I have previously written about the terrific BBC program “Life on Mars“. ABC has remade this quirky cop series for an american audience.

Where were you in 1973? NYPD Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) finds himself in the cultural hotbed of New York City in the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women’s lib and the civil and gay rights movements – without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player — suddenly hurtled back in time when he’s ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He’s trying mightily to understand what has just happened to him and how he can get back “home.”

This show was almost completely re-cast from its original pilot and veteran actor Harvey Keitel was brought in to play the very important role of Lieutenant Gene Hunt. Hunt is an old school policeman. He can be brutal and morally ambiguous.

The series has been transported from Manchester England to New York City. Certainly 1973 becomes more iconic with shots of the world trade center in the background.

This show is well-written and well acted, but I am not yet sure it is a show that needed to be made. The plots, so far, seem to be re-treads of the original series.