Life on Mars

[clevedonboy]

I see you are too young to remember Camberwick Green.

You may have seen some Windy Miller adverts recently - for Quaker Oats? -- that was from Camberwick Green.

And then there's the fire brigade - Hugh Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub.



...or was that Trumpton?

Indeed it was Trumpton

Camberwick Green had the Army

Chigley had a train

Loved the line in this week's Life On Mars "I'll to you this once Gene, stay out of Camberwick Green"

[Dreadful Scathe]

I see you are too young to remember Camberwick Green. That was the children's program from the 70s that featured a carousel music box up from which this week's main character would come, and the narrator would talk to him/her while they would 'mime' the answers - wave hand for 'hullo', head in hands for 'oh no!', and so forth.

You may have seen some Windy Miller adverts recently - for Quaker Oats? -- that was from Camberwick Green.

And then there's the fire brigade - Hugh Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub.



...or was that Trumpton?

Anyway, not a chainsaw in sight.

I've got the DVD collection for my daughter. Classic

sigh. Another few years and we'll be talking about LP's and tapes to cries of "what?". A tape? That you had to rewind to use! eh? nah?

Theres probably people on here who cannot begin to imagine outside toilets

[Stuart M]

If this and Torchwood are the best we can do in terms of modern thriller-type entertainment, then I'm even more grateful for Life on Mars. With things like Supernatural, Ghost whisperer, Invasion, and the mighty Buffy rolling off the US TV production lines, our money seems to be better spent importing than giving the job to the writers and directors still left over here.

Without wishing to point out the obvious, Primeval and Torchwood are not the best we can do. But if they get viewing figures and make money, then it's to be hoped they lead to the making of other, better, shows. And perhaps improve themselves once they've bedded in. To have a successful TV industry, it has to be able to make money out of average stuff. Not every show has to (or indeed can) be BAFTA material.

It's worth pointing out that Primeval, Torchwood, an LoM wouldn't have seen the light of day without the success of Doctor Who (OK, not entirely true with LoM - it was greenlit before the revived DW hit the screen, but it was greenlit by the same person so there is a connection). I'd say a 33% hit rate in material from the same genre is not bad, and you never know, Primeval or TW might improve in their second series.

I prefer a second rate show made here to a second rate US import like, say, Ghost Whisperer (IMO nowhere near as good as similar UK stuff like Sea of Souls or Afterlife). Over the past few years there's been a creeping "it's been a hit in the US so it must be good" thing, fuelled mainly by Channel 4 hyping of the Sopranos and Simpsons, it must be said.

Anyway, back on topic I thought Tuesday's LoM was great: reminiscent of the Prisoner episode "A,B or C" in some ways, but lots of good stuff. The Camberwick Green thing was brilliant - but imagine what they could have done with Mr Ben, or Bagpuss...

[DavidY]

Mr Ben

Was it Mr Ben or Mr Benn?

Anyhow I did notice that in Tuesday's LoM episode, they did include a variation on Mr Ben(n)'s famous "As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared" catchphrase.

[Barry Shnikov]

Watching Northanger Abbey last night (featuring Andrew Davies' trademark - Jane Austen bedroom scenes that would probably have led to JA viciously satirising him in her next novel, if she were still around) when I nearly dropped the iron.

(I was ironing.)

There's Miss Moreland, staying at the Abbey, getting up in the morning when up comes the maid and brings her a cup of tea in bed!!

I know that the middle class is gradually taking over the fine arts, but please! I half expected her to take out an electric toothbrush.

Then later, she has to take a stagecoach and it is full, not of middle class people who could not afford to keep their own carriage nor to hire one, but of working class people with stubble and rotten teeth who could have no more easily paid to travel by stagecoach than they could have invented the internal combustion engine and done the trip by air. Sheesh.

When 'common' people like that did travel on stage coach, they sat outside because a) it was cheaper and b) the stagecoach companies applied a very strict class segregation system.

[Paulthetrainer]

Watching Northanger Abbey last night (featuring Andrew Davies' trademark - Jane Austen bedroom scenes that would probably have led to JA viciously satirising him in her next novel, if she were still around) when I nearly dropped the iron.

Nearly dropped the iron? Barry, if you'd had a heart attack and died at witnessing yet another historical inaccuracy, your nearest and dearest would've been fully justified in pursuing the programme makers for manslaughter!

Just to bring this thread back almost to the subject of Life on Mars, what do people think that Gene Hunt would make of the Bob Woolmer case??

[Barry Shnikov]

Nearly dropped the iron? Barry, if you'd had a heart attack and died at witnessing yet another historical inaccuracy, your nearest and dearest would've been fully justified in pursuing the programme makers for manslaughter!

Just to bring this thread back almost to the subject of Life on Mars, what do people think that Gene Hunt would make of the Bob Woolmer case??

If somebody wasn't looking after the historical accuracy we'd be having television series in which cops of the 1970s are - completely against type - expressing the objectives and sensibilities of the lets-get-in-touch-with-our-feminine-side 1990s, instead of being all Sweeney-Professionals torture the toerags to make them cough...


...oh, wait a minute...

[clevedonboy]

great episode tonight with some of the best one liners to date. Possibly the best line in the whole two series (we were in fits anyway)

"She's as nervous as a short nun at a penguin shoot"

[Stuart M]

great episode tonight with some of the best one liners to date.

I thought there were just a bit too many one-liners, to be honest. Every second sentence from Gene seemed to be "she/he's as ...... in a ......" (though it was one of the last ones - "he's got fingers in more pies than a leper in a bakery" - which got me to LOL )

Probably down to the fact that it was written by Guy Jenkins, of Drop the Dead Donkey fame. Anyway, at least the identity of Mystery Man from last week's flashbacks (flashforwards?) was revealed - DCI Frank Morgan (that's an interesting name).

[David Bailey]

Gene's great - I like the sound of the actor too, especially after this rant:
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Mars actor attacks TV's 'fools'

[Barry Shnikov]

I thought there were just a bit too many one-liners, to be honest. Every second sentence from Gene seemed to be "she/he's as ...... in a ......".

Not for the first time, in last night's episode I though the contrivance of some of the one liners was a bit laboured. Gene doesn't strike us as the sort of person with the wit to make up such comparisons on the spot, so I would expect them to be more commonplace, the sort of remarks which might have been made in 1973 rather than, to paraphrase Sam Johnson, "the most heterogeneous ideas...yoked by violence together".

A small prize to anyone who without googling or similar is able to say what the phrase originally described. You are on your honour.

[Mezzosoprano]

I just saw Life on Mars for the first time last night... is it supposed to be a comedy? I was falling about laughing at the 1970'sesque equality and diversity stuff (lack thereof) and the references to 70's popculture were fab!!! I was right back to sneaking into the living room (when I was far too young - I used to peek round the door whilst Dad was watching) to watch the sweeney and the professionals... the language and terminology was spot on...

[Frankie_4711]

Gene's great - I like the sound of the actor too, especially after this rant:
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Mars actor attacks TV's 'fools'

[rant]
(mentioned in article ... )
US remake??? Why do they have to ruin brilliant TV by doing US remakes? Why not just show them the original? Are they so stupid over there that they can't cope with ... well, I don't know what!
[/rant]

[Barry Shnikov]

[rant]
(mentioned in article ... )
US remake??? Why do they have to ruin brilliant TV by doing US remakes? Why not just show them the original? Are they so stupid over there that they can't cope with ... well, I don't know what!
[/rant]

They'll probably both happen. Americans (some, anyway) can e.g. see the UK and US versions of The office, if they so desire.

[Paulthetrainer]

[rant]
(mentioned in article ... )
US remake??? Why do they have to ruin brilliant TV by doing US remakes? Why not just show them the original? Are they so stupid over there that they can't cope with ... well, I don't know what!
[/rant]

One of the shows strongest points (for me) is that you feel like you're in 1973 Britain (albeit a slightly stereotyped version), with many viewers relying on their memories (of varying clarity) of that time to reinforce this. I'm not sure that the average American would have much knowledge of 1973 Britain, so the show as it is, could lose some effect.

We, on the other hand, with the benefit of much greater exposure to US culture 1973 style, will hopefully get to appreciate the whole thing all over again.

[Lynn]

Watching Northanger Abbey last night (featuring Andrew Davies' trademark - Jane Austen bedroom scenes that would probably have led to JA viciously satirising him in her next novel, if she were still around) when I nearly dropped the iron.

I guess there are different ways of viewing a dramatisation of a book.

Get annoyed by historical or set inaccuracy.

or

See new perspectives on the book through the way the story is presented.

It has been a while since I've read Northanger Abbey (must revisit it) but I found the 'dream scenes' very helpful in communicating how reading so much romantic fiction led the 'heroine' (certainly she saw herself as such) to having an overactive imagination. It gave me a fresh insight into the novel.

And that to me was of more value and impact than any irritations there may have been about a few inaccurate or misrepresented details.

[David Bailey]

We, on the other hand, with the benefit of much greater exposure to US culture 1973 style, will hopefully get to appreciate the whole thing all over again.

Ah, yes - Starsky and Hutch, here we come!

[Lou]

Ah, yes - Starsky and Hutch, here we come!

[Gene Hunt]Who?[/Gene Hunt]

[Stuart M]

Just a note for those trying to remain spoiler-free, which is becoming very difficult - avoid today's Daily Mirror, and Heat magazine. Apparently.

Personally I have no difficulty in avoiding either publication, and I'm sure they're not on many forumites' reading list, but just in case you pick one up in your office by accident.

[Paulthetrainer]

Dunno if anyone else saw the last episode but I thought it was a fabulous ending to one of the best things I've ever seen on TV.

Just been on an MSN Life on Mars message board with all these people saying how they didn't understand the ending - "so was he really this?", "so was he really that?". The whole point for me though is its like any other kind of art form - it is exactly what you want it to be, so in the case of Life on Mars and its ending, people have to just believe whichever possible conclusion sits best with them.

Anyone else got any thoughts on the last episode?