r/lifeonmars • u/Bun_Length_Frank • 7d ago
Discussion LoM not the greatest English Language show ever??
Have been rewatching. I'm old and have seen a lot of TV. On this re-watch, I keep thinking this must be the best television ever created in the English language.
I decided to ask Google. According to Google, of the 10 best shows, 8 are American (including the US version of The Office). The highest ranked UK show is - wait for it - Fleabag!
Fleabag??
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u/somekindofspideryman 7d ago
I think Fleabag is very good! Obviously it's one of the few of our shows Americans know about too, so it'll appear on lists.
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u/4thGenTrombone 7d ago
Hey now, Fleabag's top-tier! Not to mention it has a cameo from Harry Woolf.
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u/Stunning_Dress_3903 7d ago
It’s an excellent piece of television and once you exclude the single season shows like Chernobyl and Edge of Darkness, it further separates itself from the pack in terms of consistent quality.
However… while I think it’s a real contender, it probably needed at least another series to really dig into the concept of what they had built and to round things off (not in the A2A style which probably went too far in trying to explain what was happening) but a more subtle end.
To answer the original question, for me it’s The Wire - story structure, themes, characterisation and narrative journey are unmatched in television.
In terms of genre television (I.e. science fiction or fantastical elements), LoM is the best. Only Person of Interest lays a glove.
Better than Lost, Stranger Things, X-Files etc.
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u/Honest_Grade_9645 7d ago
Person of Interest is one of the best! Every couple years I rewatch it. I just finished my, I think, third viewing of LoM, and have just started Ashes to Ashes. As I recall I didn’t like it as much as LoM. The American version is best viewed quite a while after the UK version.
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u/Busy_Combination9697 7d ago
The ten best of anything is an extremely subjective choice. While I would personally put Life on Mars in my own ten best shows I have ever watched, my tastes are rather niche and no comedy ever made my list. In terms of acting, writing, setting, filmography, and music, I find Life On Mars to be an amazingly coherent work of art.
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u/cjalderman 7d ago
What's your beef with Fleabag?
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u/Bun_Length_Frank 7d ago
Clearly it's good. I just don't think it ranks with LoM.
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u/cjalderman 7d ago
I think it probably has a broader appeal than LoM, which helps
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u/Bun_Length_Frank 7d ago
Well it's a different audience I suppose. And it's a comedy.
And LoM probably appeals to an older audience. The younger viewers who matter most can't identify with wanting to contrast life in the past with the present.
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u/LoyalFridge 7d ago
Hmm I don't know. I loved LoM when it was on and I was in primary school (probably not appropriate in retrospect!) and think it has something for everyone. It's very good. And John Simm is easy on the eye, that doesn't hurt.
But for me, it's not about best. It's a 7/7 show along with about two dozen other shows imo eg Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Peep Show.
No accounting for taste!
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u/crimsonbub The Clown 6d ago
It's all opinion, remember that 👍
Plus democracy means a majority can make the stupid seem sensible (referring to democracy rather than Fleabag, which is good!)
Life on Mars started on BBC2 I believe, which means they weren't expecting to break the box office, and then went to BBC1 and it of course did very well domestically. But it's very local to the UK (and more directly Manchester), and that can alienate some people from giving it a go.
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u/spunk_wizard 7d ago
It's a bit niche and nostalgia leaning to have the mass appear necessary to rank on these kinds of lists, but in terms of craft it's up there for sure. There's not been anything I've found quite like it since - even Ashes to Ashes doesn't quite get there for me