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hmpf2.01:
It's weird to have the show back; somehow, I had perceived it as a static entity, possibly because when I got around to watching it the first series was already over. It feels strange to see new material.
Sam & Gene at the improvised press conference - very funny!
The debate after that feels a bit staged/exposition-y.
"I weep with happiness..." OMG love Sam so much. (Yes, also when he's being funny. I do love me some angst, but Sam has a lovely smile, too - courtesy of John Simm. *g*)
General Tyler inspecting the be-gloved troops cracks me up.
Insane guy: slightly heavy-handed way of introducing us to the theme of insanity, but interesting to see Sam's reaction, nevertheless.
Completely unrelated: I'm amazed at how well I can understand the accent now! (I suppose rewatching the entire first season just a week or so ago helped.)
Still not too happy about the Crane storyline. Bit... contrived is the wrong word, because all of Life On Mars is contrived (but in a good way). Bit over the top, perhaps? I dunno. It still feels like bad angst fic.
Did Crane just say 'and you're locked in'? Hmm... uncomfortable association here: 'Locked-In Syndrome'. Of course, that doesn't quite fit, as Sam would have to be conscious in 2006 (or is it 2007 by now?) then.
Has John Simm's shoulder tattoo become less visible??
Ah, Sam. So pretty.
LOL:
Sam: "Eve."
Annie: "Annie!"
- No, Annie, he hasn't forgotten your name. It's not *that* bad yet. ;-)
LOL:
Chris: "What was her name?"
Sam: "Migraine."
Chris: "German bird?"
(You know, I don't have a middle name yet. Maybe I should adopt "Migraine".)
Love Gene's exasperation at Sam's *not* wanting to play it by the book. ("And I can't believe I just said that!" Hehe.)
Love Ray's protest to Sam ("We don't even have a warrant!")
"Samuel"??? - Gladys, Daphne, Sammy-boy... but "Samuel"? Or did I mishear that?
*Love* that little double-take and ironic-desperate grin thing Sam does when he notices he's parroting one of Gene's lines. ("I'd never fit up anybody who didn't des...")
Sam, you're acting *very* insane. Do you really think it's a bright idea to tell your future muderer he's going to kill you, let alone letting him see you're completely nuts? What exactly was that supposed to accomplish? I mean, I *understand* that this is a stressful situation, but...
What a moment to pick for a shouting match, guys.
Love Gene's stunned expression when Sam's asking for a last cigarette.
Great fight scene, that.
Love Sam's sudden change from agonised to triumphant, and the very nonchalant "You're nicked." (He seems to be switching from panicked/angsting/dying to relaxed and - almost - happy with some ease in this ep. It's very obvious he's become more comfortable in 1973, and possibly even with the stranger aspects of his situation - he seems to take them much more in his stride than in the last series, even in this hyper-angsty ep. E.g., he wakes from a truly scary nightmare which in series one would have unsettled him deeply, but he seems relatively calm and composed just a little while later at the crime scene.)
*Nice* save, Sam. Brilliant scene.
Again the 'locked up/away' metaphor. From the 'disconnected for 15 minutes' dialogue we know that Sam's still on life support (bad sign! On the other hand, good sign that he didn't die when he was disconnected, I suppose. But still.) So, obviously, there *is* something wrong with his body, though whether it has anything to do with the accident or if there even *was* an accident is becoming more and more doubtful to me. With all the 'locked in/away' stuff I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps he's insane in 2006/2007, *and* in a physically life-threatening situation, for whatever reason.
Also, the fact that in the TV dialogue Crane is classified as a mental patient seems to tell us pretty clearly that what- and wherever Sam is in the future, he's also definitely (well, *fairly* definitely) really in 1973.
So, quite possibly, all three of his theories about his mental and physical state are true: he's mad, in a coma *and* back in time.
Ouch. Brain hurts.
Don't ask for whom the phone rings. It rings for thee, Sam Tyler.
WTF?
And Bowie's Starman for the credits. Hmmmmm.
2.02:
Nice countryside.
Aaand another name for Sam: Dorothy.
Give him back his hand, Sam.
How about you free the guy? He's still tied to the car!
So now he's Marjorie... Maybe they ended the show because they ran out of female names Gene could address Sam with?
Couple of new extras on the team!
Is Glen's hair for real?
Sam-Glen moment: Interesting speech; could very easily be patronising; it only works because the viewer knows that Sam used to be the one looking up to an older Glen...
"Trust your instincts" again, harkening back to themes of series one - but from a suspect source, this time.
Bwaaahaaaahaaaa! He put him in the trunk! Oh Gene.
Sam, you have a *lousy* taste in literature. Fits your lousy taste in cars.
***
To give this post a bit more substance, some of the more salient points I noticed about this ep, from a post of mine at The Railway Arms.
- Two mentions during the auditory 'invasions' from the future about Sam being 'locked in' or 'locked away' (one reference by Crane, one by the female voice at the end). Interesting word choice, considering there's a condition very similar to coma in outward symptoms that's called 'locked-in syndrome'. Now, this condition does not quite fit Sam, because it would mean he'd be conscious in 2006/2007, but it's still interesting. Apart from a possible connection to locked-in syndrome, it could also - possibly - refer to a more literal way of being locked in - mental institution, anyone? Or possibly there's a combination of both - maybe Sam's insane in 2006/2007, but also in a coma, or in a locked-in state.
- Also interesting: Sam has a bit of dialogue with Crane *in the future*! Does that mean he was aware and could talk, for a moment?! (This would then fit better with the 'he's crazy' theory than with the 'he's in a coma' theory.)
- With the life support being so much of an issue in this ep, it seems fairly certain that *something* is wrong with Sam's body in the future, though with the possibility of madness thrown into the mix I'm not sure how much stock we can still put in what we've seen of his 2006 reality and especially the accident, which, as we have elaborated elsewhere, is fairly odd in a number of ways. For all we know Sam's just mad in 2006 and jumped off a roof. (Or he's mad and they tried some kind of therapy on him which backfired spectacularly... which would give a new sense to his mum's "What have they done to my beautiful boy?" in series 1....)
- Another thing we can perhaps be a bit more certain of now than we were in the last series: It seems more and more likely that Sam is indeed in 1973, because we got near-proof of his changing history (although it didn't affect the end result) in this ep. Of course, with the possibility of him being mad either in 1973 or/and in 2006/2007, everything's kind of up in the air again.
- Hints of dark sides, both from Eve and from Sam himself. ("... born a monster, you just don't know it yet...") - Fuel for the 'evil Sam' theory? (All right... he went mad in 2006, killed someone, then jumped off a roof, and unfortunately failed to die. Maybe. *g*)
- Hyde and numbers. Hyde 2612 on the phone. Hyde 210 on the bus.
Also, I find the Crane-Sam-Someone Else dialogue from the future, right at the beginning of the ep, rather interesting:
Sam: Who are you?
Crane: I'm your worst nightmare.
Nurse(?): What are you doing? - Aaaaaaa!
Crane: I'm gonna kill you, Tyler.
Nurse(?): No, Sam! Aaaaaa!
[I'm not *completely* certain that the guy says 'Sam', but it does sound more like 'Sam' than it sounds like, say, 'stop'.]
Now, what's striking about this dialogue is how well it works if you remove Crane's lines from it completely:
Sam: Who are you?
Nurse(?): What are you doing? - Aaaaaaa!
Nurse(?): No, Sam! Aaaaaa!
This leaves us with a delusional Sam hearing an imaginary voice and attacking the nurse or whoever it was that was approaching him. Which would at least take care of the question of how Sam can be speaking at all: if he's not in a coma but insane, there needn't be anything that keeps him from speaking. Evidence for this interpretation could be the fact that Crane's voice sounds very different from Sam's and the other guy's - a lot more like something that *could* be just inside someone's head...
It's weird to have the show back; somehow, I had perceived it as a static entity, possibly because when I got around to watching it the first series was already over. It feels strange to see new material.
Sam & Gene at the improvised press conference - very funny!
The debate after that feels a bit staged/exposition-y.
"I weep with happiness..." OMG love Sam so much. (Yes, also when he's being funny. I do love me some angst, but Sam has a lovely smile, too - courtesy of John Simm. *g*)
General Tyler inspecting the be-gloved troops cracks me up.
Insane guy: slightly heavy-handed way of introducing us to the theme of insanity, but interesting to see Sam's reaction, nevertheless.
Completely unrelated: I'm amazed at how well I can understand the accent now! (I suppose rewatching the entire first season just a week or so ago helped.)
Still not too happy about the Crane storyline. Bit... contrived is the wrong word, because all of Life On Mars is contrived (but in a good way). Bit over the top, perhaps? I dunno. It still feels like bad angst fic.
Did Crane just say 'and you're locked in'? Hmm... uncomfortable association here: 'Locked-In Syndrome'. Of course, that doesn't quite fit, as Sam would have to be conscious in 2006 (or is it 2007 by now?) then.
Has John Simm's shoulder tattoo become less visible??
Ah, Sam. So pretty.
LOL:
Sam: "Eve."
Annie: "Annie!"
- No, Annie, he hasn't forgotten your name. It's not *that* bad yet. ;-)
LOL:
Chris: "What was her name?"
Sam: "Migraine."
Chris: "German bird?"
(You know, I don't have a middle name yet. Maybe I should adopt "Migraine".)
Love Gene's exasperation at Sam's *not* wanting to play it by the book. ("And I can't believe I just said that!" Hehe.)
Love Ray's protest to Sam ("We don't even have a warrant!")
"Samuel"??? - Gladys, Daphne, Sammy-boy... but "Samuel"? Or did I mishear that?
*Love* that little double-take and ironic-desperate grin thing Sam does when he notices he's parroting one of Gene's lines. ("I'd never fit up anybody who didn't des...")
Sam, you're acting *very* insane. Do you really think it's a bright idea to tell your future muderer he's going to kill you, let alone letting him see you're completely nuts? What exactly was that supposed to accomplish? I mean, I *understand* that this is a stressful situation, but...
What a moment to pick for a shouting match, guys.
Love Gene's stunned expression when Sam's asking for a last cigarette.
Great fight scene, that.
Love Sam's sudden change from agonised to triumphant, and the very nonchalant "You're nicked." (He seems to be switching from panicked/angsting/dying to relaxed and - almost - happy with some ease in this ep. It's very obvious he's become more comfortable in 1973, and possibly even with the stranger aspects of his situation - he seems to take them much more in his stride than in the last series, even in this hyper-angsty ep. E.g., he wakes from a truly scary nightmare which in series one would have unsettled him deeply, but he seems relatively calm and composed just a little while later at the crime scene.)
*Nice* save, Sam. Brilliant scene.
Again the 'locked up/away' metaphor. From the 'disconnected for 15 minutes' dialogue we know that Sam's still on life support (bad sign! On the other hand, good sign that he didn't die when he was disconnected, I suppose. But still.) So, obviously, there *is* something wrong with his body, though whether it has anything to do with the accident or if there even *was* an accident is becoming more and more doubtful to me. With all the 'locked in/away' stuff I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps he's insane in 2006/2007, *and* in a physically life-threatening situation, for whatever reason.
Also, the fact that in the TV dialogue Crane is classified as a mental patient seems to tell us pretty clearly that what- and wherever Sam is in the future, he's also definitely (well, *fairly* definitely) really in 1973.
So, quite possibly, all three of his theories about his mental and physical state are true: he's mad, in a coma *and* back in time.
Ouch. Brain hurts.
Don't ask for whom the phone rings. It rings for thee, Sam Tyler.
WTF?
And Bowie's Starman for the credits. Hmmmmm.
2.02:
Nice countryside.
Aaand another name for Sam: Dorothy.
Give him back his hand, Sam.
How about you free the guy? He's still tied to the car!
So now he's Marjorie... Maybe they ended the show because they ran out of female names Gene could address Sam with?
Couple of new extras on the team!
Is Glen's hair for real?
Sam-Glen moment: Interesting speech; could very easily be patronising; it only works because the viewer knows that Sam used to be the one looking up to an older Glen...
"Trust your instincts" again, harkening back to themes of series one - but from a suspect source, this time.
Bwaaahaaaahaaaa! He put him in the trunk! Oh Gene.
Sam, you have a *lousy* taste in literature. Fits your lousy taste in cars.
***
To give this post a bit more substance, some of the more salient points I noticed about this ep, from a post of mine at The Railway Arms.
- Two mentions during the auditory 'invasions' from the future about Sam being 'locked in' or 'locked away' (one reference by Crane, one by the female voice at the end). Interesting word choice, considering there's a condition very similar to coma in outward symptoms that's called 'locked-in syndrome'. Now, this condition does not quite fit Sam, because it would mean he'd be conscious in 2006/2007, but it's still interesting. Apart from a possible connection to locked-in syndrome, it could also - possibly - refer to a more literal way of being locked in - mental institution, anyone? Or possibly there's a combination of both - maybe Sam's insane in 2006/2007, but also in a coma, or in a locked-in state.
- Also interesting: Sam has a bit of dialogue with Crane *in the future*! Does that mean he was aware and could talk, for a moment?! (This would then fit better with the 'he's crazy' theory than with the 'he's in a coma' theory.)
- With the life support being so much of an issue in this ep, it seems fairly certain that *something* is wrong with Sam's body in the future, though with the possibility of madness thrown into the mix I'm not sure how much stock we can still put in what we've seen of his 2006 reality and especially the accident, which, as we have elaborated elsewhere, is fairly odd in a number of ways. For all we know Sam's just mad in 2006 and jumped off a roof. (Or he's mad and they tried some kind of therapy on him which backfired spectacularly... which would give a new sense to his mum's "What have they done to my beautiful boy?" in series 1....)
- Another thing we can perhaps be a bit more certain of now than we were in the last series: It seems more and more likely that Sam is indeed in 1973, because we got near-proof of his changing history (although it didn't affect the end result) in this ep. Of course, with the possibility of him being mad either in 1973 or/and in 2006/2007, everything's kind of up in the air again.
- Hints of dark sides, both from Eve and from Sam himself. ("... born a monster, you just don't know it yet...") - Fuel for the 'evil Sam' theory? (All right... he went mad in 2006, killed someone, then jumped off a roof, and unfortunately failed to die. Maybe. *g*)
- Hyde and numbers. Hyde 2612 on the phone. Hyde 210 on the bus.
Also, I find the Crane-Sam-Someone Else dialogue from the future, right at the beginning of the ep, rather interesting:
Sam: Who are you?
Crane: I'm your worst nightmare.
Nurse(?): What are you doing? - Aaaaaaa!
Crane: I'm gonna kill you, Tyler.
Nurse(?): No, Sam! Aaaaaa!
[I'm not *completely* certain that the guy says 'Sam', but it does sound more like 'Sam' than it sounds like, say, 'stop'.]
Now, what's striking about this dialogue is how well it works if you remove Crane's lines from it completely:
Sam: Who are you?
Nurse(?): What are you doing? - Aaaaaaa!
Nurse(?): No, Sam! Aaaaaa!
This leaves us with a delusional Sam hearing an imaginary voice and attacking the nurse or whoever it was that was approaching him. Which would at least take care of the question of how Sam can be speaking at all: if he's not in a coma but insane, there needn't be anything that keeps him from speaking. Evidence for this interpretation could be the fact that Crane's voice sounds very different from Sam's and the other guy's - a lot more like something that *could* be just inside someone's head...
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Date: 2007-02-26 02:55 pm (UTC)Am glad to see you back online again :) and reading your squee about LoM is great! :)