At this point in Life on Mars, I’m wondering if I’m growing impatient with episodes like this one, because I know there’s only two episodes left until the very end. That knowledge alone makes these last few episodes feel even more like unnecessary filler. This one was no different, up until the last couple of moments.
I always like seeing an actor having a chance to use their natural dialect rather than the one their character uses. Jason O’Mara had this chance, being Irish and all (and with the obvious late St. Patrick’s Day connection thrown in there). Then again, I’ve never heard him speak, so maybe the brogue used in this episode was more harsh than usual.
The other bit of freedom O’Mara was given this time around was the addition of his wife, Paige Turco, as the Tarot card reading Colleen. I’m not sure whether I should find it more disturbing when two married actors make out or have a sex scene than two who are very clearly supposed to be acting. It’s a little bit T.M.I. — know what I mean?
The second-to-final scene, pictured above (well, at least part of it), made up what I found to be the most interesting and worthwhile part of the episode. Sam, finally, formally meets his young self and sits down to have a little heart-to-heart. What would you tell your young self if you had the chance? What could you tell them that would make a difference? And don’t say “invest in Microsoft,” because what kid’s going to a) remember that and b) have money at ten years old to invest?
Then, of course, Carling and Skelton getting gunned down… What I have to say about that is, if both of them make it out of it alive, today’s critical hospital care has nothing on what we had 30 years ago. Even Sam got a couple of slugs in the gut and was back at work in no time. However, if Skelton’s dead, that sure calls my theory about him being the mysterious caller into question.
The previews for the next couple of episodes really seems to indicate that, quite possibly, the finale is going to go down an awful lot like how I’ve read the U.K. version did. I’m just going to go into the finale assuming it’ll be different and those of us who’ve hung on through it all will be damned satisfied.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee
on Mar 20, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
At first I thought the scene with his younger self was nice, and then it just got downright creepy when he morphed into his adult self and then back again. I don’t know why, but that really, really weirded me out.
The movie “Frequency,” although that was Yahoo!, not Microsoft.
I thought we had already ruled out the UK ending?