Life on Mars
Nov 7th 2008, 9:42 pm
#1
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Joined: Aug 2008
Location: Derbyshire
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Life on Mars
The Dr Who thread got me thnking about American TV and how much I'm going to miss my weekly dose of classic English programmes once I eventually move out to the USA.
The BBC Iplayer is great - maybe one day coverage will be extended to the US in which case - brilliant........
But anyway Life on Mars (apologies if this has already been discussed) I've been a massive fan of the English series and the Ashes to Ashes follow up - so whilst I was spending some time with my fiance was intrigued to see the new season of the American adaptation.......one word .......WHY??????
by all means make a new series and base it losely on the original concept - but why copy???? Yes it's very entertaining and well made and Harvey Keitel is a great actor - but he's not Gene Hunt........grrrrrrrrrrr
The BBC Iplayer is great - maybe one day coverage will be extended to the US in which case - brilliant........
But anyway Life on Mars (apologies if this has already been discussed) I've been a massive fan of the English series and the Ashes to Ashes follow up - so whilst I was spending some time with my fiance was intrigued to see the new season of the American adaptation.......one word .......WHY??????
by all means make a new series and base it losely on the original concept - but why copy???? Yes it's very entertaining and well made and Harvey Keitel is a great actor - but he's not Gene Hunt........grrrrrrrrrrr
Nov 9th 2008, 9:07 am
#2
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Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Richmond, VA, USA
Posts: 4,316
Re: Life on Mars
I was curiously excited when I learned they were making an American version of "Life on Mars" -- until I heard that Harvey Keitel was signed on to play Gene Hunt. This is clearly a case where the American producers thought that getting a big-name actor would be sufficient. What they failed to recognize is that Harvey Keitel simply CAN'T play Gene Hunt. He's too old (Keitel is 69, whereas Philip Glennister is 45), not sexy enough (an 69-year-old man making smart remarks to 20-something women = dirty old man), and lacking the razor-sharp wit that's required to play the character.
I also don't like how they've tried to make Sam and Annie flirt with each other from the very first episode. One of things that stood out in the original British version was that they did NOT do that. British Sam considered British Annie an equal. American Sam and American Annie flutter their eyelashes at each other just a little too much, in my opinion.
That said, I like Jason O'Mara as Sam Tyler and I think Michael Imperioli does a fantastic job playing Ray. He looks and sounds like he's been caught in a 1970s time warp. Actually, HE would've been better playing Gene Hunt than Harvey Keitel.
After catching the first two episodes, I don't even bother watching the American show now. I just can't get around my dislike for Keitel as Hunt. I'd much rather watch the British episodes that we got online.
~ Jenney
I also don't like how they've tried to make Sam and Annie flirt with each other from the very first episode. One of things that stood out in the original British version was that they did NOT do that. British Sam considered British Annie an equal. American Sam and American Annie flutter their eyelashes at each other just a little too much, in my opinion.
That said, I like Jason O'Mara as Sam Tyler and I think Michael Imperioli does a fantastic job playing Ray. He looks and sounds like he's been caught in a 1970s time warp. Actually, HE would've been better playing Gene Hunt than Harvey Keitel.
After catching the first two episodes, I don't even bother watching the American show now. I just can't get around my dislike for Keitel as Hunt. I'd much rather watch the British episodes that we got online.
~ Jenney
