(no subject)

[spatch]

I'll probably write some big thing later on about it but for now let me just state for the record that I thought the new American adaptation of Life on Mars, which was on last night at 10:00, completely and utterly failed to suck.

Am very glad they scrapped the original American version (set in LA) and re-tooled the entire thing (now set in NYC) and am most glad to see that the people working on this new one have not only seen the original British series but they get it. Keitel for one clearly did his homework. I was impressed.

Comments

[spatch]

They let Harvey be as Gene Hunt-ish as he needs to be. He's sexist, he's racist, and just like in the British series opener, he drops all that to put on the Be Kind To Little Old Ladies act to get information out of her. He knows what's what.

I think the problem with the Colm Meaney verison of Hunt was that everything about that failed pilot had to do with restraint -- budgetary, casting, direction, or otherwise. It's obvious those behind that kept going "Well we can't make Gene that bad, can't have him that racist, that's just wrong..." whereas now we have a production team that's not afraid to make him wrong because that's who the hell he is. And ABC, (barring any negative viewer feedback from the opener) let them do just that.

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

...and that last paragraph is the crux of the distinction between US and British TV shows. British shows have no compunction about making a character a complete asshole, while American shows will take that same character and try to find a softer, more sympathetic side "so the audience can relate" (e.g. every Dabney Coleman sitcom in the 80s, the retooling of a perfectly fine "John Laroquette Show" that made it a "Night Court" spinoff by the end of its run, and so on).

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I just saw the beginning of the episode. It was OK, and it was interesting how many scenes got recreated shot for shot, but I missed John Simm terribly; the guy playing Sam isn't selling the perplexity and occasional horror of his situation quite enough.

Keitel was fine, but it does change the visual dynamic to have Gene be a considerably smaller man than Sam. On reflection I don't think it's a bad change; instead of the big brawler bullying the skinny college boy, it's a terrifying older weaselly dude who can still get the better of bland Brick Rockjaw. There's something New York about that.