Life on Mars

Life on Mars (2008)

Genres - Fantasy  |   Sub-Genres - Cop Show [TV], Prime-Time Drama [TV]  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis by Jason Buchanan

A 21st Century New York City detective finds himself experiencing a surreal blast from the past when he's struck by a speeding car and transported back to 1973 in this ABC series inspired by the popular British television series of the same name. 2008: Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) is in hot pursuit of a dangerous criminal when he's suddenly run down right in the middle of the street. Subsequently awakening in the same city circa 1973, Detective Tyler is forced to police the streets of a city locked in the cold grip of chaos. The Vietnam War is raging halfway around the world, the Watergate scandal is making headlines across the country, criminals are running the streets, and more than half of the police force is on the take. To make matters even worse, cell phones haven't been invented yet, desktop typewriters have yet to be replaced by the personal computer, and no one has ever heard of such a thing as an MP3 player. Devoid of his high-tech crime fighting equipment and forced to operate under a shady new moral code, Detective Tyler constantly clashes with his new boss at the 125th Precinct. Lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel) is the kind of cop that values brawn over brains, and the other members of the 1-2-5 are just as tough. Detective Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli) may ask few questions, but he's definitely the right guy to have in your corner when the going gets tough. And despite the fact that the women of the police force are still woefully underused, Police Women's Bureau member Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) is often the smartest person in the room. Annie dreams of the day she'll become a real cop, but the prevailing sexism of the era is preventing that from happening for the time being. Even so, she's the only person that Detective Tyler can turn to as he attempts to regain his bearings and find a way back home. Meanwhile, fresh-faced rookie Detective Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy) may clash constantly with Lieutenant Hunt and Detective Carling, yet he proves a valuable ally for Detective Tyler. If Detective Tyler could only find a way back to 2008, he could tell his true love Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet) about how Annie's workplace battles back in 1973 opened the doors that would allow Maya to become an official member of the force nearly four decades later.

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