A police procedural that ends with a twist on the surface of Mars
In short: When a New York City detective is struck by a car in 2008, he wakes up in 1973. This American crime drama explores his struggle to reconcile modern values with the past, only to reveal a reality far more surreal than a simple case of time travel.
The American adaptation of Life on Mars, which aired on ABC from October 2008 to April 2009, follows Detective Sam Tyler, played by Jason O'Mara. After a 2008 accident, Tyler finds himself in 1973, working at the 125th Precinct. The series contrasts his modern sensibilities with the era's culture, while he navigates the corruption and policing methods of the time. Throughout the show, Tyler experiences surreal visions, including Mars rover robots and cryptic references to his future life, leaving him uncertain whether he is in a coma, insane, or truly displaced in time.
The production underwent significant changes before airing, including moving filming from Los Angeles to New York to utilize tax credits and rewriting the script to replace the original British series' ambiguity with a specific mythological framework. The show's narrative arc was designed to build toward a deeper mystery, culminating in a revelation that both the 2008 and 1973 realities were virtual simulations. These programs were generated by a spacecraft's computer in 2035, intended to keep the crew of a Mars mission mentally stimulated during their journey.
In this final twist, the characters Tyler interacts with are revealed as virtual versions of his fellow astronauts, with the ship itself named Hyde 125. A computer glitch caused by a meteor storm had shifted Tyler's simulation from his 2008 life to the 1973 setting. While the series concludes with the crew arriving on the Red Planet, the final shot introduces a lingering ambiguity: instead of a standard astronaut boot, the first step onto the surface is taken by Gene Hunt's signature white loafer. This ending was met with criticism from the original British show's co-creator, Matthew Graham, who felt the reveal was overly extreme compared to the original's more subtle approach.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Life on Mars (American TV series)
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