At this point in Life on Mars, I’m wondering if I’m growing impatient with episodes like this one, because I know there’s only two episodes left until the very end. That knowledge alone makes these last few episodes feel even more like unnecessary filler. This one was no different, up until the last couple of moments.

I always like seeing an actor having a chance to use their natural dialect rather than the one their character uses. Jason O’Mara had this chance, being Irish and all (and with the obvious late St. Patrick’s Day connection thrown in there). Then again, I’ve never heard him speak, so maybe the brogue used in this episode was more harsh than usual.

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It was an interesting week down at the Major Crimes Division. This episode actually featured my favorite aspect of The Closer, as well as my one big gripe with the show. On the plus side, Brenda has a new, and I’m assuming, recurring nemesis. It’s a path that has paid dividends before, as we saw in the season four opener with the return of Bill Croelick (Jason O’Mara). As creepy as Bill is, Philip Stroh (Billy Burke) might even be worse. He’s certainly under Brenda’s skin every bit as much as Bill. And I can’t believe we’ve seen the last of him. On the negative side, what wedding? Read the rest of this entry »

ABC

(Season 1, Episode 2)

What’s real, and what’s not real?

As you’ll recall from the screenshot above, this episode wasted no time at all in telling us that the mystery surrounding Sam’s predicament is fresh on his mind and not shuffled off to a comfortable back seat already. Viewers are going to be invested in this show to learn what the heck is going on. As long as we’re constantly getting fed information and clues, everyone should be happy. It’s when the clues lead to nothing new that gets viewers pissed off (see: Lost).

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ABC

Fringe was “meh.” Gary Unmarried was unmemorable. Worst Week wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best. Kath & Kim was a disaster, and The Ex List was a piffle. 90210 was neither interesting or salacious enough. But last night at 10, we finally got a new show whose pilot was well-done enough to get me excited about what’s next. That show was Life on Mars.

Let me preface this by saying that I never saw the original British version of this show, so I’ve got nothing to compare the American version to. But all the mishegas surrounding the show — David E. Kelley came and went, the original pilot was scrapped, the locale was moved from LA to New York, there wasn’t a first episode ready to show as recently as three weeks ago — made me wary of what I was going to see last night at 10. But at the end of the hour, I was glad I tuned in. Read the rest of this entry »

ABC

Let’s face it: U.S. writers and networks are plumb out of original ideas. The Office; The Ex List; American Idol (Pop Idol). And there’s more, for sure, all re-tooled for U.S. audiences. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, mind you. At least for us viewers.

Life on Mars is another show that grew up across the pond on BBC and premieres next week on ABC (October 9, 10PM). I got a chance to check the pilot out recently, and unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) for me I never caught the original series, so I had nothing to compare it to. So, it is with fresh eyes I bring you a quick early review of the episode.

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