It's become a running gag now in England that American remakes always flop. The Red Dwarf US pilot is hated by American fans, and the overseas version of Fawlty Towers wasn't to include Basil, the main character. Thank God the BBC haven't allowed there to be a US Doctor Who. Anyway, along comes Life on Mars, one of the biggest success stories for the BBC in years. And as with everything successful in Blighty, America came a'calling. Was this similar to the weak remakes of old? Sadly, yes, it was. The biggest insult to the original thought comes in the form of its ending. And without spoiling it, Life on Mars' US ending is possibly one of the least original and cheesiest endings a US remake ever had. Which adds to the cheek of the writers asking permission to change the ending, due to the original not being "creative enough". My one piece of advice to viewers is to avoid this remake with a 1 mile pole, and to purchase the UK original. It's on both DVD and iTunes around the world now, and was successful enough to gain a second run in the form of Ashes to Ashes, totaling 5 series compared to America's one series. America's version of Life on Mars really was a "God awful small affair"... cheesy ending I know, but fitting for the show itself.
Review of Life on Mars
Life on Mars
(2008–2009)
Shambles of a remake compared to the genius of the UK original.
1 January 2015