A craptastic week in TV.

Life On Mars is not returning for a second year. The good news is that the producers found out about it in time to give the show a proper ending at the end of this season. It will join the ranks of shows like Freaks and Geeks, Murder in Small Town X, and Twin Peaks. All shows that were taken from us too early.


I can't say that I am really surprised, but I am very disappointed. There is a lot of awful garbage on TV that seems to thrive while good shows just fade out. I'm not saying that Life on Mars is the best show ever, but it is much better than most of the mindless crap that returns year after year. Now, I hate plenty of things that pass for programming but reality TV has really become a cancer. I hate to think how many good shows haven't even gotten a chance to be canceled because they need to keep a spot open for The Bachelor, Wife Swap, or The Real Rich Whores of (Insert town here). Most of the stupid "reality" shows aren't even reality any more. Does anyone REALLY believe that The Hills, Hogan Knows Best, or The Girls Next Door aren't scripted? Hulk Hogan had more reality when he was wrestling with Mr. T at Wrestlemania. I don't hate all reality TV, but there is just too much. I was just as addicted to the first season of Survivor as everyone else. The Real World used to be really interesting.... when it was real people and not a bunch of jacked up tool-bags and alcoholic sluts. Top Chef is amazing. Wipeout is stupid, but I love it. There is room for reality TV, but I get more than enough reality in my everyday life.

Oh yeah, thanks to my reader KBHR for breaking the news about Life on Mars to me, yeah, thanks a lot.

In other news, Lost is not on this week. Balls. I don't understand why they insist on putting gaps in the middle of the season. Lost has been much better about that recently but they have announced that there will be two times this season when there will be no new episode. This season has been totally awesome so I will cut them some slack but it still sucks. So now I have nothing to watch tonight except for Ghost Hunters International. I like GHI but it is not as good as the original.

Fringe has been really getting on my nerves. The show is great, but that is why it is so frustrating that they keep going away for months at a time. Earlier this year they took a couple months over the holidays when there were no new shows. I can deal with that. A lot of shows break over the holidays. But then after a few weeks back and a really great episode, they announce that Fringe will return in April. Son of a bitch! I'm hoping that it is because the show has become popular and they ordered more episodes or something, but I am just guessing. My biggest concern isn't my lack of viewing options this week, I'll survive, but how do they expect the more casual fan to stay engaged in the show? I'm hoping these breaks don't affect the rating for Fringe, I really don't want to lose both of my new favorite shows.

The only good part about this week is that it has given me the opportunity to revisit some classic TV via DVD. I have mentioned it in a previous post but I need to get the message out that Northern Exposure was and is amazing. Not only do I need to make sure that it gets its own post one day but it deserves its own blog. I have always said that it was one of the greatest shows ever and this week when I popped it in it sucked me right back in. If you have never seen it, please turn off Brooke Knows Best (seriously, if you are watching that, turn it off immediately) and go grab the Northern Exposure DVDs. Your brain will thank you.

Life On Crazy

SPOILER ALERT!! I will be talking about more specific things in this post than I normally do. If you have not watched Life on Mars yet, PLEASE get your ass in gear and watch this show. It started off good and has only gotten better.

Ok, things are getting weird, and by weird I mean totally awesome. What is going on?!? It seemed that Sam was most likely in some hospital bed in 2008 having a coma hallucination. They kept us guessing but that seemed like the most plausible explanation for Sam's time displacement. Recent events have made this early assumption less and less likely. Characters are popping up who seem to have information about Sam's predicament.

First there was the young black girl whose things were in the hidden shoebox that Sam expected to find his own things in. This same young girl was the one who led Sam to his mother by singing a song from his childhood. She was also the girl who fell to her death and almost started a race war. The last time that we see her, she is with a second odd character. The old man/bum, who talks to Sam as if he knows what is happening, is only in one episode but he gets the new theory ball rolling. Sam could still just be imagining all of this, but it is starting to seem like there are other forces at work. This brings us to last night's episode.

The episode was really good. It explained what happened to Sam's Dad and helped to explain why Sam is the way that he is. The first 95% was great, but it was the last few minutes that were completely amazing. Sam starts to figure out that all of the cases that he worked on are leading him to something. He discovers an address and when he gets there he finds a place that is a cross between the Evil Dead house and the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. The phone rings and a mysterious voice tells him that he needs to go to the basement. The end.

Holy Cliffhanger!!!! I can't wait until next...w.e..e..k.... WHAT? New episodes return January 28th. AAAHHHHH. I know, a bit over-dramatic, but the end of January cannot get here fast enough. This is very good news because it means that ABC has picked up the show and we will get to see what is in the basement. Good news part 2: January 28th is a Wednesday. That means a Lost, Life on Mars combo for that night. Very cool.

Questions:

What's in the basement?!?!

Who is the voice on the other end of the line?

Why does the chess game on the table of the "Evil Lodge"(as good a name as any) have all black pieces?

What the hell is really going on with Sam?

Let me know if you have any theories. We have two months to think it over.

Best New Show....Life on Mars

Only one network show has really caught my eye in this new Fall season. It started with a unique ABC ad campaign that used their 1970's logos and sweepers. This was before my time but it did grab my attention immediately. At first I thought that it was just a cop show set in the 70's but when I saw that it was actually about a cop who becomes displaced in time from 2008 to 1973, I became very interested. I have seen the first three episodes and I am pleasantly surprised. Life on Mars has quickly become one of my favorite new shows.

Life on Mars is another in a long line of British remakes(They really are TV geniuses). This one centers on the strange time displacement of detective Sam Tyler. During an investigation, Sam is struck by a car and instantly finds himself transported from 2008 to 1973. Let me take a moment to say that you will have to take a leap of faith as you watch the pilot. Not because you will have to accept that Sam is a time travelling detective, rather because he is not thrown into the insane asylum within his first hour in 1973 New York. He is not very discreet about the fact that he thinks that he is from the future but his new police co-workers aren't too alarmed and just go on with business as usual. His new boss, played by Harvey Keitel, does hand him a few beatings but nothing that stops them from working together. I'll stop nit-picking now.

This show really is very enjoyable. The sets and costumes are amazing. The show was cast very well. I am not a huge Harvey Keitel fan but the character of Lieutenant Gene Hunt suits him quite well. Sam's closest confidants in his new situation are Officer Annie "No Nuts" Norris (you will learn very quickly in the pilot that they want you to understand that women were not equal back then.......we get it) and his new neighbor Windy. Annie is the force that is trying to keep Sam grounded and convince him that his thoughts of 2008 are delusions and he belongs in 1973. Windy, on the other hand, has a more open mind to his situation and in some ways has become his spiritual guide. It is still early in the show to draw too many conclusions but we are always reminded that Sam is being pulled between both times through visions and mysterious communications that seem to manifest from electrical devices.

The show has me hooked and I highly recommend that you check it out too. If nothing else, watch it just to see Michael Imperioli as the stereotypical 70's detective Ray Carling. He's pretty hilarious. Life on Mars is on Thursday Nights at 10:00 on ABC. You can still get caught up on the first few episodes at abc.com.