car, he traded places with the Sam Tyler of the 1973 alternate universe and somehow they have some kind of mental link as to why he can hear things going on in 2008.

Oh, God, I have a headache now.

Once again, I like that they are ramping up the 70s cop show action music. I like it, makes it more exciting.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I"m also thinking that when Sam was hit by the car, he traded places with the Sam Tyler of the 1973 alternate universe

A 1973 Sam in 2008...love to see that too.

 

[Maestro]

It was an excellent episode until 2008 Lisa Bonet crapped out her lines in the bar. Ugh. I don't think she could have phoned that in more if she had been on the phone.

I think Keitel has finally found himself as Gene, although Imperioli is much more enjoyable as Ray than the fella on the original was. Interesting take on both characters.

This episode was a nice twist on the original ep. I felt like the twist with the "reporter" was a kick in the nads to fans of the original. What made it even cooler was the second kick in the nads when the doc talked about her. Made me wonder if she was a reporter or not.

Lots of black actresses out there who could act much better than Bonet has. Even Raven Symone would have been an improvement, and what's Keisha Knight-Pulliam up to these days any way? (Point being any other Cosby alum could have done better than Bonet in this ep.)

 

[DanCPA]

enjoyed the ep

I think I need to watch the BBC version of the show to get all the little stuff in this one

 

[Racer_X]

I think Keitel has finally found himself as Gene, although Imperioli is much more enjoyable as Ray than the fella on the original was. Interesting take on both characters.

Agreed on the Ray character. In the original, Ray was portrayed more as a doofus at times, whereas this Ray is a real foil to Sam.

 

[Maestro]

In the original, Gene was the foil to Sam. In the American, it seems like Gene is more of a "backseat" character -- still a bad ass -- but Ray is taking on the foil role. Interesting change up.

 

[stj]

Harvey Keitel has been a movie star. Foils have to shine less than their counterparts. Therefore, Keitel is not the foil.

But have any of you here heard that Life on Mars in not on the midseason ABC schedule after all. Any speculation as to what that means?

 

[Aragorn]

Life on Mars is being moved. They're pairing it with Lost on Wednesdays.