imtypingonakeyboard wrote:
Any views on the first ep of Life On Mars?
The look of it is great, the fella from the Sopranos playing Ray is a good casting choice, not sure about Keitel being Hunt yet...
Only had a quick glance at it so far. From what I've seen, it's a definite improvement on the first pilot, but I'm not so sure about Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt. One part of the dynamic between John Simms and Philip Glenister was that the latter was more of an old fashioned brute not afraid to get his hands dirty. The ABC Network Sam Tyler could easily kick Gene Hunt's 'ass', which takes something away from it, I think. It doesn't help that Keitel is looking quite a bit frailer nowadays. Michael Madsen would have been a much better choice for Gene Hunt, if you ask me. The "god-damn, it really
is 1973!" big reveal moment in the US version is handled much more effectively than in the original, though. (No spoilers, you're better off seeing it.)
It's hard to judge a remake when you're so used to the original, especially when Manchester accents are replaced by Noo Yoik ones. The show will hopefully take a tip of The Office, and do away with just remaking specific episodes, taking it in a slightly new direction.