What’s on the British Life on Mars Season One DVD?

Uh, not much. End of review. Just kidding, folks. I doubt the CliqueClack editors would let me get away with a three word review. They take pride in being relatively professional. Bummer for me. Nevertheless, I poured over the Life on Mars season one DVD extras and came away somewhat disappointed. The menu presentation is cool, what with the zoom through the police station, but the discs as a whole are lacking in the meat and potatoes department.

Back in the glory days of DVD releases, around 2000 and 2001, you could pretty much guarantee a bevy of bonus material such as deleted scenes, outtakes, hidden Easter Eggs, documentaries, cast and crew interviews, special effects features, music videos and the daily exercise routine of the director. I’m not sure about that last one, but my point is, when you plopped down $30 for your special edition DVD, you got your money’s worth. I still pull out Fight Club and The Matrix every so often just to watch the dessert, minus the main course.

As far as Life on Mars goes, it’s a pretty standard DVD. There’s a “making of” documentary, audio commentaries, a brief and pointless sit-down with one of the directors, a behind-the-scenes look at composing the score, an interview with the production designer and some outtakes. That’s all she wrote. I would have liked a catalog of all the ’70s songs played throughout the series and a more in-depth chat with lead actor John Simm. Just my opinion.

The eight episode series comes in four discs. Here’s what else you get:

“Take a Look at the Lawman” documentary

Actually, as DVD docs go, this one is fairly comprehensive. It’s an hour long, split into two parts on the first two discs. The creators and producers reveal that it took seven years for the show to finally be green-lit in 2005. They also speak at length about what influenced the story and shooting style. Brit series from the 1970s like The Sweeney and films such as Get Carter and All the President’s Men are mentioned often. The cast members discuss their roles and the appeal of the series, as well as their thoughts on where the show is heading. It’s worth viewing just to see Marshall Lancaster and Dean Andrews trade deadpan barbs. I could watch those guys all day.

Interview with Director Bharat Nalluri

I have no idea why they separated this two minute explanation of the use of CGI from the documentary. It will only take a couple minutes of your time, but it’s totally unnecessary.

Music of Life on Mars

Composer Edmund Butt describes how he scored the series. It’s roughly 15-20 minutes long and is worth checking out if you’re a music nut like me. I quite enjoyed seeing how he mixed all the instrumentation into his computer editing suite. He calls the score contemporary and “pulsey.” I’m not sure what pulsey means, but when you listen to the music, it makes perfect sense. He also has a cool framed photo of John Lennon in his studio.

“Get Sykes”

Another interview. This one with production designer Brian Sykes. The 1971 film Get Carter is again referenced as a key influence on the look and tone of the series. Sykes speaks about how they went about designing the ’70s style police station, which he claims were built to “withstand nuclear bombs.” This section lasts about ten minutes and doesn’t really offer much. I’d skip it.

Outtakes

I have no idea why I dig outtakes, but I do. I laugh my ass off as if I was watching Caddyshack or Seinfeld. These run about five minutes. Evidently, Phillip Glenister screwed up a lot on set. Good for a few chuckles.

That’s a wrap. Overall, a mixed bag. I didn’t partake in any of the audio commentaries. However, I imagine they are like every other commentary track I’ve listened to. You know, “we shot here for this reason” and “Phillip was great in this scene” stuff. I give the series an A. The DVD extras get a C+.

Clacked by Scott Tunstall
on Jun 29, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT