'Life On Mars' Canceled...d...

[Talk2Bill]

well i saw one episode and I was liking it. But they canceled it.

but they will get to end it. I suspect they will change its original ending.

[King Cantona]

well i saw one episode and I was liking it. But they canceled it.

but they will get to end it. I suspect they will change its original ending.

I can't believe it, I was liking it also......

I remember a series called 'Smith' with Ray Liotta a few years ago, I was enjoying that and then they cancelled it...

Ah well, c'est la vie..........:(...........

[noose4]

damn!!!!! i love that show!!!!!

[Buffalo]

It was not the British version and it had some lacking for all the star power they brought in. I tried it out a couple times and just couldn't get into it. It was like they were trying too hard to capture some seventies magic and basically couldn't keep the characters level. Ashes to Ashes is coming out on BBC and it is the follow up to the British version. Should be interesting. As far as the end, it will be ambiguous if it follows the original.

[noose4]

yet shows like the batchelor, dancing with the stars, deal or no deal, and american idol prosper, we as a society are doomed.

[Buffalo]

I'd like to see Michael Imperioli get another show. I really liked him in the show and he's pretty talented.

[Buffalo]

yet shows like the batchelor, dancing with the stars, deal or no deal, and american idol prosper, we as a society are doomed.
So true. even though LOM was a bit out there, it was so far beyond any of that crap creatively. People want **** for some reason, IDK.

[snagswolf]

That sucks.

[King Cantona]

yet shows like the batchelor, dancing with the stars, deal or no deal, and american idol prosper, we as a society are doomed.

It's the same over here, very sad situation where reality shows are all over the schedules and intelligent drama falls by the wayside...:(...

[King Cantona]

It was not the British version and it had some lacking for all the star power they brought in. I tried it out a couple times and just couldn't get into it. It was like they were trying too hard to capture some seventies magic and basically couldn't keep the characters level. Ashes to Ashes is coming out on BBC and it is the follow up to the British version. Should be interesting. As far as the end, it will be ambiguous if it follows the original.

After one series Ashes to Ashes is good but it's just not as good as LOM, second series should be on soon.....

[Chuangtzu]

As long as Lost, Family Guy, Burn Notice and Southpark are on the telly, I'll watch it for three hours of my week, or so.

LoM had an interesting premise, but it was in the death slot, after Lost. Taye Digg' show (Daybreak, or some such) was in that slot, and it was well conceived, well acted and creatively undertaken.

It failed, too. As did the ensemble effort, Six Degrees.

That time slot is a show killer.

[RogerDodger]

I was a big fan of the show. I hope the actors are cast in other series. The knowledge that the show is cancelled should free them up for pilot season.

And Gretchen Mol is very hot!

[snagswolf]

And Gretchen Mol is very hot!
Very true. I've been a fan of hers ever since The Thirteenth Floor.

[snagswolf]

Wow. I never in a million years expected the series to end like that.

I'm a bit disappointed, but on the other hand, I enjoyed it being something different than what I expected.

[grapabeaux]

Wow. I never in a million years expected the series to end like that.

I'm a bit disappointed, but on the other hand, I enjoyed it being something different than what I expected.

I was going to wait until the west coast broadcast was over *****spoiler alert*********










, but in all my experience of watching TV, I have never been so viscerally revolted by the last 10 minutes of a show (and series). To paraphrase a famous Roger Ebert review of a 1990s Rob Reiner movie: "I hated it. Hated! Hated! Hated! Hated it!"

I had read how they ended the U.K. version (which was rather dark), and I would have been OK with that, even though it wasn't the happy ending.

In reading some interviews, it sounded like the writers and producers had scripted the series to last more than one year (unlike the U.K. version) and had planned cliffhangers for the last episode of the season. But once the word of cancellation came, they had to scramble to tie up the loose ends ASAP. Which even then, I would have understood, up to fifty minutes after the hour (where Sam gets the call to complete his third task toward going home). Never have I anticipated so much and got so little in return.

Bad TV is all around, so it's easy to ignore, but for such a good series like this to end with such a meaningless resolution just punches the gut of anyone who cared about these characters. (All of whom were played great by the cast.) It basically ended in the same way a third-grader tries to tie up the loose ends of a wild story: "And then I woke up."

And here's a fist-up-fist-left salute to ABC, for royally screwing up the end of a series that could have had a great afterlife as a cult series rerun on cable or late night on the weekends.

Maybe U.S. TV producers should rethink the structure of series and let them have a natural and planned end, rather than the mess we got with the end of this series.

[AeroEngineer]

yet shows like the batchelor, dancing with the stars, deal or no deal, and american idol prosper, we as a society are doomed.


cost/benefit ratio

They only make those shows because people are dumb enough to watch them.

[markdido]

After one series Ashes to Ashes is good but it's just not as good as LOM, second series should be on soon.....

Don't know if you get any American TV over there (I lived in London in the 80's - pre-cable/satellite), but we have a new show here called "Leverage" The dark haired babe from "Coupling" is in it.

I always had a thing for her ;)

[MrShotShot]

Haven't watched the last episode yet, so will pass on reading what's above; but I was really bummed out when I heard it was being cancelled. It was only a couple of months ago that ABC was advertising it as the "new hit of the fall" - what happened I wonder?

I'll admit that some of the episodes were a bit weak, but in the past month or so they had been really good.

I have put the British version on my netflix cue though.

[badkarma]

yet shows like the batchelor, dancing with the stars, deal or no deal, and american idol prosper, we as a society are doomed.
While I am sure that you are reading Tolstoy and Plato in between playing your mandolin during the jam sessions at whatever coffee house you frequent, some folks enjoy watching people sing or dance on TV.

[snagswolf]

******** spoiler alert **********

In reading some interviews, it sounded like the writers and producers had scripted the series to last more than one year (unlike the U.K. version) and had planned cliffhangers for the last episode of the season. But once the word of cancellation came, they had to scramble to tie up the loose ends ASAP.
But even then, they had to be planning on ending it this way all along. It may have been rushed, but the concept wouldn't have changed. In hindsight, there were signs all along that lead to this ending.

As much as I loved the show, if they were planning on ending it this way regardless of how many seasons it ran, I'm glad that it was ended after one season. (Kind of like how it's good that Twilight Zone episodes were only a half hour, instead of a full hour.)

Specifically to the ending, how was 'Annie' the key? They were wrapping it up with the idea that he was there for her, and then poof, that just disappeared. I thought the scene showing him in the future with an older Annie was touching, but that was just cast aside too.

And the Obama crap was just lame.

[snagswolf]

Interesting read:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Life-Mars-finale-1004558.aspx

TVGuide.com: The episode airing this Wednesday, is it more or less what you had envisioned the series finale as being? Or is it slightly different, if only because you had less time to build up to it?
Josh Appelbaum: We always knew that the season finale was going to be this episode, and we always knew what our series finale would be. Basically we went to [ABC] and said, "Our ratings are grim. We want to shoot a series finale and a season finale; the only difference is Act 6." They thought about it for three minutes and came back to us with: "We've got good news and we've got bad news. The good news is we will let you shoot your series finale. But we will not let you shoot a season finale." So [you'll get] big reveals instead of a bunch of cliffhangers. And we had planned the best [Season 1] cliffhangers, too! [Laughs] But they will now never be seen.

[Buffalo]

******** spoiler alert **********


But even then, they had to be planning on ending it this way all along. It may have been rushed, but the concept wouldn't have changed. In hindsight, there were signs all along that lead to this ending.

As much as I loved the show, if they were planning on ending it this way regardless of how many seasons it ran, I'm glad that it was ended after one season. (Kind of like how it's good that Twilight Zone episodes were only a half hour, instead of a full hour.)

Specifically to the ending, how was 'Annie' the key? They were wrapping it up with the idea that he was there for her, and then poof, that just disappeared. I thought the scene showing him in the future with an older Annie was touching, but that was just cast aside too.

And the Obama crap was just lame.
Felt the same. Episode was pretty damn good until the reveal ending. That just threw out the entire lead up of the episode, and for that matter, the series. Turns out Sam had Daddy issues he needed to resolve. Pretty dumb. And I totally agree with the Obama line. It was forced and ridiculous. Overall, I would have liked to have seen a more satisfying conclusion, hell I would have really liked for the network to have gotten behind this show, maybe switched it's time slot, cause it was pretty good. Once again, Imperioli was awesome, love to see him in another series. He is a hell of a character actor.

[Livey]

How silly of me to think that a show with great writing, storyline, production, music and actors actually make it. It had far too much depth. Do bring on the reality shows, because there are not enough of them.

[Livey]

While I am sure that you are reading Tolstoy and Plato in between playing your mandolin during the jam sessions at whatever coffee house you frequent, some folks enjoy watching people sing or dance on TV.

That was pretty funny... :D

I understand what you are saying. I love to watch people dance and sing. It is shows like The Bachelor that turn people off. It is a bummer to lose a truly quality show that one enjoys when there are so many crappy shows that make it.

[Talk2Bill]

Wow. I never in a million years expected the series to end like that.

I'm a bit disappointed, but on the other hand, I enjoyed it being something different than what I expected.

yeah I was not pleased. ecp the stupid president obana joke...

[janine11]

I am still sad about the cancellation of Eli Stone :( Why does ABC cancel all of the good shows!

[Chuangtzu]

I am still sad about the cancellation of Eli Stone :( Why does ABC cancel all of the good shows!

Market. Share.

Why waste dollars on a show that no one is watching (even a good one)? Especially when they can build around Lost, DWTS and Grey's Anatomy?

And they're moving into the 1/2 comedy market, which seems to be working fairly well for them.

[MrShotShot]

I finally got around to watching it and it was enjoyable. I've heard people criticize the ending for being too "out there" but to me it just fit with the show.

BTW, did anyone notice that they are replacing an "unusual" cop show with another "unusual" cop show?

[Vaard]

the BBC original is much better.......


so is the kind of spin off "ashes to ashes".......


bbc america shows both series.......

[Vaard]

I am still sad about the cancellation of Eli Stone :( Why does ABC cancel all of the good shows!

because they werent making the company money.. or at least not enough to warrant keeping it going.........