Conundrums in space and time are popular right now in pop culture. One example: the ABC series Life on Mars, concerning an NYPD detective who wakes up in 1973. Like many standout American shows, from All in the Family through American Idol, its based on a British precedent. The U.K. original of Life on Mars will be released as a four-DVD set on July 26.
In episode one, Manchester police detective Sam Tyler is struck by a speeding car as his satellite radio plays the early 1970s Bowie song Life on Mars. He awakens to find himself alongside a 70s-vintage vehicle with Life on Mars blaring from the 8-track. Imagine his puzzled face when he looks down and sees hes wearing flairs. Somehow, Tyler has been hurled backward from the postmodern, multicultural 21st century to the politically incorrect year of 1973.
Getting over the lack of mobile telephones is only the first adjustment Tyler must make. By a trick of fate or the human psyche, Tyler finds that he is a police detective in this past world. Sexism is rampant and undisguised among his colleagues. Crime scene forensics is careless and his fellow cops probably think DNA is some foreign terrorist gang. Tylers futuristic knowledge raises suspicion. His supervisor admires American cop movies and has adopted the methods of Dirty Harry and Popeye Doyle. Part of the fun of Life on Mars is how these two men work together to solve crimes.
Much like Lost, Life on Mars is compelling not only for its characters but the mystery of their situation. Its unclear whether Tyler has actually stumbled backwards in time, or is fantasizing while in a coma, or has gone mad. Reality has come unstuck.
