Loving "Life"

Networks are starting to get hip to the idea of a year-round TV season...but most summer programming still sucks the big one. Sure, you've got your "Entourage" and your...well..."Entourage", but that's just half an hour on Sunday nights. What's a guy to do the rest of the week?

The answer may come from a surprising place: the BBC. Well, maybe not as surprising considering the runaway success of Britcoms like "The Office." However, "Life on Mars" is a far cry from that cheeky dry humor the English are known for. Rather, it's a gritty police drama with a fantastic twist: hero Sam Tyler is a modern detective who inexplicably finds himself solving cases in 1973 following a car accident. Unsure of whether he's genuinely back in time or merely in a coma in 2006, he struggles with his sanity as well as the antiquated technology and old-fashioned approaches to law enforcement.

If the stellar performances from the show's cast don't sell you, the retro looks and inspired use of period music just might (the show takes its title from a Bowie song of that era). Plus, following a series that takes place in England instead of New York or L.A. is a refreshing change of pace for an American viewer. For all those reasons and more, "Mars" is definitely a winner.

Some quick research on tv.com seems to indicate that series one has run its course in the UK, but BBC America is barely into the eight-episode "season", and my cable provider is offering it on demand from the beginning. Check your listings.

UPDATE: I just learned that David E. Kelley is adapting this show for the States. Gag.