 |
 |
 |
| by Bridget Petrella with additional writing by John Mundazio |
|
Detective Ray Carling (Michael
Imperioli), a big, mean guy in a street-fight with life. Ray may be a
rough, tough sexist, but when the chips are down, he's a handy guy to
have in your corner. Until Sam came along, Ray was the golden boy of the
force and Gene's go-to guy. It's the man's man against Sam's charming
wit, charisma and eerie futuristic knowledge of not just police
procedure— but the whole culture— that puts them toe-to-toe in this
face-off for Gene's approval.
In his 2008 life, Sam was in love
with Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet) and, although Maya and Annie will never
meet, Annie's workplace battles have paved the way for Maya to become a
full-fledged cop. But a fascinating, unique love triangle evolves
between Sam's "real" in-the-moment friendship with Annie, his longing to
get back to Maya and the fantasy of what could be. At home in Sam's
apartment building in the East Village, there's Windy, a free-spirited,
post-hippie chick who can teach Sam a thing or two about the cultural
revolution taking place in front of his unbelieving eyes. Just how will
Sam deal with all this ambiguity while trying to remain a top detective,
as he desperately attempts to get back to 2008? He might just find
things aren't so dissimilar in New York circa 1973 and 2008. |
|
Bridget
Petrella is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of UPBEAT Entertainment
News Online. At this point in her life, she's seriously contemplating a
complete and unbridled abandonment of typical network television...
opting instead for Silver Surfer comic books, novels with wordy titles,
Retro TV Land, HBO and Showtime's Original Programming schedule and
of course... Nick at Night. |
|
|
|
|
Where
were you back in 1973? Well as an inventive twist of fate would have
it... NYPD Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) finds himself smack dab in
the cultural hotbed of New York City in the tumultuous times of the
Vietnam War, Watergate, women's lib and the civil and gay rights
movements— without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player— suddenly
hurtled back in time when he's ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car
while chasing down a criminal. He's trying mightily to understand what
has just happened to him and how he can get back "home." What exactly is
going on here? It's like Sam is on a different planet. It's the Wild
West out there: uncontrollable criminals, police on the take... whom can
he trust? Forced to use a different moral code and without hi-tech crime
fighting techniques, Sam clashes with his new boss at the 125th
Precinct, the irascible Lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel), who would
rather use his fists than his brains to solve a crime. Hunt, who has
earned the adoration of the men under him, does his best to hide his
humanity behind a gruff exterior and great gut instincts, in contrast to
Sam's more politically correct cutting edge style. But the two
begrudgingly combine to make a powerful team— whether they like it or
not. Then there are the other squad members of the 1-2-5. 
Annie
"no nuts" Norris (Gretchen Mol) is a somewhat soft spoken
member of the Police Women's Bureau. At a time when females were only
allowed to do menial tasks and not real police work, she's the smartest
person in the room. Little does she know that her dream of becoming a
real cop will come true. Right now she's struggling to deal with being
undermined, under-used and in general against the sexism of the times.
However she's the one person Sam can turn to to help guide him in his
new reality. Theirs is a strong bond. After all, they're both outcasts.
Rookie Detective Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy) is a sweet guy trying
to make it in this uncompromising world, but right now he's out of his
league with Gene and Ray. He's impressed with Sam's new way of looking
at and thinking about policing, but that means he's at odds with Gene
and his old school style. 
After
reviewing the pilot episode, ABC ordered the series be overhauled
with a new format. As a result, there have been significant changes in
the cast and crew, and production has been relocated to New York "to
allow the producers to take full advantage of recently enacted local and
state tax credits for shows filmed in that state." The re-shoot, in
addition to location change, will consist of a rewrite of the script and
an overhaul of casting. In accordance with the script changes and with
permission of the original creators, the "unsatisfying" ambiguity of
Sam's story was removed in favor of a "mythological element" and "deeper
mystery". Stuck in 1973, the cultural hotbed of New York City during the
tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women's lib and the
civil and gay rights movements without a cell phone, computer, PDA or
MP3 player— Sam is suddenly hurtled back in time when he's ripped from
2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He's trying
mightily to understand what has just happened to him and how he can get
back "home." The posibilities on this show are endless. When you stop to
consider how far we've progressed as a culture in terms of technology
coupled with the bitter irony that much of our perceptions are still
very rooted in the core elements of 1973... the entire concept for Life
On Mars becomes layered with so many "gray" areas of morality and
ethics. Our pal Michael Imperioli gave us his insight on Detective Ray
Carling, "I thought there was a lot of truth to the character, and I
thought he's different enough from what I had done in the past, although
it seems to be most of the stuff I've been doing is either a cop or a
robber….. but if that pays the bills, that’s okay." Imperioli wanted a
role that was just as "juicy" as the one he played on The Sopranos. When
asked what he remembered of 1973 the often stoic actor laughed. He was
the only one who wasn't either a toddler or in the womb— or worse. "I
was seven. So I remember it all," he said to my own laughter. "I have no
idea what it was like back then. It was crazy. Sex was so easy."
