# Life On Mars



## Dave (Jan 9, 2006)

I really enjoyed the first episode of this new BBC1 drama from the makers of 'Hustle' and 'Spooks' with a title from a David Bowie song. Some spoilers ahead:

Sam Tyler is a driven, ambitious detective working in current day Manchester. His hunt for a serial killer turns personal when his girlfriend, Maya, is kidnapped by the very man he's been hunting. Then things take a bizarre turn when he has a near fatal road traffic accident and wakes up to find people insisting he is now in Manchester in 1973! 

Either he has time travelled back 33 years, is going completely mad, or he is in a coma and his mind has invented everything. But why would his mind invent so much detail?

Lost without his mobile phone, living in a horrible flat, his own office is decked out in old fashioned equipment, and he is a DI starting his first day with a new team. His new boss DCI Gene Hunt uses his gut instincts and his fists to get results and has never heard of the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill. Fingerprints take two weeks to come back and sexism is rife. Hard drinking, old school police, they are straight out of "The Sweeny" with leather jackets, flared trousers and Cuban heels, burning rubber in their Ford Cortinas.

Sam naturally finds it hard to focus on the murder and kidnapping case he is now expected to investigate, until he discovers there is a link with the 2006 case. Could solving this case be the key to getting home and saving his girlfriend?

He is helped by WPc Annie Cartwright, an educated young woman with a BA in Psychology, but who is regarded as a "a bit of skirt" by his colleagues. Using his knowledge of the case in the future they manage to track down the killer before he strikes again.

He is also helped by a West Indian barman who seems to know more than he should, and Annie's ex-boyfriend confuses the issue by pretending to be a hypnotherapist speaking to him while he was in a coma. That leads to a great 'Vanilla Sky'/'Total Recall' moment at the end of the first episode. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for us, he remains in the 1970's for the rest of this six part series. 

Confusing, witty and funny, with a great Seventies soundtrack, I haven't seen anything like it on TV. I guess 'Lost', 'The Prisoner' or 'The Matrix' have similar themes. It made me think of 'The Bridg' by Iain Banks too.


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## Brit Chick (Jan 10, 2006)

I was wondering if anyone else would watch this.  I really liked it - I was a kid in the 1970's and seeing the 10 year olds in the street, given the task of looking after the car gave me a real blast from the past feeling.

Very clever the way they had Neil there quite early on in the car park "can you hear me Sam".  And Yes, at the end when Neil sat down with him and said he was speaking directly to his subconscious I was going along with it - and was surprised when he turned out to be Annie's Ex stirring it all up. So you're left thinking is he coma boy or whats going on?

So, ok Neil may not be talking to him from 2006, but how do you explain the fact he was hearing other noises and voices.........

Its a tricksy one and we likes tricksy....its entertaining!


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## Dave (Jan 10, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Brit Chick _
> *So, ok Neil may not be talking to him from 2006, but how do you explain the fact he was hearing other noises and voices.........
> 
> Its a tricksy one and we likes tricksy....its entertaining! *


I can't explain and I agree. There were hospital sounds, ICU announcements and the machines that go ping!

If it was me I would check records. If he is from 1973 then he should have a birth registered in 1946. If he is from 2006 then he should have a birth registered in 1969. Not only that but he must exist there as a 4 four year old, so he could find his parents. I guess he may well do some of that yet.


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## Brit Chick (Jan 17, 2006)

Did you see the ep last nite ?

He is definately coma boy but there is more to it than that - the way DCI Hunt said to him "you asked for this, you wanted to be here"  maybe its me reading more into that exchange than there is, but there is definately something......

It almost has a Quantum Leap feel at times, altho we don't know if anything he is doing in this 1973 that is affecting his own future.


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## Annette (Jan 17, 2006)

I am also watching this.

I am guessing that Sam is in a coma BUT how does he know such detail of clothes, decor etc. I'm thinking this because of the 'voices' Sam keeps hearing. I like Annie - makes me wonder whether she's going to help Sam get back to 2006. Who knows eh?

annette


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## Dave (Jan 17, 2006)

Re: "you asked for this, you wanted to be here" 

The Iain Banks' novel 'The Bridge' has similar surreal moments within a coma victim's dreamscape, and it also begins with a car accident. That is why I mentioned it earlier. That's about as far as the similarity goes though, because the Seventies aspect of this story is just plain weird.

I liked the scene in the hospital where the lights went out down the corridor, supposedly as a result of a Power Cut, but ambiguously also possibly as a result of a leaking catheter shorting out the monitoring equipment while he is in a coma. Having the lights go out progressively along the corridor also suggested his brain shutting down. Then the lights came back on again as the emergency generator would start up, or as the catheter was replaced. I just though it was a clever scene.

I'm not sure about the test card girl and the clown doll though. Is it possible to have a dream within another dream?


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## Priv8eye (Feb 14, 2006)

*Life on Mars Quote*

On last nights Life of Mars there was a quote used.  I can't quite remember it but it was about a Land needing heroes, and was interpreted by the gunman as if he cant be a hero then he shall be a villian.

Can anyone give me the quote in full (cause I can't remember it  ) and tell me where it came from?


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## Dave (Sep 5, 2006)

There will be a new series Yay!

According to SFX magazine there is going to be a strange fantasy sequence when Sam and Gene are turned into Camberwick Gren puppets! In the sequence Sam is also seen rotating out of the box used in the 1970s children's programme.


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## SGC Civilian (Oct 19, 2006)

*Re: Life on Mars Quote*

Unhappy the land that has no heroes. No, unhappy the land that needs heroes

from "the life of Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht

I believe


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## Dave (Feb 13, 2007)

Who is anticipating the second and final eight part series of this, starting tonight? Everyone who saw the first series apparently! Those who didn't watch the first series should buy it on DVD.

There WILL be a solution to this at the end of the series. It is also going to deal with the issues of the day such as race relations, the IRA and such.


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## Talysia (Feb 13, 2007)

It looks interesting from the trailers I've seen.  It'll be interesting to see how events in the story turn out.


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## roddglenn (Feb 16, 2007)

It was a brilliant first episode for the second series.  Every bit as good as the first.  The attention to detail is amazing, not to mention the fantastic acting, storylines and production.


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## Dave (Feb 20, 2007)

I'm not sure I liked the first episode as much as last season. It seemed to be going through the motions, though the introduction of Tony Crane gave the idea that the whole scenario might eventually make some sense. The second episode was better, I thought, though I now see that they only brought in the new Superintendent H Woolf character last week to have him proved bent this week.

I didn't understand the Newspaper headline part or the phone call to Hyde near the end. Unlikely that that has anything to do with Tony Crane.

Also, as I read in a newspaper today, there is only so much of Annie character complaining about sexism one can take.


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## Ice fyre (Mar 5, 2007)

Hi there

Just a note. There will only be two seasons of this show it has a scripted ending which they felt doing in season 1 would be too soon so they decided to extend it to two seasons.

I really enjoyed this show and I think it will end with a bang well I hope it will!


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## Dave (Mar 7, 2007)

It was originally only planned to be one season though, they just kept back the end. I'm not too unhappy that it will only be 14 episodes in all. I think if they had tried to extend it more it would have run out of ideas. This way it will become an all time classic.

I just watched the bombings episode. Sam was more isolated than ever before.


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## Dave (Mar 14, 2007)

I just saw the one where Sam and Annie go undercover to a wife-swapping party as Tony and Cherie Blair, and DCI Hunt turns up as their friend Gordon Brown. Great stuff!


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## roddglenn (Mar 14, 2007)

It just goes from strength to strength.  I'm glad too that they're not going to string it out into more series'.  Two is enough and will maintain its impact.


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## jackokent (Mar 14, 2007)

Dave said:


> I just saw the one where Sam and Annie go undercover to a wife-swapping party as Tony and Cherie Blair, and DCI Hunt turns up as their friend Gordon Brown. Great stuff!


 
I watched this for the first time last night and thought it was brilliant.  Loved some of the one-liners and it was really interesting to see how our views have changed as a society, especially about things like sexism.  Loved the line from the chiif copper "so he threw a bird out of a moving car... doesn't necessarily make him a bad bloke".  It was so hilariously non pc.


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## Talysia (Mar 28, 2007)

Admittedly, last night's episode was the first one I'd seen all the way through (after only seeing bits and pieces of the others) and it wasn't bad at all.  I think I might watch it from now on, given that this series is going to be the last.


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## Susan Boulton (Apr 10, 2007)

The last show was superb! The way everything dovetailed together!!!


Highlight;

The way Sam's room number was the Hyde telephone number was just one thing, also the reason he went back..... great stuff.


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## Kostmayer (Apr 10, 2007)

I loved it too. Haven't seen any of the first series but really loved the second one. 

The last episode does raise an interesting question though - is it better to be generally unhappy, rather then content but not really feeling anything.


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## Coolhand (Apr 11, 2007)

I loved the ending, but the more I think about it the more ambiguous it becomes. My first assumption was:

He was in a coma, but decided to go back there when he realises that real life sucks and that he abandoned his 1973 imaginary friends to die. The voices on the car radio imply that he’s dying in the real world and when the girl switches off the TV at the end it’s possibly signifying his death.

But then a few things came to mind that made me wonder if that’s actually the case. 

Firstly, the line about knowing when you’re alive because you feel, and when you’re dead because you don’t. When he “returns” to the future, everything is drab and washed out, and he doesn’t feel any pain when he slashes open his thumb. So you could take that as a hint that the “future” isn’t actually real, and that the whole plotline about him actually being a 1973 undercover copper with amnesia is the real one. Therefore, when Sam jumps off the building, he does it because he realises that this “future” isn’t real, and that he’s still in the tunnel. So he jumps off the building to reject his delusions and later tunes out the radio as a further rejection of his 2006 “fantasy.”

Added to that is that, according to wikkipedia, the original name of the character was Sam Williams, before they changed it to Sam Tyler to be catchier. Now, the “1973 is real” plotline claims that Sam’s real second name IS Williams, and that Tyler is his cover name. His fake name. That would actually fit with the idea that he’s a 1973 copper with amnesia and a set of revolutionary police morals from the M.A.R.S operation, as opposed to a 2006 cop in a coma. 

Ultimately perhaps, we were never supposed to know which version of events was real, and the goal of Sam was simply to choose the reality he preferred. For what it's worth, I think he chose the right one.


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## Talysia (Apr 11, 2007)

And no sooner than the last episode finishes, they announce another sequel, this one set in the 80s, if this proves to be the case.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Life on Mars sequel jumps to '80s


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## jackokent (Apr 11, 2007)

I hope they don't ruin this by doing it to death.  So saying my favourite character was Gene thingy (I am so useless with names) so glad he'll still be in it.

Thought the last episode was a bit weird last night.  If I were his mates / colleagues I would have been a tad more cheesed off with Sam.  I think they were very forgiving.


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## Kostmayer (Apr 11, 2007)

Am not sure that Sam not 'feeling' anything when he returns to the future means that his future life is imaginary. It could be that Sam realised that his life in the 70's meant more to him then he realised, real or not, and decided to return to the past. Not because it was any realer, but because he felt more alive there.


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## Dave (Apr 12, 2007)

Kostmayer said:


> It could be that Sam realised that his life in the 70's meant more to him then he realised, real or not, and decided to return to the past. Not because it was any realer, but because he felt more alive there.


That was my take on the final episode too, he no longer cared which was real, except that he preferred 1973. However I was disappointed with the deliberate ambiguity, and I thought it extremely muddled. I videoed this and watched it after the rest of my family did. They were very confused and still aren't sure which was meant to be the reality.

I always saw this along the same lines as Iain Banks _The Bridge_, so I always thought that he was in a coma, but the addition of the _Vanilla Sky _ jump, the M.A.R.S. operation, and the lack of explanation about many other things - Annie's psychiatrist boyfriend from the first episode, the fact that Sam never attempted to speak to ex-girlfriend Mia before jumping off the roof, that he had met himself and his mother but also saw those gravestones - it didn't quite fit. And as jackokent said, his colleagues were very forgiving when he returned, too forgiving for it to have been reality.

Jumping off the roof, would no doubt lead to death rather than another coma, so as Coolhand said, the girl turning off the TV could well be the end of his life.

There is another possibility, that during the coma he went to that plane that exists between the states of life and death, and so he died and went there to stay.

It is all very philosophical, and I was looking for a straight answer with a yes or no. This ending will be long debated I'm sure. It will be like the ending to _The Prisoner_. I just hope the ending to _Lost_ is clearer.

Best line:

Sam: Was she enigmatic?
Ray: No, she was from Barnsley!

As for a sequel, well, very predictable but unlikely to strike gold twice.


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## Val Tyler (Apr 13, 2007)

I saw the last episode and felt it strangely sad. Sam chose to feel alive in his head because he did not feel alive in 2007. It got me to thinking. Is life in 2007 less fun than it was in 1973 (yes, I am old enough to remember!)? 

Health care is better now, which is a huge plus for today but, other than than, I felt I was more free in 1973. How sad is that?


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## Mark Robson (Apr 13, 2007)

Nice to see you here, Val. You don't hang around, do you? I hope you'll drop by the Introductions board so that the regulars can cheer you in through the door.  

http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/introductions/

Although the policy here is not to leap in and self promote, (you won't be able to post links to your website for a while, for example) I'm sure that the regular members will be glad to welcome in another professional writer of fantasy fiction.


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## roddglenn (Apr 15, 2007)

Hi, Mark, long time no speak.  Hope all is going well.

Here's a couple of links for fans - 

YouTube - life on mars - Camberwick Green the muisc video 

http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ianwylie/2007/04/life_on_mars_the_answers.html


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## williamjm (Apr 21, 2007)

Dave said:


> That was my take on the final episode too, he no longer cared which was real, except that he preferred 1973. However I was disappointed with the deliberate ambiguity, and I thought it extremely muddled. I videoed this and watched it after the rest of my family did. They were very confused and still aren't sure which was meant to be the reality.



I think the most sensible explanation is that Sam never woke from his coma, and the 2007 bit is as much a dream as 1973, although judging from that interview the show's creator did, that's not what they intended.

I didn't really feel the ending was a very satisfying end to a great series. I'd have preferred them to either explain things conclusively one way or the other or just not explain anything at all. It did feel a bit like they were trying to do a big twist but it ended up seeming a bit too familiar - most obviously from Open Your Eyes/Vanilla Sky (not that that's exactly the same plotline), but their have been a lot of shows and movies and books that have used the 'character's reality isn't really real' plot device.


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## dask (Feb 11, 2009)

*Lost On Mars*

Anyboby been watching this show? Haven't seen them all but enjoyed the ones I have. Started off like a new episode of Twilight Zone, more fantasy than sf. Now hints are being dropped there may be some kind of "Brooklyn Project" thing going on perpetrated by some bad government types. Anyway I'll keep coming back, for a while at least.


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## Interference (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

And this isn't just Lost - but on Mars, right?


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## AE35Unit (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

I've not heard of this one! What channel/network is it one?


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## iansales (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

I wonder if the OP means *Life on Mars*...


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## dask (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*



AE35Unit said:


> I've not heard of this one! What channel/network is it one?


 
It's on ABC, Wednesday night at 10:00 pm. It's about a cop in 2008 being mysteriously hurled back in time to 1973. Intriguing premise, good show, shows promise.


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## dask (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*



iansales said:


> I wonder if the OP means *Life on Mars*...


 
You're correct. My mistake. Sorry. 

Anyone know how to make a change to a thread title?


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## iansales (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

Is it the original UK version, or the US remake?


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## Vladd67 (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

A rare example of an original programme


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## Dave (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

Well, there is already an original thread too - and did you know there was a sequel, _Ashes to Ashes_ (not as good) set in the 1980's - which may even have a second season. BTW they are both titles of David Bowie songs (one from the 70's and one from the 80's.)

I can change the thread title - or I can merge with the existing thread (may contain spoilers.)


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## Omphalos (Feb 14, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*

I still have to get the original.  I hear it was pretty good.  The show was awesome up until the mid-season break.  They left the main character in the shack on the phone with a voice the promised answers, then when they came back weeks later they picked up the action somewhere else totally, and did a half-assed backtread to the cabin.  I actually got a bit pissed and havent looked at it since.  Fraking network bone-heads are gonna mess it up, I think.


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## dask (Feb 14, 2009)

*Re: Lost On Mars*



Dave said:


> Well, there is already an original thread too - and did you know there was a sequel, _Ashes to Ashes_ (not as good) set in the 1980's - which may even have a second season. BTW they are both titles of David Bowie songs (one from the 70's and one from the 80's.)
> 
> I can change the thread title - or I can merge with the existing thread (may contain spoilers.)


 
Thanks for the additional info. Either correcting the title or merging is okay with me. Whichever is the easiest.


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## Dave (Feb 14, 2009)

Threads merged. If you are just seeing this for the first time may not want to read the posts on the final episodes.


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## AE35Unit (Feb 14, 2009)

Oh *Life* on Mars,yea I watched that when it was first shown. I watched the first episode of the sequel but ran out of interest. Was good to hear Are Friends Electric playing in the background tho,and the 80s was the best decade for music! Well i say decade,more like 1977-1984


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## sloweye (Feb 14, 2009)

I have both series of life on mars on DVD, fantastic despite the odd cockup on the car's front. i missed most of the Ashes to Ashes series, just waiting for the price to come down on the box set as the little i saw i liked.


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## Connavar (Feb 14, 2009)

Life on Mars original was a great and really original series.   I did watch brit tv shows on tv at times mostly comedy,crime but after this i looked after other quality series on my own.

The american version.... even the idea of it disgust me.


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## dask (Feb 14, 2009)

I had no idea Life On Mars was originally a British show. I didn't watch a whole lot of television after Star Trek (original series) was cancelled. Sounds good, I'd like to see it. But is ANYONE watching the new version on ABC? Since I can't compare it with the original I'm cursed to view it with an open mind hampered perhaps with a love for time travel stories. As noted in an earlier post, it's intriguing enough to keep watching for the time being. I just hope it doesn't bog down with a no-end-in-sight carrot dangling in front of me.


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## Interference (Feb 14, 2009)

If they follow the British plot, it will end satisfactoally, Dask.  Otherwise, American networks being what they are, they might stretch it beyond endurability.  I hope you get the former.

What a millstone that open mind of yours must be!


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## sloweye (Feb 14, 2009)

I hope they dont spoil it like they did with Red Dwarf, it would be a waste of a fantastic story.

*wanders if they will get the book _'The rules of modern policing 1973 edition' _by DCI Gene Hunt, in the U.S. 
I have it, what a funny book!*


Just found a trailer. Dosent look to bad but its set in '72 and not '73
YouTube - Life On Mars US Trailer

And the original uk trailer
YouTube - Life on Mars trailer


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## Interference (Feb 14, 2009)

sloweye said:


> Dosent look to bad but its set in '72 and not '73



How could they get it so _wrong_.  They've _ruined_ it, I tells ya!


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## sloweye (Feb 14, 2009)

I think the biggest fault is having an Irish man with a fake U.S accent playing the Gene hunt role.


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## Interference (Feb 14, 2009)

I think that's what they call Payback.  Remember Angel's atrocious Irish accent?


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## dask (Feb 14, 2009)

sloweye said:


> Just found a trailer. Dosent look to bad but its set in '72 and not '73
> YouTube - Life On Mars US TrailerYouTube - Life on Mars trailer


 
I don't have high speed internet so watching the trailer would take hours, but I just watched the ending of the last episode I taped (last week) and the year IS 1973, not '72.


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## dask (Feb 14, 2009)

Interference said:


> What a millstone that open mind of yours must be!


 
Everyone has one, it's just sometimes we're forced to use it.


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## sloweye (Feb 14, 2009)

> I think that's what they call Payback.  Remember Angel's atrocious Irish accent?



Oh yes, that will stay with me forever, just like Mel Gibson's & Christopher Lamberts Scott's accents

Sorry Dask, on the trailer it said '72


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## Connavar (Feb 15, 2009)

Interference said:


> If they follow the British plot, it will end satisfactoally, Dask.  Otherwise, American networks being what they are, they might stretch it beyond endurability.  I hope you get the former.
> 
> What a millstone that open mind of yours must be!




They are already planning several seasons.

So even if its good now eventually they will wear out the story to death soon.

Thats why i have got a fetish for british series these days.   They actually end after a while and they end as planned.  Not because it starts to suck and get canceled.


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## Vladd67 (Apr 17, 2009)

Having just found out how the american version ended, does anyone know if they wound it up like that as it had been canceled or was it always the plan to have such a terrible ending.


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## dask (May 23, 2009)

Can anyone tell me the name of the Elton John song played at the end of the final episode of the US version?


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## Interference (May 24, 2009)

Vladd67 said:


> Having just found out how the american version ended, does anyone know if they wound it up like that as it had been canceled or was it always the plan to have such a terrible ending.



I gather from what I read that the series got cancelled so the knee-jerked an ending.

Dask - I've given you a link in the other thread you opened, hope it helps.


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