Life on Mars is Extinct

[silverscreenselect]

ABC has officially cancelled low rated Life on Mars, about a present day cop who goes back into the past in 1973. However, the show will complete its entire 17-episode run with the final episode to air sometime in April. This will allow the producers and writers to work out a resolution for the show's tricky plot premise rather than just leave viewers hanging. Other ABC struggling series like Pushing Daisies, Dirty Pretty Money and Eli Stone were just dumped midseason.

For what it's worth, the English version of Mars only aired for 16 total episodes over two seasons (The Prisoner, one of the all time cult favorites ran for only 17 episodes back in the 60s).

[Sir_Galahad]

Same here.

[tanstaafl2]

ABC has officially cancelled low rated Life on Mars, about a present day cop who goes back into the past in 1973. However, the show will complete its entire 17-episode run with the final episode to air sometime in April. This will allow the producers and writers to work out a resolution for the show's tricky plot premise rather than just leave viewers hanging. Other ABC struggling series like Pushing Daisies, Dirty Pretty Money and Eli Stone were just dumped midseason.

For what it's worth, the English version of Mars only aired for 16 total episodes over two seasons (The Prisoner, one of the all time cult favorites ran for only 17 episodes back in the 60s).

At least the suits are going to let it finish out rather than just stop it dead. That is an improvement over past policy.

I saw a run of the British version which showed about half the episodes including the first and last. The conclusion of that series was no great surprise and I would not be surprised if this version goes a similar route. Early on there were reports that this version would not necessarily track with the original even though the premiere episode was a near perfect duplicate of the Brit series as I recall.

Have also heard rumors that the remaining episodes on the shelf of Daisies and Money might get burned off in the summer at some point. I wonder if that is still likely.

And now the schedule for Lost seems a bit wonky for next week on the Tivo schedule. The 8PM slot has 2 episodes of Scrubs and then the 9PM slot has the repeat of episode that will be new this week.

What's up with that?

[ghostjmf]

I so loved this. In a way, I'm glad they're not gonna drag out whatever the resolution is over 5 years. But they should have had more time than this, dammit.

[peacock2121]

I like this show.

I just saw the one where he spoke to that councilman who also came from the future. Told him the Berlin Wall fell, something else and the we have a black president - "He won?" Very cute part.

[astrnomr]

Rats. This is one of the very few shows I enjoyed watching.

[gsabc]

Rats. This is one of the very few shows I enjoyed watching.

It figures that a post about "Life on Mars" would drag Astro out of hiding. Don't be such a stranger, fellow alum!

[T_Bone0806]

Crapcakes. I like this show. Well, as others have said, at least they get a chance to finish the story, although probably in a more rushed way than they would lke.

[jaybee]

But the english version has a sequel. I can't recall the title but it's about a female detective who is shot and taken back to the early 80's. They were promoting it all over the place this weekend on BBC - billed as a sequel to Life on Mars.

[Weyoun]

Keeping with the Bowie theme, I believe it is called "Ashes to Ashes"

[Snaxx]

The show taped at least once in the Bronx neighborhood where my mom and sister live; in fact my sister had to move her car to avoid being towed.

[DaveSenior72]

The Taye Diggs--Groundhog Day--cop show from a couple years ago? They cancelled it before the conclusion, and I was HOOKED!! IIRC, they ran it out online. Letting it finish out is a MUCH better idea!!


Daybreak? wasn't that the name of it?

[Estonut]

The Taye Diggs--Groundhog Day--cop show from a couple years ago? They cancelled it before the conclusion, and I was HOOKED!! IIRC, they ran it out online. Letting it finish out is a MUCH better idea!!


Daybreak? wasn't that the name of it?

Yes, it was called "Day Break." I caught the entire run (including previously unaired episodes) about 9 months ago on a channel I didn't know I had until I saw an article mentioning this series. The channel is TVOne, and I've seen it run there occasionally since I first caught it. The entire series is also available on DVD.

[silverscreenselect]

The Taye Diggs--Groundhog Day--cop show from a couple years ago? They cancelled it before the conclusion, and I was HOOKED!! IIRC, they ran it out online. Letting it finish out is a MUCH better idea!!


Daybreak? wasn't that the name of it?

Yes, it was called "Day Break." I caught the entire run (including previously unaired episodes) about 9 months ago on a channel I didn't know I had until I saw an article mentioning this series. The channel is TVOne, and I've seen it run there occasionally since I first caught it. The entire series is also available on DVD.

Daybreak is available on a rather complete DVD set with a lot of commentary (I bought it but haven't watched it yet). Another show that's available is Kidnapped, which involved a rather complicated kidnapping of a wealthy industrialist's daughter. After the show was cancelled, it was rather hastily re-written to wrap up its planned 22-episode storyline in 13 episodes. I don't have that one on DVD.

I do think that the tendency of networks to cancel shows with complex story lines without allowing any resolution is one reason why newer shows with similar premises to Lost have had a tough time getting any traction. The best model seems to be something like The Mentalist, in which there is an overall theme (Simon Baker's attempt to find elusive serial killer Red John who killed his family), which the show can return to a few times per season and presumably wrap up whenever they like, but for which most of the episodes are self-contained and enjoyable on their own.

[Estonut]

I do think that the tendency of networks to cancel shows with complex story lines without allowing any resolution is one reason why newer shows with similar premises to Lost have had a tough time getting any traction.

Then, once in a while, you get a show like Prison Break, which made it through the first season, and then they said "Oh crap, what do we do now?"

[earendel]

The Taye Diggs--Groundhog Day--cop show from a couple years ago? They cancelled it before the conclusion, and I was HOOKED!! IIRC, they ran it out online. Letting it finish out is a MUCH better idea!!


Daybreak? wasn't that the name of it?

Yes, it was called "Day Break." I caught the entire run (including previously unaired episodes) about 9 months ago on a channel I didn't know I had until I saw an article mentioning this series. The channel is TVOne, and I've seen it run there occasionally since I first caught it. The entire series is also available on DVD.

Daybreak is available on a rather complete DVD set with a lot of commentary (I bought it but haven't watched it yet). Another show that's available is Kidnapped, which involved a rather complicated kidnapping of a wealthy industrialist's daughter. After the show was cancelled, it was rather hastily re-written to wrap up its planned 22-episode storyline in 13 episodes. I don't have that one on DVD.

I do think that the tendency of networks to cancel shows with complex story lines without allowing any resolution is one reason why newer shows with similar premises to Lost have had a tough time getting any traction. The best model seems to be something like The Mentalist, in which there is an overall theme (Simon Baker's attempt to find elusive serial killer Red John who killed his family), which the show can return to a few times per season and presumably wrap up whenever they like, but for which most of the episodes are self-contained and enjoyable on their own.

I wish they'd do something like this with "Journeyman" - I really liked that show but they yanked it from the schedule (poor ratings) and never got a chance to do any sort of wrap-up.

[silverscreenselect]

I do think that the tendency of networks to cancel shows with complex story lines without allowing any resolution is one reason why newer shows with similar premises to Lost have had a tough time getting any traction.

Then, once in a while, you get a show like Prison Break, which made it through the first season, and then they said "Oh crap, what do we do now?"

Prison Break should have been a two-season series, but Fox decided essentially to repeat the first season during the third, which is where the show really jumped the shark (the writers strike didn't help). Prison Break will return in April with six more episodes that will wrap up the storyline. However, I've heard rumors that Fox is considering a female version of Prison Break and that there are two more episodes featuring the two escapee brothers which will probably be combined into a standalone movie which may air at a later date.

[The Face on Mars]

I could have told you guys life was extinct here.....

[ghostjmf]

earendel100 says:

I wish they'd do something like this with "Journeyman" - I really liked that show but they yanked it from the schedule (poor ratings) and never got a chance to do any sort of wrap-up.

They kind of wrapped up Journeyman by having the lead meet up with this scientist he's bumped into a couple of times & finally get the scientist to admit that "there really are/were experiments going on", but with no more elaboration than that.

The show also shows the time-shifted ex-fiance getting married "in her own time", & says a couple things to imply that her visits to the future (our present) will be tailing off. I forget what the reasoning was, but they did give some.

[ToLiveIsToFly]

The showed the rest of the episodes of The Black Donnellys on the web.

[SportsFan68]

. . .

Another show that's available is Kidnapped, which involved a rather complicated kidnapping of a wealthy industrialist's daughter. After the show was cancelled, it was rather hastily re-written to wrap up its planned 22-episode storyline in 13 episodes. I don't have that one on DVD.

. . .

I loved Kidnapped! And it vanished! That's one I would have watched regularly, same as I used to watch The Practice, and now Sam Waterston's Lawn.

I might pick it up one of these years.