• Wed, Mar 4 2009

Life on Mars Ending, But Will Get Closure

81215W8 After coming under fire for letting Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies drift off into oblivion, ABC will allow Life on Mars to finish its story.

Variety confirmed the American revamp of the British sci-fi series will end this season, but ABC has informed producers so they can resolve the story in 17 episodes. Ironically, the British original ran only 16 episodes as a closed-ended series. That show then spun into the 1980s with Ashes to Ashes, a show following Lt. Gene Hunt. No such luck for the American series.

The American version was troubled from the beginning, undergoing a total overhaul and recastings before the pilot aired. It was generally well received by critics, but after a strong showing for its heavily advertised premiere ratings kept dipping.

I’m just going to save the phrase “generally well-received by critics but still canceled” and keep copying/pasting for future reference. Still, if there’s a silver lining here it is that the show will get to wrap up its storyline. Hopefully that’s the beginning of a trend not just at ABC, but at all the networks.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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  • john

    DAMN ABC!!! IF you leave a show of the air for 3 months without telling any of the fans and then switch times of course the ratings are going to go down. JERKS. The only reason i watch ABC is b/c of Scrubs, Lost and LOM. where do the get ratings from the Bachelor. I hate my fellow americans, some of them should not be allow to vote or breed. they disgust me with their viewing habits. I had enough of this crap.

  • http://www.sfuniverse.com Brian Allen

    Just let it all out, John. We’re here for you. I didn’t even rail on the impending lack of Lisa Bonet on my television. Can some network rectify that, please?

  • Mike

    I was floored by hearing that this show was ending. I cannot understand why a show with a cast like Life on Mars, writing and just overall originality is going off the air. Is it to make room for another spin off for Grey’s? I’m sorry but GARBAGE like Gray’s continues to sputter on with such impressive and white-knuckling stories like…a doctor will have sex with a ghost…and Life gets pulled. HEY ABC! GUESS WHAT!? NOT ONLY 40 YEAR OLD WOMEN WATCH TELEVISION! There are few shows on ABC that attract my “age group” to them, and Life on Mars was one of them. Congratulations ABC on alienating that many more viewers, I’m sure the Mrs. Menopause everywhere appreciate it.

  • SDot

    I just found out the show was ending when they advertised next week’s SERIES finale! I’m so angry because I love this show! I’ve always thought that the concept was clever and that the story lines were so well written. I’m in complete shock. I’ve been glued to the series since day one and am really upset ABC would pull crap like that!

  • The Wiz

    Correction, SDot . . . there are TWO more episodes. The tease at the end said “just one more episode BEFORE the series finale”.

    Like you, I just found out after watching tonight’s show, which sent me to the internet to get the scoop. Apprently, this was announced two weeks ago. Ironically and coincidentally, I happened across the British series finale on BBC America two Saturdays ago. Then, I watched the first episode of “Ashes to ashes” which is a sequal to LOM about a female detective who finds herself back in 1981 with Sam’s old precinct.

    Not bad, but odd to watch after several weeks of the American version. It will be interesting to see if they end the American version the same way, or totally different.

    I guess this is what happens to us baby boomers – get wrapped up in a show we can relate to, and it’s gone. How many here also watched Swingtown on CBS last summer?

  • TTVANN

    God I AM SOOO PISSED OFF!!!!!
    WTF is wrong with ABC??
    This is an awesome series which i really, really love.
    It turns my stomach to watch the reality shows that flood the networks today.
    Nice going!
    I think we should start a petition to have the series continued like they did with (if i’m not mistaken) family guy??

  • Susie

    Just like SDOT and TTVANN, I had the news dropped on me with the preview of next week’s show. (I guess this explains letting the two detectives get killed off at the end of the 3/18 episode.) I am sooo disappointed, as are my long-distance friends with whom I discuss the show and its 1973 authenticity. We similarly loved “Men in Trees” and were shocked by its abrupt cancellation. As with LOM, MIT did not air for quite a while, returned, and then was canceled. What a big let-down!!

  • Shelion

    Not a very nice comment MIKE..I am a 43 year old WOMAN and I absolutely love Life on Mars. I have watched every episode from the beginning. I am so disappointed! Swingtown was a good show too but LOM was much better….

  • Lois

    Mike: “HEY ABC! GUESS WHAT!? NOT ONLY 40 YEAR OLD WOMEN WATCH TELEVISION!”

    Hey Mike, I am a 40 year old woman who loved this show and am very upset to see it end.

  • Scott

    This really pisses me off. Now I have yet another reason to quit watching ABC. Pound sand ABC! May maggots infest your anus.

  • moveittoscifi

    ABC has terrible marketers and awful promotion for any show which isn’t a Reality show. What the heck is wronnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng with the Network. Hell even Sienfeld had a slow first season.
    I’m so ticked off, I watched LOM every week (when it wasn’t being pre-empted by something) I love the show.
    Maybe it can be moved to SCI FI Channel, but then Sci Fi could never afford this cast, so everyone would have to be re-cast.
    ABC Sukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkks I’m not watching Network TV Anymore, I’m going back to my cable HBO,SHOWTIME,BBC America.
    ABC SUCKS.

  • Ramzilla

    I’m very disapointed in ABC. This is one of three shows I watch on their network. It takes how many seasons to wind down the never ending “make it up as we go” or “smoke some more weed and write another episode” series LOST. (I like LOST but it’s begining to get on my nerves.) And you can close this great show in one fricken season. What a bunch of idiots. Let LOST get FOUND and keep this series on the air!

  • Craig Landau

    I looked forward to watching this show every week. The cast, the story lines, and the concept is excellent. I’m 58 years old, and I can relate to the time period, and I’m really pissed off that ABC is pulling such a stupid move. Who ever makes these decisions should be locked up with Madoff. You suck ABC.

  • Jeff

    Yup they did it again. The only good news is it looks like they are going to end it with answers. There are so may story lines they could still have. I will not be leaving ABC since I do like the Monday Line up, but that will only take me to 10pm, but the rest of the week will belong to CBS

  • Mark

    I must say that ABC does suck goose balls. I am a huge fan on this show. However, I have to ask this though, how much longer could they really keep the series going without giving us too many answers though??? It is a WONDERFULLY written show that has kept us all (I shudder to use the term), “lost”, but I don’t think they have enough to keep it alive for another whole season. Kudos to the writers, directors, actors and staff on Mars. You guys did a great job!! Hopefully we will see you all again!!

  • Galinda

    I am POST-manopausal and loved this show! I’m thinking this about does it for me and TV. Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, NEW AMSTERDAM…LOM…I’m just trying to find Twin P:eaks and X-Files again and everything I watch, they take OFF!! What’s the use. I haven’t even watched any of this season’s LOST and I was really hooked on if for all the other seasons. I ave it taped so I guess I’ll spend a couple weeks watching nothing but LOST, since there won’t be anything else left to watch…At least Medium and House are still going. I like the snotty ‘plus-sized’ daughter on Medium. House seems to be running out of story lines though. The cases are getting too much alike. At least I have what…4 or 5 seasons of Battlestar Gallactica to get from Netflix as we don’t have cable and just rent the series. That ought to keep me gong for quite a while!!

  • Monre Davis

    I am equally pissed off… screw ABC I loved this show and so did my wife. We are a 34 year old couple who looked foward to this show every week!! Great cast, great story. F.U. ABC.

  • JRich

    It never fails. We get a good show with some originality and some depth and they cancel it. They screwed up and let Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money go too. F**K ABC. They keep ramming these reality shows down our throats. They don’t really give a damn what their fans want. I was a huge fan of Jericho on CBS and they screwed us on that one too. There are a few shows out there that didn’t get huge ratings in their first season, but came into their own in following seasons and just keep rolling. It just seems that the ratings dip a little (they’re fault for messing with the schedule) and they just jump ship. Pathetic!!!! Well, hang in there guys. Oh, and death to (reality/fake as hell TV shows)…..Peace

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  • David

    My only hope is that ABC at least listens to ideas of a spinoff of what i consider to be a great show. Perhaps one of the best written, most well acted shows i’ve seen in a long time. I thought they wouldve started a new season with Sam in 1974. Guess we can expect to see another reality show in its place. Or, God forbid, another drainer like Lost which should’ve been cancelled 2 years ago for its boring characters and overall “lost” storylines that drag on and on and on and…..

  • Nancy

    I hated the ending – just hated it. It was poorly conceived and failed to end the show smoothly. Did I tell you that I hated it? I did hate it.

  • Izzy

    i just wached the ending to Life On Mars. i thought it was a good ending, kinda funny. but i loved the show. i never missed an episode! this show never really even got a chance to live. it was on the air then pulled for a long while then quickly shot back, the only reason i knew it was coming back was because i was flipping and saw the end of a preview for it. then it was crammed in at 10pm. 50% of people that would wach this show go to some sort of school, so staying up late would be being tired the next day.

    so good call booting a good show which if it was given a fair shake it would have be a hit! but yeah i’ll go back to waching a bunch of doctors crying about sex and drama.. or maybe i’ll wach a 12 people cry and say “i-i-i-i-i didnt know this reality show should be so HARD” screw you ABC you dish out CRAP daily then when you get a good show you huck it down the tubes. FAIL

  • Mark

    SPOILER ALERT!!! DON’T READ THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE FINALE!!!

    That had to have been the MOST awesome way to finish that series. I do believe that it could definately spawn a show that would be really, really good. Seeing the white loafer stepping onto mars was one of the best possible ways to end that. What a trip!!! Now, if ABC has any smarts at all, there will be a continuation of Mars next season. Friggin’ Sweet!

  • Izzy

    on another note that i forgot to say.. i liked the ending better then the BBC ending (sam killing himself) but i DID NOT like that Obama’s kid was the new prez, i allways hate when shows try to slide in stuff like that.. there is no need to shoot in views left or right..

    and next show that you put in that isnt your normal filth please just put in the corner **This show will only air for a max of 17-20 shows then will get the hook regardless of how good it could be**

  • Susan

    (Sigh……) The above opinions from people of all ages have already echoed my extreme disappointment. To me, Life On Mars was “must see TV.” ABC, you seem clueless. I’m a babyboomer, and I WANT SHOWS LIKE THIS and Eli Stone that stimulate my brain. I’m wondering in this economy, if you’ve considered that I now have more money to spend on your advertisers than my children or grandchildren. I hate it that LOM was cancelled. ABC messed up again. When will you learn? I gave up on Lost 2 years ago, as well. Thank you for at least giving viewers an ending to the wonderful series, Life On Mars. Kudos to the writers and actors.

  • The Wiz

    Well . . . there are only so many ways you can wind down a series in two shows when you get the ax; on the other hand, at least they DID let it reach a conclusion with some sort of satisfactory answers for the lingering questions. Some of my other recently deceased series (Swingtown comes to mind) was just here today and gone tomorrow with several story lines just dangling in the wind . . .

    Another comment – the creators had to have this ending in mind from the beginning. Well, maybe not all of the elements we saw last night, but many of them. Remember that the space-rover type vehicles have been prominently woven into the storylines since the first or second episode.

    And I wonder why everyone else in the “space ship” talked about what they were dreaming about on the way to Mars . . . except Annie (or whatever her “real” name was).

    In summary – didn’t think I’d like the series when I saw the promotional plugs before it launched, was still luke-warm about it after 2 or 3 shows. But I slowly got into it, and now – I’ll miss it.

  • Eileen

    I read a lot of other posts on the internet and it seemed everyone bashed this show to pieces. First, I LOVED this show. It was so fun to “go back in time” so-to-speak. The ending was a complete surprise but it all made sense and I loved it too (well, except for the reference about who our future president might be- but we won’t get into politics)
    It’s way better than so so many of the silly TV shows…at least this one actually made you sit back and not only reflect but reminisce (you guessed it, I too am a 40 something woman)
    I will miss this show terribly!
    Well Done!!!!

  • Tom King

    Wonderful ending. I am so sick of these meaningless, angst ridden, post-modernist, “life sucks and then you die” stories written by second rate writers trying to get an Emmy nomination.

    This time, they wrapped up the story. I wish they had done that with Journeyman, Eli Stone, New Amsterdam, Firefly and Jericho. We’re going to quit watching TV if all the hell they are going to put on are America Idol clones, Survivor clones and other unreality shows! I love good stories with good endings.

  • sengineer76

    I raced home from work every Wednesday to watch this show with the love in my life. It was a show I identified with, to cuddle up with, to chuckle a bit with, maybe I’m just a Spaceman, but ABC is the one way out in left field looking up at the falling ratings they created.

    I have some choice words for ABC, I do! But I’ll refrain. What morons! Im not watching TV much these days, and this is one show I actually looked forward to watching every week. I can honestly say I didnt watch tv before this series, and now Im back reading.

    ABC, your a mess, thanks for the tease! Thanks for creating a GREAT show, but go sit on a pole to expect me to watch anything from you if all you do to a Great thing is kill it.

    What a shame, really, what a shame!

  • samantha

    For everyone out there that is way more then unhappy with ABC im with u!Come on that was 1 of the best shows ever! Im a 14 year old girl in grade 8 and I LOVED IT! I really hate how despert house wifes and other shows like that r still running when they r stupid and inappropite for teens like me! I loved that life on mars had a real meaning/message to it!!! unlike desperate house wifes u can sleep with who ever!! I love this show but i was dippapointed with the ending! i wish they would have stopped it where he huggs the chef and where he wants to stay in 1973!! But its ok!! i was looking forward to another season and i was hoping to get into it just as much as i am with lost but i guess not!
    ABC…… SUCKS

  • Krystle

    First Journey Man….now Life on Mars..??? What the heck? THESE ARE GREAT SHOWS AND ABC KEEPS GETTING RID OF THEM. ABC doesn’t realize the stupid choices they are making and since fellow americans watch THEIR

  • Krystle

    ….PROGRAMMING, we should also have a say so in what we want to watch!! I hated to see Journey man end…and HATE to see Life on Mars end….what a wonderful cast! you will be missed!

  • Mark

    Remember when the viewer *DID* have a say in what was on TV?? The only thing that the fans can hope for is strong DVD sales (Preorder now on Amazon.com only $25) and maybe they will do a “Family Guy” with it and actually bring it back. They left it open enough where they can technically keep it going.

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    Like to watch Stargate Atlantis episodes and also Lost. I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

  • Richsgrldi

    OMG another great series cancelled by ABC.Why don’t you just call yourself Reality TV cause you only keep those retarded reality shows on for more then one season.The ratings couldnt of been that bad after all the comments I read from fellow watchers that are not happy about the cancellation.No wonder NBC appeals to more viewers.