Not a Comic-Con wrap-up
No, I will do that if I have time tomorrow. For now, I've got a few things to say about Life on Mars, oddly enough.
I had a chance to talk to the guys who are taking over the US LoM series from David E. Kelley and I've gotta say, they kind of impressed me. I mean, I still think it's a bad idea. I saw the first pilot and my reaction was that it was like seeing a dinner theater version of your favorite musical. Bad. Bad. And more bad. But the thing is, they know it was bad. Jason O'Mara specifically told me, "Forget you saw it." So if they can figure out what didn't work (pretty much everything) maybe they can go back and fix it.
I'm intrigued with the casting so far. I mean, frickin' Harvey. Keitel. As Gene. I think I might have seen that on someone's wish list and, like everyone else, dismissed that in the category of "never gonna happen." And Imperioli could make a good Ray. They actually have a Chris now, too (I'm pretty sure he was cut entirely from the pilot I saw). Gretchen Mol as Annie is fine, too. I think she can pull it off. They're not making her a full detective in the new version, either. She's going to have to work her way up from the women's auxiliary unit, just like the real Annie did (I can't help but think of the BBC characters as the "real" characters).
When I talked with Josh and Andre, they really seemed to be fans of the original. They brought it up a lot. They said the magic buzz word when talking about Gene--results. And some of the ideas they have for stories sound kind of cool. I don't even mind the New York setting, especially with the new cast. Oh, and they changed it back to 1973 (it was 1972 in the pilot for some reason). They kept talking about all these discoveries they were making about everything that was happening in that year (uh, yeah, Matt and Ashley figured all that out a while back). And I don't know, they just seem to get it.
The only thing that still has me worried is Jason O'Mara. He looks a lot more like Sam in this picture-- which isn't even from Life on Mars--than he did in the Kelley pilot. In person he's nice and attractive, but his acting had better get a lot better, and fast, or the project is doomed. I don't care what else they get right, the show does not work if you're not 100 percent with Sam on his journey. I thought I'd heard the first pilot was directed by Thomas Schlamme, which doesn't give him the excuse of having a bad director at the helm. So we'll see.
Just my impression after the interview. I reserve the right to change my mind after seeing the official first episode.
I had a chance to talk to the guys who are taking over the US LoM series from David E. Kelley and I've gotta say, they kind of impressed me. I mean, I still think it's a bad idea. I saw the first pilot and my reaction was that it was like seeing a dinner theater version of your favorite musical. Bad. Bad. And more bad. But the thing is, they know it was bad. Jason O'Mara specifically told me, "Forget you saw it." So if they can figure out what didn't work (pretty much everything) maybe they can go back and fix it.
I'm intrigued with the casting so far. I mean, frickin' Harvey. Keitel. As Gene. I think I might have seen that on someone's wish list and, like everyone else, dismissed that in the category of "never gonna happen." And Imperioli could make a good Ray. They actually have a Chris now, too (I'm pretty sure he was cut entirely from the pilot I saw). Gretchen Mol as Annie is fine, too. I think she can pull it off. They're not making her a full detective in the new version, either. She's going to have to work her way up from the women's auxiliary unit, just like the real Annie did (I can't help but think of the BBC characters as the "real" characters).
When I talked with Josh and Andre, they really seemed to be fans of the original. They brought it up a lot. They said the magic buzz word when talking about Gene--results. And some of the ideas they have for stories sound kind of cool. I don't even mind the New York setting, especially with the new cast. Oh, and they changed it back to 1973 (it was 1972 in the pilot for some reason). They kept talking about all these discoveries they were making about everything that was happening in that year (uh, yeah, Matt and Ashley figured all that out a while back). And I don't know, they just seem to get it.
The only thing that still has me worried is Jason O'Mara. He looks a lot more like Sam in this picture-- which isn't even from Life on Mars--than he did in the Kelley pilot. In person he's nice and attractive, but his acting had better get a lot better, and fast, or the project is doomed. I don't care what else they get right, the show does not work if you're not 100 percent with Sam on his journey. I thought I'd heard the first pilot was directed by Thomas Schlamme, which doesn't give him the excuse of having a bad director at the helm. So we'll see.
Just my impression after the interview. I reserve the right to change my mind after seeing the official first episode.