This is certainly an entertaining show, but not up to the standard of Life on Mars.
The basic template and structure is here, with similar plot devices, etc (the clown instead of the testcard girl, and the vision of a key event from childhood, for example), but what is lacking is an emotional depth to the character of Alex who is almost flippant about her predicament, and the more cohesive links between the "present day" and 1981, such as the links between Alex in 1981 and what Alex in the present is enduring. With LoM we were strongly reminded on a regular basis of the link between Sam's present day physical self and his 1973 self. Apart from the odd vision of her daughter, Alex appears to have almost no connection at all.
Furthermore, the occasional forced dialogue and "speechgiving" we saw in LoM is present in abundance here, along with a severe amount of cheese and an embarrassingly predictable attempt at "sexual tension".
The result is something that, instead of coming across as a kind of sequel, comes across as a poor copy. Disappointed.
The basic template and structure is here, with similar plot devices, etc (the clown instead of the testcard girl, and the vision of a key event from childhood, for example), but what is lacking is an emotional depth to the character of Alex who is almost flippant about her predicament, and the more cohesive links between the "present day" and 1981, such as the links between Alex in 1981 and what Alex in the present is enduring. With LoM we were strongly reminded on a regular basis of the link between Sam's present day physical self and his 1973 self. Apart from the odd vision of her daughter, Alex appears to have almost no connection at all.
Furthermore, the occasional forced dialogue and "speechgiving" we saw in LoM is present in abundance here, along with a severe amount of cheese and an embarrassingly predictable attempt at "sexual tension".
The result is something that, instead of coming across as a kind of sequel, comes across as a poor copy. Disappointed.