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I watched the US remake of Life on Mars and I don't understand. Why would you make a bad copy of a show with almost the exact same characters and plot when you could 1. just buy the rights to the original 2. use the concept and add something too it instead of watering down the original.
Do they really think we have such an aversion to British accents? Or that we're just stupid and won't understand it.
At first I thought I might be overly sensitive, too swayed by the charming British accents.
And then I rewatched the first ep of the BBC series.
1. The producers think we're stupid.
This starts from the first scene. Must we be hit over the head with everything. Do we really need a whole discussion about meeting the parents to find out Sam and Maya are a couple? In the original they did it with a touch. One touch to his head in a way that you would never touch a colleague, plus a reference to "our issues". That's all we need. Really.
2. The writers think Sam's stupid.
When you're in an unfamiliar or strange situation or you think you're misinterpreting things or thinking crazy thoughts do you broadcast them to everyone? Do you come in yelling about how crazy you are? No, you shut the fuck up until you figure out what the hell is going on. This is was BBC Sam does. He looks confused but he's quiet and his comments can be read (by us) as referring to the "time travel" but by the people in the scene as irritable or quirky or whathaveyou. See when he first enters the police station and the scene examining the body.
3. Tone, people, tone.
One of the great pleasures of the BBC series is the odd, slightly disconcerting off tone. Like you're watching things from underwater that expresses Sam's confusion. This is achieved primarily through the judicious use of slow motion, long camera shots, and music. The US series fails, fails, fails.
A. When Sam is interviewing the subject in 2008 there is an emphasis on procedure. We see the technical equipment, the reverse shot from the video camera, the dialogue has to do with 2008 legal requirements. Everything is clean, well-lit, and technological. This contrasts with interviewing the subject in the property room in 1973, one of so many lovely details that was lost.
B. The use of music, especially during the accident. The way Sam's transition between time occurs is beautifully timed to David Bowie's "Life on Mars" in the BBC version. How it gets quiet with "those days are gone" the swells again as he rises in 1973 and we see him from below. It's a fantastic sequence. The US version looses much of the shock of him being hit by the car nevermind the awkwardness of waking up in 1973. Also the image on the sign BBC Sam sees in 1973 telling of the future highway development mimics the camera shot of him on the highway in 2008 after being hit by the car. That it's the same location is so much clearer and more visceral. (eta okay, there isn't much that's more visceral for Americans than the Twin Towers, but less symmetry.)
C. The use of slow motion. See especially when Sam first enters the precinct. In the BBC version the camera speed expresses Sam's psychological state and gives us time to take in all of the details. It felt very rushed in the US version. They also kept Sam and Gene leaping over the desk but the camera angle wasn't nearly as effective.
D. Even the use of camera shots to show thought is quite different. For example, look at the scene when they're in the record store and about to reveal the plot point of the soundproofing. In the US version we see the booth in the background before Sam goes over to it. In the BBC version we don't see the booth at all, first we see the dawning realization in Sam's face, then the camera moves with him towards something (that we don't see), then we're in the booth with the stuffing and the audience understands only a few seconds after Sam does, rather than a few seconds before. Makes Sam look smarter than us and is much more effective in terms of dramatic tension.
4. Women
WTF?!?!
A. Our first experience of Maya is not as competent professional (as in the BBC series) but as whiny girlfriend? Then they excise her whole discussion of logic versus gut which ends up being one of the main motifs of the show as Gene (Sam's new girlfriend?) is also symbolic of gut. Take that away and you make Maya a prop. Lame ass.
B. And let's not even talk about Annie. It really annoys me that's she's so blond, so "model-pretty" versus "regular girl pretty", but that could just be my own issues. I do not understand why she has to be so embarrassed to be asked her opinion. BBC Annie isn't ashamed to use her brain, she deals with the comments by ignoring them (although you can see her discomfort, see also: good acting) not getting mad at Sam for pointing out she's educated. Also BBC Annie has some balls, she punches Sam in the kidneys during their first meeting (in a way that shows she cares and has a brain). US Annie just doesn't make sense for a woman working in a traditionally man's field in the 1970s.
5. Emotion and connection
Frankly the US version did not make sense from an emotional or psychological perspective. This aspect of the show is one of the pleasures of the BBC version. So much subtlety.
A. In 2008 while in the car right before the accident sad, guilty Sam makes so much more sense (and is so much more appealing to me) than angry alpha-male Sam.
B. The relationship with Annie feels so much more real in the BBC version. The kindness of their first meeting (punching notwithstanding), the way she likes him and looks down when Gene makes his sexual innuendos. The way she offers to drive him home. The connection between them when Sam tells her (and only her!) that he's from 2008 and her kindness and compassion in response to that and to talking him down off the roof. When their hands meet you feel like they've connected in a deep, human way. I didn't get that in the US version.
C. The relationship between Sam and Gene. You know, the heart of the show. In the BBC version it's based on trust as much as on animosity. When they're in the bar and Gene's going on about taking the villians off the street he talks about Sam "not keeping anything from him if he has a hunch". That line wasn't in the US version (or maybe I missed it?). The whole theme about gut instinct and trusting Sam, valuing his opinion, was gone. Also you get the sense through the whole thing that they are a team. When Sam's flubbing the interview with the grandmother in the BBC version you're getting Gene's reaction shot. When they catch the guy there's the perp walk through the office that establishes Gene and Sam together as the victors. Even the mental health assessment decision is a Sam and Gene thing, not a Sam alone in a car thing.
After Gene beats Sam up he gives him this little paternal/buddy-buddy pat on the shoulder. With Gene Hunt you get both the punch in the gut and the pat on the shoulder. Taking one away diminishes the character.
6. Acting
A. And while we're talking about Gene how about what a great actor Philip Glenister is. I feel like Harvey Keitel is playing a characature more than a character, but perhaps he will improve. I sorely missed the scenes with the kids and the car. When they get out of the car Gene says "touch the car and I'll come to each one of your houses and stomp on all your toys.". When they return he says "good job kids" and tosses them a bunch of coins. You need both sides to Gene Hunt the gruffness and the sweetness.
B. John Simm is amazing. His Sam is subtle, sensitive, and smart. I don't even want to talk about the American guy, too impulsive, too angry, not thoughtful enough. Poor. Take a deep breath, take a beat.
7. Plot
A. I liked the symmetry of the same person committing the crime rather than one of the twins suddenly deciding to become a serial killer (wouldn't that have manifested earlier like when he was a young man?). It brought back the idea of change (and no change) through time, events happening simultaneously in 73 and 08. The BBC plot also dealt with different attitudes towards mental health issues. (Although having the dude be the boarder instead of the neighbor worked better for me).
B. The moral dilemma of destroying evidence seemed much more appropriate to me than the moral dilemma of killing a child who hasn't yet committed a crime. I don't want a Sam who would even consider shooting a child. Also, we don't find out Maya's okay in the BBC version in the first episode (although maybe we do in later episodes?)
C. I didn't mind that they cut out the bit about Annie's ex-boyfriend/the hynotherapist. I'm not a huge fan of it in the BBC version although what he did and didn't know and whether it was a joke or not underlined the ambiguity of Sam's situation, something that was absent in the US version.
D. Asking the guy to shoot him worked in terms of compressing two plot points into one action although I greatly preferred the visuals of him standing on the roof. The final shot of him from above, looking up, with the steep recession of the wall below him is incredible. What was the lost shot of the US version? I don't remember. Maybe Gene agreeing that Sam's crazy and will fit right in? Again, broad, lazy writing taking the place of subtle acting and atmosphere created by cinematography.
8. Casting
A. I liked the casting of the US bad guy. I thought he looked more American (than the skinny British bad guy with the long hair), although he didn't read as 70s to me.
B. The casting of the little redhead boy(s) was much better in the BBC version. That kid managed to look cute, and creepy at the same time. We didn't get a long enough shot of the twins to really study their expressions.
C. Even the casting of the grandmother annoyed me. In the US version she's very old (80s?). In the BBC version she's a woman in her 50s. Appropriate for the grandmother of a young boy, especially because we assume that she's still around in 35 years since Sam recognizes her name. US producers, grandmothers do not need to 100 years old for us to identify them!
D. I like the British bartender better :)
9. Setting
A. That sad little half-Murphy bed in the British apartment encapsulates the material differences between the 70s and the 21st century perfectly. There was nothing comparable in the US version. I did like how in the US version they explained how his stuff got there, and I liked the detail of Annie having to come in and unpack his clothes.
B. I also liked that they had a scene of him waking up in the sad bed the next morning. Underscoring that it's not a dream, he won't just automatically wake up. The insinuation that he needs to *do* something.
10. Writing
A. When Sam first wakes up in 1973 the policeman asks something like "can you explain what happened?" the question that Sam and the audience are thinking. Much better than "you can't park here".
B. When he's chatting with Annie in the street and talking about details and going down the yellow brick road Annie asks something like "what will you find? a big cliff, a white light..." a comment that is funny and grounded. In the original Sam answers "I don't know." in the American version he says "the end of the yellow brick road." That shift from uncertainty to certainty encapsulates the differences between the approaches to the character and the plot. The US version seems uncomfortable with the uncertainty and ambiguity that is at the heart of the show.
C. I'm sorry no man says "I'm crazy about you." bluntly like that, in those words, to your face, and there's no way in hell he brings it out in the middle of a fight while you're driving to a crime scene getting ready to do your very important jobs. Showing Sam breaking down (when he's alone!) in the car is so much more effective (and affective). You don't need to tell us, the actors will show us. The former is poor writing.
And to end on a positive note:
The best part of the American show was the shot of the Twin Towers. That was concise, emotional, and effective.
Do they really think we have such an aversion to British accents? Or that we're just stupid and won't understand it.
At first I thought I might be overly sensitive, too swayed by the charming British accents.
And then I rewatched the first ep of the BBC series.
1. The producers think we're stupid.
This starts from the first scene. Must we be hit over the head with everything. Do we really need a whole discussion about meeting the parents to find out Sam and Maya are a couple? In the original they did it with a touch. One touch to his head in a way that you would never touch a colleague, plus a reference to "our issues". That's all we need. Really.
2. The writers think Sam's stupid.
When you're in an unfamiliar or strange situation or you think you're misinterpreting things or thinking crazy thoughts do you broadcast them to everyone? Do you come in yelling about how crazy you are? No, you shut the fuck up until you figure out what the hell is going on. This is was BBC Sam does. He looks confused but he's quiet and his comments can be read (by us) as referring to the "time travel" but by the people in the scene as irritable or quirky or whathaveyou. See when he first enters the police station and the scene examining the body.
3. Tone, people, tone.
One of the great pleasures of the BBC series is the odd, slightly disconcerting off tone. Like you're watching things from underwater that expresses Sam's confusion. This is achieved primarily through the judicious use of slow motion, long camera shots, and music. The US series fails, fails, fails.
A. When Sam is interviewing the subject in 2008 there is an emphasis on procedure. We see the technical equipment, the reverse shot from the video camera, the dialogue has to do with 2008 legal requirements. Everything is clean, well-lit, and technological. This contrasts with interviewing the subject in the property room in 1973, one of so many lovely details that was lost.
B. The use of music, especially during the accident. The way Sam's transition between time occurs is beautifully timed to David Bowie's "Life on Mars" in the BBC version. How it gets quiet with "those days are gone" the swells again as he rises in 1973 and we see him from below. It's a fantastic sequence. The US version looses much of the shock of him being hit by the car nevermind the awkwardness of waking up in 1973. Also the image on the sign BBC Sam sees in 1973 telling of the future highway development mimics the camera shot of him on the highway in 2008 after being hit by the car. That it's the same location is so much clearer and more visceral. (eta okay, there isn't much that's more visceral for Americans than the Twin Towers, but less symmetry.)
C. The use of slow motion. See especially when Sam first enters the precinct. In the BBC version the camera speed expresses Sam's psychological state and gives us time to take in all of the details. It felt very rushed in the US version. They also kept Sam and Gene leaping over the desk but the camera angle wasn't nearly as effective.
D. Even the use of camera shots to show thought is quite different. For example, look at the scene when they're in the record store and about to reveal the plot point of the soundproofing. In the US version we see the booth in the background before Sam goes over to it. In the BBC version we don't see the booth at all, first we see the dawning realization in Sam's face, then the camera moves with him towards something (that we don't see), then we're in the booth with the stuffing and the audience understands only a few seconds after Sam does, rather than a few seconds before. Makes Sam look smarter than us and is much more effective in terms of dramatic tension.
4. Women
WTF?!?!
A. Our first experience of Maya is not as competent professional (as in the BBC series) but as whiny girlfriend? Then they excise her whole discussion of logic versus gut which ends up being one of the main motifs of the show as Gene (Sam's new girlfriend?) is also symbolic of gut. Take that away and you make Maya a prop. Lame ass.
B. And let's not even talk about Annie. It really annoys me that's she's so blond, so "model-pretty" versus "regular girl pretty", but that could just be my own issues. I do not understand why she has to be so embarrassed to be asked her opinion. BBC Annie isn't ashamed to use her brain, she deals with the comments by ignoring them (although you can see her discomfort, see also: good acting) not getting mad at Sam for pointing out she's educated. Also BBC Annie has some balls, she punches Sam in the kidneys during their first meeting (in a way that shows she cares and has a brain). US Annie just doesn't make sense for a woman working in a traditionally man's field in the 1970s.
5. Emotion and connection
Frankly the US version did not make sense from an emotional or psychological perspective. This aspect of the show is one of the pleasures of the BBC version. So much subtlety.
A. In 2008 while in the car right before the accident sad, guilty Sam makes so much more sense (and is so much more appealing to me) than angry alpha-male Sam.
B. The relationship with Annie feels so much more real in the BBC version. The kindness of their first meeting (punching notwithstanding), the way she likes him and looks down when Gene makes his sexual innuendos. The way she offers to drive him home. The connection between them when Sam tells her (and only her!) that he's from 2008 and her kindness and compassion in response to that and to talking him down off the roof. When their hands meet you feel like they've connected in a deep, human way. I didn't get that in the US version.
C. The relationship between Sam and Gene. You know, the heart of the show. In the BBC version it's based on trust as much as on animosity. When they're in the bar and Gene's going on about taking the villians off the street he talks about Sam "not keeping anything from him if he has a hunch". That line wasn't in the US version (or maybe I missed it?). The whole theme about gut instinct and trusting Sam, valuing his opinion, was gone. Also you get the sense through the whole thing that they are a team. When Sam's flubbing the interview with the grandmother in the BBC version you're getting Gene's reaction shot. When they catch the guy there's the perp walk through the office that establishes Gene and Sam together as the victors. Even the mental health assessment decision is a Sam and Gene thing, not a Sam alone in a car thing.
After Gene beats Sam up he gives him this little paternal/buddy-buddy pat on the shoulder. With Gene Hunt you get both the punch in the gut and the pat on the shoulder. Taking one away diminishes the character.
6. Acting
A. And while we're talking about Gene how about what a great actor Philip Glenister is. I feel like Harvey Keitel is playing a characature more than a character, but perhaps he will improve. I sorely missed the scenes with the kids and the car. When they get out of the car Gene says "touch the car and I'll come to each one of your houses and stomp on all your toys.". When they return he says "good job kids" and tosses them a bunch of coins. You need both sides to Gene Hunt the gruffness and the sweetness.
B. John Simm is amazing. His Sam is subtle, sensitive, and smart. I don't even want to talk about the American guy, too impulsive, too angry, not thoughtful enough. Poor. Take a deep breath, take a beat.
7. Plot
A. I liked the symmetry of the same person committing the crime rather than one of the twins suddenly deciding to become a serial killer (wouldn't that have manifested earlier like when he was a young man?). It brought back the idea of change (and no change) through time, events happening simultaneously in 73 and 08. The BBC plot also dealt with different attitudes towards mental health issues. (Although having the dude be the boarder instead of the neighbor worked better for me).
B. The moral dilemma of destroying evidence seemed much more appropriate to me than the moral dilemma of killing a child who hasn't yet committed a crime. I don't want a Sam who would even consider shooting a child. Also, we don't find out Maya's okay in the BBC version in the first episode (although maybe we do in later episodes?)
C. I didn't mind that they cut out the bit about Annie's ex-boyfriend/the hynotherapist. I'm not a huge fan of it in the BBC version although what he did and didn't know and whether it was a joke or not underlined the ambiguity of Sam's situation, something that was absent in the US version.
D. Asking the guy to shoot him worked in terms of compressing two plot points into one action although I greatly preferred the visuals of him standing on the roof. The final shot of him from above, looking up, with the steep recession of the wall below him is incredible. What was the lost shot of the US version? I don't remember. Maybe Gene agreeing that Sam's crazy and will fit right in? Again, broad, lazy writing taking the place of subtle acting and atmosphere created by cinematography.
8. Casting
A. I liked the casting of the US bad guy. I thought he looked more American (than the skinny British bad guy with the long hair), although he didn't read as 70s to me.
B. The casting of the little redhead boy(s) was much better in the BBC version. That kid managed to look cute, and creepy at the same time. We didn't get a long enough shot of the twins to really study their expressions.
C. Even the casting of the grandmother annoyed me. In the US version she's very old (80s?). In the BBC version she's a woman in her 50s. Appropriate for the grandmother of a young boy, especially because we assume that she's still around in 35 years since Sam recognizes her name. US producers, grandmothers do not need to 100 years old for us to identify them!
D. I like the British bartender better :)
9. Setting
A. That sad little half-Murphy bed in the British apartment encapsulates the material differences between the 70s and the 21st century perfectly. There was nothing comparable in the US version. I did like how in the US version they explained how his stuff got there, and I liked the detail of Annie having to come in and unpack his clothes.
B. I also liked that they had a scene of him waking up in the sad bed the next morning. Underscoring that it's not a dream, he won't just automatically wake up. The insinuation that he needs to *do* something.
10. Writing
A. When Sam first wakes up in 1973 the policeman asks something like "can you explain what happened?" the question that Sam and the audience are thinking. Much better than "you can't park here".
B. When he's chatting with Annie in the street and talking about details and going down the yellow brick road Annie asks something like "what will you find? a big cliff, a white light..." a comment that is funny and grounded. In the original Sam answers "I don't know." in the American version he says "the end of the yellow brick road." That shift from uncertainty to certainty encapsulates the differences between the approaches to the character and the plot. The US version seems uncomfortable with the uncertainty and ambiguity that is at the heart of the show.
C. I'm sorry no man says "I'm crazy about you." bluntly like that, in those words, to your face, and there's no way in hell he brings it out in the middle of a fight while you're driving to a crime scene getting ready to do your very important jobs. Showing Sam breaking down (when he's alone!) in the car is so much more effective (and affective). You don't need to tell us, the actors will show us. The former is poor writing.
And to end on a positive note:
The best part of the American show was the shot of the Twin Towers. That was concise, emotional, and effective.
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From:
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The 70s stuff seemed so much more visceral in the original. I think because it *looked* like a 70s brit cop show, so perhaps this would have been more successful if they'd made it look like Starsky and Hutch, instead of so much like the brit version.
I think the biggest disappointment was Annie -- first, not the least bit likeable, and second, not nearly 70s enough. I was there in the 70s, and that's not what women were like :)
I hate to say it, but the movie Anchorman (which I was forced to watch under duress) did a much better job of portraying women in the 70s.
I agree with you: the Twin Towers shot is just about the only positive thing I can say.
I'd read somewhere that the American writers had permission from RTD to change the plot somewhat in the US version -- possibly to make it more mystical/X-Files, but mostly to make it not exactly like the original. I didn't see any indication of that here....
From:
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From:
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If you're coming in cold I think that a lot of the things that made the BBC version good are still there (the concept, the 70s clothes, the basic outlines of the different characters, the plot, etc.) The US version is still worth watching, just if you have the choice... If you do end up seeing the BBC version I'd love to know what you think.