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The end of "Life on Mars"
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So long, Sam. (Photo: ABC)
Well, this both sucks and blows. ABC has canceled one of the only new shows I'm watching, "Life on Mars." The series, based on the British TV show of the same name, told the story of Sam Tyler, a cop who was hit by a car in 2008 and woke up in 1973.
Sam (played by Jason O'Mara) isn't sure if he's insane, dead, in a coma, or if he's actually traveled back in time. But the question, in many episodes, took a back seat to learning to adjust to life as a cop in a much rougher era for both policing and New York. Sam has to cope with brutality, corruption and racism -- and that's just the cops in his own precinct. Just when he's handling that, he runs into his parents.
The show has been consistently good, even great. Though the mythology never had the compelling force of the big questions on "Lost," it was starting to pick up steam, especially in the recent episode, "Home is Where You Hang Your Holster." And it featured great performances from the entire cast, including Harvey Keitel.
Every week, I was also amazed at the level of detail in the production (seriously, the props and design people must have scoured every thrift store in America -- I had no idea that much stuff had survived from the 70s) and the beautiful cinematography. ("Mars" looks great in HD, whereas many cop shows have the same bland, recycled grit, like someone smeared soot on the camera lens.)
The producers promise to wrap things up in the series finale. Which is small comfort, but at least we'll get some answers.
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