Ashes to Ashes 01x01
Feb. 7th, 2008 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karenorUm... so... did anyone but me watch the Life on Mars spinoff? For some reason I thought it would never make it to air, but apparently, it did.
Before I get to my spoilery review, I should note that I had no clue it was Keeley Hawes in the starring role. I like her a lot. She's been in a million British tv things that I've seen, and I think she's pretty awesome. Besides a striking resemblance to Keira Knightly. Anyway. She is awesome. The show, well...
Ok, it was slightly better than I expected. But part of why it was good is... um, what I thought was wrong with it. It's nostalgic, see. Gene Hunt is larger than life. And instead of just letting that happen like it did before, on LoM, it harps on it. Woo, check it out, the fabulous GENE HUNT is BACK, Bitches! And that is both awesome and very silly.
As before, the year it's taking place is very well realized. Down to the smallest details. Except maybe for all the red. That's a thing, apparently. Red. Anyway. It's done well.
What's interesting is that there's a bit less of an OMGWTFBBQ!!!11! vibe going on for Alex. Because she's studied Sam Tyler and apparently knows what's up. There's there's less of that wow, things are SO different back then kind of deal. Which is ok I guess. But that was part of what made LoM so great. Alex has the same uppityness that Sam had, only she already knows she's got it all figured out.
Which leads me to my major complaint. Where I'm going OMGWTFBBQ!!!11! What is REALITY, here? As far as Sam AND the Manchester team. Sam died in 2007. He spent 7 years in 1973-1980. Now... did that time/place not exist in the "real" world? That's what Alex's reactions seem to indicate. I always sort of took BOTH worlds for real, somehow. But then there would be records of Sam back in Alex's real2008 world. So do we therefore have solid evidence that Sam's created world was not, in fact, real at all? Is that the message LoM was meant to send? Because that's not what I got from it, but then... I never really understood. I mean, Sam interacted with HIMSELF, his family, real people who lived in Manchester the same time as he did. Arthur Layton is a real person with a real history. Is this 1981 NOT real? I don't really get it.
Also, her DAUGHTER as major creepy factor? That's weird. Clown dude is bad enough. Yikes. I kinda love how she's trying all the things she knows worked for Sam. It's a bit awesome. As is the interaction between her and Gene. I'll give them that. It is very reminiscent of the Gene/Sam vibe, only now with added UST. That said, the show as a whole isn't different enough. LoM was formulaic. It's why it only worked for a short time. AtA is following the same formula, almost exactly, and I can't see the show being in for the long haul. Don't think it work. But I guess they can keep it going for a series or maybe two. I just hope they change it up enough to make it worth my while.
For now, i give it a so/so, but I'll keep watching.
Before I get to my spoilery review, I should note that I had no clue it was Keeley Hawes in the starring role. I like her a lot. She's been in a million British tv things that I've seen, and I think she's pretty awesome. Besides a striking resemblance to Keira Knightly. Anyway. She is awesome. The show, well...
Ok, it was slightly better than I expected. But part of why it was good is... um, what I thought was wrong with it. It's nostalgic, see. Gene Hunt is larger than life. And instead of just letting that happen like it did before, on LoM, it harps on it. Woo, check it out, the fabulous GENE HUNT is BACK, Bitches! And that is both awesome and very silly.
As before, the year it's taking place is very well realized. Down to the smallest details. Except maybe for all the red. That's a thing, apparently. Red. Anyway. It's done well.
What's interesting is that there's a bit less of an OMGWTFBBQ!!!11! vibe going on for Alex. Because she's studied Sam Tyler and apparently knows what's up. There's there's less of that wow, things are SO different back then kind of deal. Which is ok I guess. But that was part of what made LoM so great. Alex has the same uppityness that Sam had, only she already knows she's got it all figured out.
Which leads me to my major complaint. Where I'm going OMGWTFBBQ!!!11! What is REALITY, here? As far as Sam AND the Manchester team. Sam died in 2007. He spent 7 years in 1973-1980. Now... did that time/place not exist in the "real" world? That's what Alex's reactions seem to indicate. I always sort of took BOTH worlds for real, somehow. But then there would be records of Sam back in Alex's real2008 world. So do we therefore have solid evidence that Sam's created world was not, in fact, real at all? Is that the message LoM was meant to send? Because that's not what I got from it, but then... I never really understood. I mean, Sam interacted with HIMSELF, his family, real people who lived in Manchester the same time as he did. Arthur Layton is a real person with a real history. Is this 1981 NOT real? I don't really get it.
Also, her DAUGHTER as major creepy factor? That's weird. Clown dude is bad enough. Yikes. I kinda love how she's trying all the things she knows worked for Sam. It's a bit awesome. As is the interaction between her and Gene. I'll give them that. It is very reminiscent of the Gene/Sam vibe, only now with added UST. That said, the show as a whole isn't different enough. LoM was formulaic. It's why it only worked for a short time. AtA is following the same formula, almost exactly, and I can't see the show being in for the long haul. Don't think it work. But I guess they can keep it going for a series or maybe two. I just hope they change it up enough to make it worth my while.
For now, i give it a so/so, but I'll keep watching.
