King on Mars
Posted: July 27, 2009, 19:36
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DVDs to be released Tuesday
Stephen King praised the British police drama "Life on Mars" as "one of the greatest limited-run television series I've ever seen." And he certainly got it right when he said, in Entertainment Weekly, that it "blows the American version out of the water." Well, now the original U.K. series comes to home video, being released Tuesday in a four-disc set packed with special features (Acorn Media, $59.99).
John Simm plays a modern-day Manchester police detective who gets hit by a car while chasing a killer and wakes up in 1973. Still a cop, he tries to solve crimes using the low-tech and frequently frustrating methods of the 1970s. Police procedure is a little rougher on suspects and forensics is slower – but the music's really cool.
The set includes audio commentary on each episode, an hourlong documentary with cast and crew interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage, a "Music of 'Life on Mars' " featurette, outtakes and more.
This is "Series 1" of the show that ran for two seasons on British TV and was seen on BBC America. The U.S. version ran on ABC in the 2008-09 season.
