33 Years Ago

By Jason Davis     March 06, 2006

First, let me tell you about Kudos. My first run-in with this British production company came with A&E's airing of MI-5. Known as SPOOKS in the UK, the series was the UK's answer to 24 and ALIAS, a sort of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE with accents. The neat thing about MI-5 is that it provided an outside perspective on (drum roll) The War on Terror. Whereas the two post 9-11 American shows were well-done, but essentially escapist fare, the Brits tackled the subject full on. Now might be an appropriate moment to observe that they play rugby without the armor that accompanies American footballcoincidence? You decide.

Long story short: I loved MI-5. In fact, I stopped watching the A&E airings that excise 25 percent of the show for commercials and now enjoy the series uninterrupted on DVD. A few months ago, AMC started airing HUSTLE, or as its titled in America: HU$TLE. Once more, Kudos had scored a goal with compelling characters populating intricately structured plots. This really was MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE with accents...and, of course, criminal records. AMC one-upped A&E by running the shows in 75-minute slots allowing for the full running time of the 52 minute episodes and is even contributing financially to the production of the imminent series three.

This little history lesson brings me to LIFE ON MARS, a series I mentioned a few columns back as an import I had high hopes for. Let me tell you now, having watched the first two episodes, that my excitement was not undue. Simply put, the series follows the exploits of Detective Inspector Sam Tyler. So, it's your basic cop show, yeah? Nope. Not even close. Thing is, while investigating a serial killer in 2006 Manchester, Sam gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. A little more interesting than the latest incarnation of cops and robbers? I sure as hell think so.

Wisely, the show doesn't dwell extensively on the nature of Sam's predicament. Rather, it employs an interesting conceit to periodically remind the viewers that this is not your mainstream police drama. I'm not going to spoil the brilliant conception as I'm hoping that the series will find its way stateside as its Kudos produced brethren have done already. Suffice to say, that the folks behind this show are handling the time travel in a marvelous fashion that calls to mind the conceits apparent in Richard Matheson's phenomenal time travel novel, Bid Time Return.

So, if we're not concerned with how Sam ended up in 1973, what do we care about? Glad you asked! Imagine for a moment that you're a cop with all the forensic know-how of a C.S.I. character. Now, imagine waking up in an episode of STARSKY & HUTCH. Getting the picture? Here's this guy who's lived through three decades of police procedural advances finding himself amongst cops who routinely beat confessions out of perps they arrest under dubious circumstances. The clash of methodology drives the stories providing Sam with a foil in the form of the Vic Mackey-esque Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt. Best of all, the pilot takes great pains to establish that, though his ways are sometimes brutal, Hunt is often correct in his ideology and ends, if not in his means.

Thus, I commend to you this series. Alas, it's not yet airing on this side of the Atlantic, but that hardly stopped another BBC-based time traveler from adventuring on this side of the pond. If the six episodes I'm about to watch maintain the quality of the two I've already devoured, I'll be a happy man. A second series will begin shooting later in the year for 2007 ensuring that new addicts like me will have something more to look forward to.

In other news, I'm thinking of devoting an upcoming column to the enigma that is LOST. Entertainment Weekly recently ran an intriguing article proposing one theory as to the nature of the island and I'm interested to hear what you folks think is up somewhere in the Pacific. E-mail your LOST hypotheses, no matter how bizarre, to wastelandjason@hotmail.com and we'll discuss the best ones here in a few weeks. Until then, watch the movie NETWORK and get as creeped out as I was last night.

MONDAY, MARCH 6

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (10 AM PST, Sci Fi Channel) A marathon of season 2.5 episodes will take you from "Black Market" through to "Lay Down Your Burdens Part 1."

24 (8 PM PST, Fox) "Day 5: 5:00PM - 6:00PM" Jack hits rush hour and Jason once again longs for the episode set entirely within a car boxed in on a busy interstateI'm telling you, it could be awesome!

24 (9 PM PST, Fox) "Day 5: 6:00PM - 7:00PM" Two hours back-to-back. It's like watching it on DVDwith commercialsoh wait, DVDs don't have commercials. On second thought, Kim's back, so commercials will likely offer relief.

MEDIUM (10 PM PST, NBC) "Allison Wonderland" Joe begins to suspect that Allison's daughter is communicating with the deceased author of her favorite bookthat sounds rather cool if you ask me.

TUESDAY, MARCH 7

SCRUBS (9 PM PST, NBC) "My Five Stages" J.D. and Dr. Cox deal with the decline of the favorite patient courtesy of last week's idiot intern, Cabbage.

THE UNIT (9 PM PST, CBS) I liked this show better when Amy Acker was going to be on it. Come to think of it, I like most things better with Amy Acker...

SCRUBS (9:30 PM PST, NBC) "My Last Chance" This episode from last year features Heather Graham on a good show. Watch and wonder why she left for that other series.

SUPERNATURAL (9 PM PST, WB) "Scarecrow" To be followed by "Tin Man" and "Cowardly Lion." Actually, I could see a horror version of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ. Someone should get on that...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

LOST (9 PM PST, ABC) "Whatever the Case May Be" Evidently, the Others have stick on beards, elaborate medical facilities, and the antidote to a dangerous virus. We, on the other hand, have a rerun.

INVASION (10 PM PST, ABC) "The Fittest" Just announced for DVD. If you missed it here, catch it there.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

SMALLVILLE (8 PM PST, WB) "Solitude" As in "Fortress of," I presume?

MY NAME IS EARL (9:00 PM PST, NBC) "Randy's Touchdown" Earl tries to give his brother back a moment of glory lost to one of Earl's bets.

THE OFFICE (9:30 PM PST, NBC) "Diversity Day" Series writer Larry Wilmore guest stars as a racial tolerance consultant.

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

GHOST WHISPERER (8 PM PST, CBS) "Miss Fortune" Melinda encounters the spirit of a carnival escape artist who may have been murdered.

STARGATE: SG-1 (8 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Camelot" I have to do it. I'm sorry. "It's only a model."

STARGATE ATLANTIS (9 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Allies" Making nice with Wraiths is a dangerous endeavor.

NUMB3RS (10 PM PST, CBS) "Mind Games" Charlie tries to debunk a psychic.

MONK (10 PM PST, USA) "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist" I, personally, like the dentist. Most people, I'm told, do not. Maybe I'm just weird.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (10 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Lay Down Your Burdens Part 2" 90 minutes of intense torture before the slow torture of hiatus wherein we'll doubtless dwell on whatever vicious cliffhanger that sadist Ron Moore has devised this year.

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (10 PM PST, Cartoon Network) "Grudge Match" By popular demand, I have remembered to mention this series. Now, I must endeavor to watch it before it's premature demise.

HU$TLE (10 PM PST, AMC) "Episode 9" Season two of this brilliant series continues this week after a hiatus that greatly distressed your humble columnist who had forgotten about those pesky Independent Spirit Awards.

SUNDAY, MARCH 12

THE TRIANGLE (5 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) SFC squeezes one more airing out of this mini-series before it hits DVD.

THE WEST WING (8 PM PST, NBC) "The Cold" Josh and Donna. Finally. Doubtless it was to conserve body heat.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (9 PM PST, ABC) "There is No Other Way" That's what the Golden Globe voters thought when they cast their ballots for WEEDS star Mary-Louise Parker.

THE SOPRANOS (9 PM PST, HBO) "Members Only" What happens between seasons of this show? Well, shows starring its killed-off actors come and go entirely for one. Incidentally, wouldn't it be cool if the title referred to those nifty jackets from the 80s?

GREY'S ANATOMY (10 PM PST, ABC) "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" I would not take advice from the title of this episode. I think duct tape would be more effective, personally. Though, I could be channeling Red Green...