Guys, it’s a poorly-kept secret that I thought the original David E. Kelly pilot for the U.S. version of Life on Mars was a complete disaster.  ABC obviously thought it was, too, because they scrapped Kelly’s abomination and hired Josh Appelbaum (“Alias,” “October Road”), André Nemec (“Alias,” “October Road”) and Scott Rosenberg to start from scratch, throwing out everything but show star Jason O’Mara.  

I know, I know. I mocked O’Mara’s performance in the original pilot, but in the new and improved version — completely re-written, re-acted, re-shot and re-set in New York City — O’Mara is compelling and sympathetic as NYPD Detective Sam Tyler.  You care that this guy has somehow been thrown back to 1973, and you feel his tremendous loss and desperate need to return home.

I won’t spoil it, but there’s a moving moment shortly after Tyler wakes up in 1973 that made me realize that this creative team knows what it’s doing.   That moment serves as the coda of the episode, and made me want to delve further into the show.

Michael Imperioli, Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Moll and Lisa Bonnet round out a great cast.

Do yourself a favor and watch the pilot online.

The full TVZ review from Steve Lee is on the way soon.