TVSquad

I'm glad they inserted that scene between Sam and the kid. First, it reminded me of that 'Dead Zone' (the movie) question about whether or not you would kill Hitler if you could go back in Time. And also, it resolved the Maya sub-plot, unlike the British version. In a later episode we learned that she was safe, but indirectly; and it had been so long since we thought of her, it made us question as to how she got free. Since this happened so quickly, it led to the conclusion the cops of 2008 were able to act quickly to free her.

And just based on this episode, I'm hoping for a soundtrack CD!

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I didn't know what to expect from this show. I had no knowledge of BBC version. My first reaction was that it could be "Journeyman" reincarnated.

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So far, so good, but it's going to be tough for Harvey Keitel to match the primal force of nature that was Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt.

Is it just me, or is Jason O'Mara basically playing Sam Tyler as the crazy, twitchy Lethal Weapon-era Mel Gibson? It was pretty effective in that tense last scene with Tyler and the kid, though.

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Not much of a recap. This site is getting pretty boring.

But I did enjoy the show last night, I'll definitely keep watching.

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Oh, some of dialogue between Sam and the bartender (and before that, the cop) seemed lifted right out of Back to the Future.

Sam Tyler: Hmm ... I lost my cell.
Bartender: Sell? What are you selling?
Sam Tyler: Never mind. Give me a Tab.
Bartender: Tab? I can't give you a tab unless you order something.
Sam Tyler: All right, give me a Pepsi Free.
Bartender: You want a Pepsi, pal, you're gonna pay for it.

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I was initially blown away by the British version, and am skeptical about this one. But, I watched anyway, and I'll likely watch more of it because I do want to know how this one ends.The American version was okay, but it was hard watching the first episode which seemed like a shot-by-shot remake. I'll watch another few episodes.

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There doesn't seem to be a 125th precinct:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/home/precincts.shtml

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I was impressed with the new version. While I loved the original, this new version held its own, and has some of its own character. It didn't surpass it though, and I agree, Gene Hunt was far more in the background, although I think that he'll do a decent job, and Annie was far better as Liz White's portrayal.

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Wow, this was a huge improvement over the original, LA-based pilot. They even fixed some of the little things that bugged me (i.e. changed the grandmother's name from Beryl to the more US-friendly Shirley).

In the LA pilot, O'Mara's general lack of energy and emotion seemed to set the tone for the rest of the cast, with Colm Meaney turning in such an uninspired performance that I've begun to wonder if he did it on purpose to attract attention to the general crappiness of the material. This time out, O'Mara does more to establish his character. He's more believable as a human being.

I'm hoping the other cast members will settle in over time. Keitel is an interesting choice, and his take on the character is far sleazier. I think it's a good choice, although the pilot script stuck him with some clunky and occasionally incoherent dialogue. I liked where Gretchen Mol was taking Annie, although she *is* improbably pretty for a policewoman. I'm not sure about the rest of the cast, but given the relative speed at which this new pilot was turned around, I think they'll settle in within a few episodes.

The US team deserves a lot of credit -- not only forestablishing the characters, telling the story and laying the groundwork for their own divergent continuity, but for doing so within a substantially shorter running time. The BBC Life on Mars episodes ran 58 minutes. I saw no evidence of "limited commercial interruption", so the US team did their job in 42 minutes. Eliminating Annie's psychologist boyfriend was an easy fix, but still, nice job of streamlining the story without dumbing it down.

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i agree with Leah, this site is getting boring, they rarely recap any shows and is mostly news that everyother site has.

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I dug it. I hope they realize they can only take Sam so far and exploit the situation. I can't see more than 4 seasons worth of material to be mined before they either decide to end it or make the transition to Ashes to Ashes (which I would be all for if they can continue to churn out solid scripts and Harvey Keitel takes off--all big ifs).

I just discovered that I can only get behind procedurals if they have dynamic, weird, and flawed lead characters and the word ' Life' appears in the title. So, that narrows it down to two.

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I am really exited about this series. I was a fan of the original, and almost didn't watch this new pilot. Now I feel that the US version will out-do the British, specifically due to the production value, which is often lacking in UK television series.

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I really enjoyed the show and am excited about future episodes. I watched the British version, which I enjoyed immensely, but I like the American accent and 1970's slang, as sometimes I couldn't understand the British actors and/or didn't get the references. I also feel that the actors playing the backup characters are more believable and multidimensional, but this could just be that I grew up in NY in the 1970s and remember people like those portrayed. As a matter of fact, my father had Michael Imperioli's hair cut and side burns.

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The original unaired pilot was terrible. The new re-worked pilot was MUCH MUCH better and much closer to the original British series. Really the only complaint I have about the US version is Harvey Keitel. He was terrible and seems much too old for the role. I think a different actor would have been better choice.

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Having not seen the British version (only heard about it), I really enjoyed last night's premiere. It is always fun to see a character with knowledge of the present day go into the past and use those talents to be smarter than everyone else. The fun twist was that Sam's improvements from 2008 put him at a disadvatage sometimes during the policework, when compared with the police brutality and lawless behavior that the 1973 cops used to get the job done. The views of old New York and 1970s life in general were a lot of fun. They could (and likely will) do a lot more with that. Remember, the Son of Sam comes on the scene in just four years!

I saw that a few of the commenters mentioned the lack of recaps. Is that a site policy? Because I think a recap of the pilot might be a nice touch in addition to the very astute review above.

I thought Keitel was fine. I think if you don't try to compare to other versions, he comes off as really great.

I did love the soundtrack; clearly the preimere had a big budget. Some great classic rock there.

I thought the "Sam, I'm safe" thing at the end was a silly copout. There were a few things in the show that were a bit too obvious, but it's hard to get everything right. I just found the show really entertaining. Instead of worryign how it "ends," just enjoy what you have - hell, other police shows have gone on for 10 seasons. This one could, too. Besides, the American version of The Office is already outlasting the British one...not everything has to be exactly the same.

I'm sick of all the reality shows on tv, and I'm glad to see something different.

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I have never seen the British version but I really like the episode last night. It reminded me a lot of the movie "Frequency". While the end with the boy was predictable, I liked it. Maya did not need to be saved seen the boy did not repeat the killings because Sam changed history.

The only part that bugged me was the color on the episode. The use of the filters just did not work. It made me wonder if the TV needed to be fixed.

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