Happy, oh happy... The end, the end, the end*

When I first started watching this show, I was not certain how I would possibly feel about it. The premise is so crazy. How would they ever explain it? I also was not sure how I felt about Jason O'Mara. The only place I had really seen him was as a creepy sociopath that haunted Kyra Sedgwick's Brenda Lee Johnson on "The Closer". I did not like him then.

But I watched Life on Mars. I dutifully sat before my telly on the big yellow sofa to see what shenanigans Sam Tyler would get up to in his adopted time of 1973. And I loved every second of it. This is a brilliant show. Well thought out, written, acted and directed.

Tonight is the series finale. While I am glad the show is not being dragged through some ludicrous oblivion because it is on wayyyyy too long, I am sad that it is over so quickly. I loved the setting of 1973. It was tangible to me. I felt like I truly saw what it was like to be a cop in 1973, to be alive in that era.

I loved Gretchen Mol's feminist cop. I wanted to tell her, you won't have to wait long to be a cop, babe. But thank you for fighting your way through the male bullshit to get to do what you want to do. (Though we could go on and on about how male driven our society is TODAY, but another time).

I loved the lack of political correctness. I feel like it started as a great idea to be more cognizant of people's feelings, which, as usual, got out of hand and now people get worked up about the most ridiculous things. Honestly, if you don't like what someone says, tell 'em to shut up, or walk away.

I loved the story lines. New York was seedy, and interesting. The people were in a creative time, looking to understand the war, and the way of the world, while dabbling in free love and drugs. Fascinating. Can you imagine these behaviors today? (Well, the free love, anyway).

The story line of Sam and his family was great, too. I can't imagine what I would do in his place, but I imagine I would sit my little self down and say things like study harder and blah blah blah. And I would give myself cool names like Cyndi Lauper and (geez all the names coming to mind are belonging to people who were already famous in 1973)... I love the tie-in with 2008 and 1973. It is fun to see Sam Tyler yelling at a police det. who is going to see Soylent Green and who happened to have pissed Sam off that soylent green is people. Ha!

I wonder if he will go back to the future? If he doesn't, will he simply have ceased to exist in that time? Or, will he have existed up until he went back in time, and now will die in a coma? Will he go back to the future and find Annie there? How do you go back to normal after this experience? And why did he go back in time anyway?

Well, it is time. I am going to sit down and watch Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Michael Imperioli and Jason O'Mara end a really great show. Tomorrow more tears will come at the ending of er. I saw every episode of that show.

*Innocence Mission - "Happy, The End"