Life on Mars

Life on Mars

7.5/10

Life on Mars

Genre:                                                  Episodes: 16                                       Year: 2018

Mystery

Thriller

Synopsis:

Han Tae Joo is a detective who believes in facts and follows procedure. While investigating a case, Tae Joo is involved in an accident and wakes up 30 years in the past.

Cast:

Jung Kyung Ho (Han Tae Joo)

Park Sung Woong (Kang Dong Cheol)

Go Ah Sung (Yoon Na Young)

Oh Dae Hwan (Lee Yong Ki)

Noh Jong Hyun (Cho Nam Shik)

Jeon Suk Ho (Han Chong Ho)

Jeon Hye Bin (Jung Seo Hyun)

Kwak Jung Wook (Kim Hyun Suk)

General Thoughts:

Just to start with, I have never seen the original British show. I’d heard about it, knew the general premise, and remembered seeing ads for it on TV when it was first released, but I have never ever watched the show or heard about its finer details. So unfortunately, I won’t be able to compare this remake to its original.

Beginnings of bromance

That being said, I really enjoyed this drama. You definitely didn’t need to have any knowledge of the British version in order to understand and enjoy this Korean remake. OCN has pretty much got the monopoly on crime and thriller dramas in Korea, and for good reason. The channel is willing to make dramas a little bit darker than others are, and that makes for some darn good thriller watching.

Maybe I'm morbid, but I like a bit of blood

There are certain similarities between ‘Life on Mars’ and another OCN time travel-crime drama that aired last year (‘Tunnel’), but the two had enough differences that it didn’t feel like the station was putting a new face on an old show and releasing it again. ‘Life on Mars’ was a little bit darker than ‘Tunnel’, with more attacks and crimes being shown on screen. Anyone who’s watched a K-Drama knows that they tend to err away from actually showing any sort of violence on screen. And then when they do, it’s usually pretty heavily censored. I cannot forget how annoyed I was with the drama ‘Voice’ because they censored virtually everything, so I wondered why they even bothered filming it at all. The writer and PD behind ‘Life on Mars’ seemed to have a much better understanding of what was likely to be blurred out, and so they managed to create scenes that were confronting and gave you the chills, without snapping you out of the moment by having a big blurry blob across a weapon or a wound or a victim. In fact, the directing of the show was pretty brilliant overall- particularly when it came to traces of Tae Joo’s present leaking into the past.

Jung Kyung Ho acted the crazy really well

The interruptions from Tae Joo’s doctors or family never felt random or unfitting. In fact, the way the show brought snippets of 2018 into the 1988 world was one of my favourite things about the drama. It was unsettling and unnerving, and helped add a sense of urgency to the drama.

First guy to treat her like an actual officer- no wonder she likes him

These moments of breakthrough never distracted from the crimes or relationships that were developing in 1988, but they definitely created an atmosphere of uncertainty around our hero, Tae Joo. Because Tae Joo’s life was never really threatened all that much in 1988, it was nice (in a adrenaline-inducing way) to have these reminders sneak in every now and then telling us that Tae Joo was in a very precarious position. The writing of the show overall was very good- and that’s something the show can boast for itself- because even as it’s a remake, it doesn’t stick exactly to the source material, and created situations and characters that were utterly unique. Tae Joo was a brilliant character to have as our lead- cold, but not completely emotionless, and somehow oddly displaced in both 2018 and 1988. Jung Kyung Ho acted the character to perfection, having a great strait-face and doing a brilliant job at creating a sort of emotional barrier between himself and other characters without ever cutting the audience off.

They suit each other perfectly

Despite Tae Joo’s actions sometimes causing confusion and misunderstandings with other characters, we as viewers pretty much always knew what was going through Tae Joo’s mind thanks to Jung Kyung Ho’s subtle and nuanced performance. Park Sung Woong also delivered a brilliant performance (as usual) as the gruff, fists-first ‘80s detective.

So cute you two

Seriously, this role fit him perfectly. While at times I did find Dong Cheol a little bit too fists-first, Park Sung Woong made it easy to like him despite his tendency to beat up suspects before they’re even proven guilty. He has a great comedic streak, and he really used that here to bring out Dong Cheol’s more endearing side. Go Ah Sung really blew me away with her portrayal of the sweet and encouraging Na Young. I think she was perfectly cast, as not only did she bring out Na Young’s intelligent and uplifting nature, but there was something about her voice that just really sold me on her character. Na Young was a quiet and understated character, but Go Ah Sung played her with such impact that she really became one of the most pivotal aspects of the show. Casting these three main characters so perfectly did the show wonders. Even though the writing and directing of the show was brilliant on its own, having these three characters so well cast, and have such great chemistry with each other really elevated the drama to the next level.

Gotta love a solid squad

As I already mentioned, the writing behind this drama was really excellent. As this show was a crime drama, as most crime dramas have there were a fair few crimes sprinkled throughout the show for our heroes to solve. What made the writing feel better than other dramas is that no smaller conflict was dragged on for too long.

Though it did bug me how long it took Tae Joo to realise his Dad was shady

While some crime dramas stretch a case for three-four episodes, ‘Life on Mars’ only gave each smaller plot line enough screen time for it to be concluded, which kept the momentum high and prevented the storyline from dragging. Not only this, but each smaller plot in some way contributed to developing our main story. There were no redundant or unnecessary scenes, and it always felt like what we were seeing on screen was important or relevant to the show’s main plot. Most of the crimes that the squad were solving were related to the mystery of the manicure murders- the case Tae Joo was working on when he was snapped back in time/fell into his coma. The crimes that weren’t related to our main murder duo’s past tended to be cases that developed the relationships between our main trio. With the smaller plot-lines working to develop either the modus operandi of our murderer or fostering Tae Joo’s sense of belonging in 1988, every episode was important and necessary for the development of the story’s main plot. 

What Was Great:

Cohesive: 

Everything in this drama fit together really well. Given that it’s based off some strong source materiel it’s not really a big surprise, but it’s still worth commending. Time travel dramas can be pretty tricky with making the two timelines flow smoothly and making them both seem as important as each other.

Admittedly, 1988 did feel slightly more important

The time travel (or whatever it was) here was done brilliantly. The elements of 2018 that managed to sneak into 1988 reminded us that there was another timeline out there somewhere, and kept us from getting too wrapped up in the 1988 universe. Once Tae Joo was back in 2018, the ghost-like apparitions of the 1988 squad were a great way to keep us pining for what had been left behind,

I mean, no one in 2018 can make Tae Joo smile like that

and make us want some way for our hero to return and save the people we had come to care about so much. Which was also done really smoothly. Tae Joo had no existing connection with the officers in 1988, so it was a hard sell to have this stoic, emotionless man come to love this team. However, as Tae Joo gradually learned about the others through each case in 1988, he came to appreciate their talents, dedication, and most importantly their good intentions. Their 1988 gruffness had a way of getting through Tae Joo’s walls that 2018 politeness just couldn’t. It didn’t feel unrealistic that Tae Joo would come to care about these people as much as he did, as they are the first to really trust him and stand on his side. Tae Joo’s relationship with Na Young was so sweet, and was developed so beautifully. Her soft, caring nature is exactly what Tae Joo needed during his most turbulent time. While I adore the two of them together, I appreciate that the show didn’t push the romance too hard. There were hints of growing romantic interest, and while some small baby steps were taken, there were no big declarations of love or grand gestures- which I think suited 1988 and Tae Joo perfectly. 

Nothing builds romance quite like respect and understanding

Brilliant Remake:

Remakes are nothing new in K-Drama, with there being a pretty wide selection of Japanese to Korean remakes, and even some Taiwanese and Chinese ones. K-Drama also takes its source material from books, manhwas and webtoons. In the past year though I have heard more about K-Dramas taking on some Western materiel.

I've a feeling we're not in England anymore

I haven’t actually watched any of them, but I know they’re out there. This takes on a slightly different tone, as American series tend to have waaaaaaaay more than a single season. In this case, the British version had 2 seasons of 8 episodes each- so that’s the same amount as the Korean remake. Despite not knowing much about the original, I have heard that the Korean version stays pretty in tune with tone of the original. However, it also isn’t simply a copy-paste scenario. The drama took the tone, themes, and heart of the British show, and wrapped it up in pretty Korean packaging. The characters and their environment do not feel British. At all. The show takes place in 1988, which is a pretty memorable year for Korea, what with the Seoul Olympics and all. The cases in the Korean version felt much more geared toward a Korean audience, with one of them even being based on an actual hostage situation that took place in Korea.

So I doubt that case is in the BBC version

The way the 1988 detectives were more brawn than brain, and the way their very competent female officer was constantly overlooked made the 1988 characters fell very real, and most importantly very Korean. While the drama probably would have still been very enjoyable if it had followed the script of the original exactly, where the real magic of this show came was taking a great idea that had worked previously and giving it a fresh new coating.

And I must say, I like this coating

The two shows felt the same, and had some very similar ideas, but as far as I’m aware they were very different shows. The Korean version definitely made a space of its own beside a very well loved and well regarded show. 

What Wasn’t:

More Questions Than Answers:

As this drama went on and I got more and more invested in the story, I did start to wonder if it was going to end in a way that I found intellectually satisfying. Arrogant and obnoxious as that might sound (particularly as I’m not outstandingly bright), I do prefer it when dramas don’t treat me like a complete idiot

This mystery wrapped up pretty well

and actually have a conclusion to the mystery that makes logical sense. I adored all the different questions the show was throwing out there, and there were so many ways the show could have wrapped up. Overall I am satisfied with the way the drama was concluded, but I must say that it didn’t exactly answer all the questions that were raised throughout its 16 episodes. The big main mystery of who the serial murderer was and who was helping him was wrapped up pretty perfectly, and I can’t really fault how the show got to its conclusion on that front- it all made sense, and I was happy with how both the brothers were arrested in 2018. But to me, the mystery that was far more compelling was whether or not Tae Joo had actually gone back in time, or if the whole 1988 world was actually just a big dream while Tae Joo was in his coma. There’s evidence to support either way. Tae Joo was looking at the files of cold cases that included the murder of our 1988 squad, so it’s possible that Tae Joo’s brain turned the stories in those files into a detailed world for him to live in.

But I so desperately want these guys to be real

There’s also the whole thing where Tae Joo’s family and doctors were communicating with his coma-body and that was leaking through to 1988 Tae Joo. But on the other hand, these were cold cases, and 1988 Tae Joo was able to solve some of them while he was there. Being a cold case, the information to solve the cases wouldn’t have been in the files,

I feel like he'd notice if the detective chasing him hadn't aged

so there was no way that Tae Joo’s brain could have incorporated an accurate solving of cases into a dream. Also, the squad was an actual group of people that did exist in 1988. But on the other, other hand, no one who Tae Joo interacted with in 1988 seemed to remember him being there. Like I’m pretty sure his Mum might have noticed if her son grew up to look exactly like the detective that was investigating her husband who had the exact same name as her son. But nope, nothing from Mum. So what is really going on here? We’ll never know, because the show never decided to tell us. It left it all open for people to wonder and be confused and debate over what was real and what wasn’t. And I can kinda, sorta see the fun in that. But I also really don’t like open endings and generally prefer when dramas actually tell me what is happening. Or at least give pretty big, decisive hints.

Come on show, I want to know if these people are real or not and if they're dead or not

With Tae Joo jumping of a building to get back to 1988 and save the lives of his squad, I am hoping that it was a time-travel or alternate reality sort of thing, because otherwise he just tried to kill himself in order to get back to a dream that isn’t even real, and all his family have to suffer through him being comatose or dead in the real world. And that’s pretty bloody grim. 

Recommend:
Yes- if you’ve seen the original series and what to watch the remake, or if you just enjoy a good crime drama I definitely recommend giving this one a go.

This picture sums the squad up pretty well