ABC’s Life on Mars didn’t catch on with enough viewers and was unfortunately cancelled after one brief season. Sadly, tonight we had to say goodnight to the outstanding cast of Jason O’Mara, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, and Jonathan Murphy.
Thankfully, the show’s creators were given enough time to craft a true series finale. Executive producer Scott Rosenberg told Scifiwire, “Basically, this episode was always going to be the season finale, so we just switched things up towards the end. But we always wanted it to culminate with him and his parents… Amongst our favorite things that we did was always with his father and his mother. Every time we went to that well, it really worked for us. You’ll realize when you see it Wednesday night at 11:00, you’ll see that the whole theme of the entire 17 hours was all leading up to this. It was all about what we deal with in episode 17.”
Fellow executive producer Josh Appelbaum told Variety, “When you see you see the ending. as much as I think it’ll be wildly unexpected, it’s also sort of the inevitable. Even in the pilot there’s a lot of things that are leaning toward what the ending tells you. There were a million ideas thrown out early in the writers room, but when this one landed we all knew that was the one it should be.”
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Rosenberg concluded, “We’re not only answering the why of 1973 but more importantly, it’s what this whole journey was about for Sam — why it was these particular characters and this emotional landscape. It’s his emotional heroes journey that is answered by the end.”
So, what do you think of the series ending? It was a shocker to say the least. Are you happy to leave Sam and friends on the Martian surface?
Or, would you prefer to think that the Mars landing is actually a hallucination or another piece of Sam’s time travel mystery?
Image courtesy ABC.
I absolutely loved this show. The actors were magnificent and the chemistry between all of them was worth watching. I’m so very sorry it has been cancelled. The ending was quite a shock, especially the “Loot” being his dad. I just wish there would have been a little more thought given to his and Annie’s relationship. The ending with them seemed to start their relationship over from the beginning…..or did it? Hmmmm… At any rate, I will really miss this show. I looked forward to it every week.
I didn’t know it was the last episode either, I said to my wife halfway through that they will probably cancel it just like a lot of other great shows. Then when it ended we just looked at each other like “what just happened” I liked the fact that they wrapped up what was actually happening. As far as people feeling ripped off that it was just a dream. Just about every scenario that was out there was some kind of dream, whether it was from a coma or something else. I would have been really mad if it would… Read more »
I still don’t get it! Somewhere there must be a synopsis explaining the whole thing to some of us……….on the other hand, Jason O’Mara is a HUNK and hope to see him soon on another series…………
I liked the ending only because it gave the series closure and while I saw it coming it still caught me by surprise. Yes, I know that the UK version had a more poetic ending and it left the door open for a spin off series (Ashes to Ashes). I think the writers did the honorable thing and gave the fans an ending that won’t leave us wanting, wondering or wishing. It answered the ultimate question of whether Sam was a time traveler or a just visitor to a “Wizard of Oz” like world in his mind? The sad thing… Read more »
Love, Love, LOVED this show!!!! I am so sad that it ended so quickly…it had so much potential and ABC could not see it!!!! What’s wrong with you people in TV LAND? You cannot see a fantastic show when it is right in your face!!!!
Great actors!
Great storyline!
Great music, cars and of course, 1973!!!!
I will truly miss this one.
I will remember it always….
Jason O’Mara’s blue eyes are etched in my soul forever….
What a fantastic new fresh actor from Ireland.
Shame on you….ABC….for not giving this one it’s full ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I watched it last night, I was SO disappointed. I would’ve liked the ambiguity of him either not answering the phone that last time or if it ended with him saying he didn’t want to go back and just going out with the guys. Would’ve been great that way. I just didn’t feel as warm to the whole Mars landing deal because it didn’t seem to have the same comradery we had grown to love in 1973 and saw a little of in 2008. I can see the shock value of it, and appreciate the creativity that went into… Read more »
As previously mentioned, I too am less likely to let myself get into a new show each time this happens. Like Journeyman on NBC, this show was entertaining and thought provoking with a great soundtrack. Harvey was great in this show as were the other cast members. I will miss it.
I think I would’ve been happier with the ending if the show ended with Sam hugging Gene in his office in 1973. The stuff that happened afterwards was a little too cheesy and seemed just SO vastly different from the rest of the series. It was a major “woah” moment. I think I’m still letting the finale sink in and haven’t made a decision one way or another on how I felt about the ending. Either way, I’m really sad to see the show go. Between this and Journeyman getting cancelled last year, I don’t understand tv networks anymore. There… Read more »
What a fantastic show.!!!!!!! In fact, it was the BEST SERIES that ABC has produced.. The ending was perfect and I wish it could go on for more seasons. A great combination of cast members. The scenes from 1973 brought back so many memories. Cannot stop thinking about the ending KUDOS to ABC and especially the cast members. I will miss this show..
I will have to add that I too am disappointed that LOM has left the air waves. It was great to finally see a t.v. show that had some real thought behind it. Plus a fantastic cast that really pulled the whole thing off! It is sad to think that we as a society are left to mindless narrsictic dribble of reality t.v.. I guess A.B.C. could buy the rights to “Rock of Love” to fill the spot. P.S. is there a cable network out there that will buy the rights to LOM and put it back on?
The ending was a Wizard of Oz rip-off. It was all just a dream. The only thing missing was Toto.
Other than that, the show was fantastic. All the actors, writers and crew should be proud of their work . They should know that there are a large number of people who appreciated this show and applaud their efforts. Thank you.
Hey, I am just glad they had a chance to write the finale! DeadZone (after many seasons) and The Journeyman were cancelled, before we got to see how they ended. I think they should have written an ending for those two shows, it was unfair to leave the faithful viewers hanging like they did! At least with “Life on Mars” we got an ending! I am gonna miss the show though. I am still trying to digest what happened at the end.
a shocker for sure. but i am glad you tied up the loose ends. i hate for a show to end unfinished, unless there is a movie deal to follow. i also think it should have been a 2 hour show. you could have taken more time to tidy up a little more. he was in love with Annie. but was she in love with him? glances only added to the mystery, with no closure. but still, as shocked as i was it was still great to see a ending..wow, Gene was his dad…SUPER
The finale bsolutely ROCKED. Best finale I’ve seen in my 62 years of tv viewing – and this show was a corker. I congratulate ABC for finally getting it right in allowing the very talented creators and writers to end it in a bang-up way. I will miss “Life on Mars.”
I thought the show was great. Seems people are not interested in shows that require an attention span and thinking. They would rather watch mindless reality shows. The networks are out to make money and stupid shows seem to do that for them