(no subject)

I finished watching Life on Mars, UK version, recently and I was surprised at how much I loved it by the last episode. I almost didn't continue watching the second series at all, but I'm so glad I did. I was trying to think of other things that I'd watched where I didn't realize how much I liked it until the end. Usually I'm pretty easily hooked. The only thing I could think of was Cowboy Bebop. So maybe the factors are an ensemble(ish) cast without a OTC who jumps out at me and a looser, mostly episodic, based storyline. I liked Sam, but I didn't identify with him much I guess. But the last episode (or two?) messed with my head in such a good way and I realized I didn't want anything to end, or even change. The way it ended was perfect for me. I also felt like it preserved the ambiguity and I liked that too. Life on Mars: excellent 2 parts drama, 3 parts police brutality, and 1 part head fucking.

I also saw the first episode of the US version. I was prepared not to like it even though the friend who had the episode was going on and on about how cute this Sam was. (Sorry people, but I barely notice, let alone watch something because of the supposed hotness of the leads. I'm just not wired that way.) So much of the first episode was exactly the same that it was strange to watch the same conversations and the same shots even. But the scene with the twin towers unexpectedly gutted me. I didn't even know where the us version was set before that. The UK version showing the unbuilt motorway had nothing on the emotional impact of the twin towers for showing that Sam really was Before. And I'm not a new yorker and I don't think about it much but still...
So I might keep watching. The friend has all the episodes tivod, and it looks like most of the individual episodes aren't the same stories. Who knows, I might love it at the end.