[Drama 2018] Life on Mars, 라이프 온 마스

[sheelatpsfm]

Spoiler

Episode 14

As heroin hits the streets of Manchester for the first time, CID and DCI Hunt want culprits for the smuggling, the dealing and the ensuing violence. This becomes difficult when Annie is kidnapped by the smugglers. As Sam tries to get to the source of the influx of this deadly drug, he finds himself intractably drawn to a beautiful young woman who was witness to a heroin-related shooting... and who, he later realises, is the mother of his girlfriend in the future. At the same time, Sam's 'visions' reveal that his girlfriend has decided to stop visiting him in hospital, as she can't keep waiting for him to wake up.

 

Episode 15

In spite of DCI Hunt's testimony, a seemingly water-tight court case fails to put away a local gangster accused of breaking a boxer's hand. Unable to cope, Gene turns to alcohol but soon finds himself in a spot of bother. When it appears as though Hunt may have killed someone, it's up to Sam, torn between Gene and his replacement, Frank Morgan, a DCI who actually uses Sam's modern police techniques and vocabulary, to help him out.

 

Episode 16

Sam learns that an operation is to be conducted on him in the future to try to remove a tumor and revive him from his coma. He is told by Morgan that he has to remove the cancer in the police force first. Hence, to return to 2006, he has to gather incriminating evidence on Hunt in 1973. However, the lines between reality and delusion are blurred when Morgan reveals to Tyler that Tyler is actually undercover. During a botched sting operation, Sam returns to the future, but decides to jump off a building to return to the past again where the life and people he knows exist.

 

If you read the ep14,15 and 16 UK version, quite different from the Korean storyline. 

 

I am hoping still that TJ will be able to move on... I am scared to watch the finale.. 

I cannot believe next week no more Life on Mars.. So fast this drama has come to its end.

[Dramanoona]

Four more hours to go!

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts about LOM (Korean edn). I don't think I have plans to watch the original series it is based on. I have to say that this drama was well-written with all the strings which may seem tangled in the beginning, however we see them unravel and the story becomes clearer.

 

I, for one, would say that if TJ thinks that his life (2018) has not much meaning and he prefers the life in 1988, it is a decision he makes.

I think the little romance he has with NY is sweet as he is the first to appreciate her sweet smile and her quick brain (poor unrequited NS). In cold scientific light, one can speculate that TJ most likely had seen these cold case files and saw the file of these dead police officers and during his time in limbo, he lived a life in 1988 with these characters. If he does intend to join them, I don't think it is to change the past but to live the present with DC, YG, NS and NY.

 

And the way he looks at NY - my hardened non-shipping heart melts.

 

[LucidPlazma]

Just saw ep 15.The end had me heartbroken. 14 episodes with the gang and now we find out they all died. I guess u can't have both a brilliant drama and a happy ending.

And I have a question. How come HTJ's mom doesn't remember him being in 1988 as an adult? I mean, KMS remembers him and he was only a kid then, but his own mom doesn't. 

[katakwasabi]

19 minutes ago, sheelatpsfm said:

 

Actually he got shot in April. If you noticed in the beginning of 1st episode, TJ got mention the date that he was recording of his findings.  And also they showed the calendar in his apartment when his mother called to say his father's prayers coming soon. 

 

Thank you for the info. I was wondering when he was shot. I might have overlooked that scene hehe

 

Did you guys know that PSW gained 10kgs for this role . I came to LOM only knowing him, because i watched manXman before. I'm glad i decided to watch LOM too. 

 

And i'm so glad that a lot are praising LOM. 

https://melohwa.blogspot.com/2018/08/life-on-mars-ep-15-is-jung-kyung-ho.html?m=1

 

[Life on Mars] Ep 15 Is Jung Kyung Ho going to go back to 1988 to save his colleagues?

 

Article: Naver 'Life on Mars' Jung Kyung Ho reads Kwak Jung Wook's files.. "So it wasn't a dream"

• Han Tae Joo (Jung Kyung Ho) wakes up in 2018 and realizes everything he had experienced in 1988 really did happen. 
• Serial murderer Kim Min Seok (Choi Seung Yoon) gets arrested along with his brother that was supposed to be dead back in 1988. 
• Han Tae Joo finds out that his team mates in 1988 had died on that day when he was about to save them before waking up. 

 

1. [+204,-1]
Ah, they're all dead. ㅜㅜ

 

2. [+110,-3]
Ah, this crazy drama.. it's too interesting. ㅠㅜ

 

3. [+63,-2]
Seems like they are going to follow the original series... but I can understand it.

 

4. [+56,-3]
A happy ending please... Please do a different ending from the original series.

 

5. [+53,-2]
My heart hurts just looking at the chief smiling. ㅠㅠ Even the OST is sad. What do you mean last episode..  ㅠㅠ I want to see more.

 

6. [+20,-1]
I teared up when I saw that Dong Cheol died... I was hoping for everyone to be alive.

 

7. [+16,-0]
This is too much. ㅠ What do you mean everyone died... ㅠ

 

 

Article: Naver 'Life on Mars' Park Sung Woong surpasses his life character again..

 

• Park Sung Woong was so passionate that he gained 10kg in weight for his role in Life on Mars. 
• Kang Dong Cheol is becoming another one of his life character after Lee Joong Gu in New World.
• His acting is getting more appreciation from viewers. 

 

1. [+1023,-5]
Joong Gu-hyung's acting is no joke.

 

2. [+672,-6]
Life on Mars is so interesting~ People who didn't watch it, please watch it. People who likes time warps, detective stories, mysteries, I strongly recommend this drama~ It was fun watching the drama being serious and adding comical elements in the story.

 

3. [+396,-13]
I didn't watch from the beginning yesterday, so I was curious. But while I was curious what happened after last week's ending scene, Jung Kyung Ho was looking over the documents, seeing the word 'died on duty' I was so sad and shocked. 'Died' was written on Park Sung Woong's character, my tears flowed out. It was so sad. The scene where they fought with the gangsters got overlapped.. I guess we can see that again tonight. Everyone suddenly disappeared into thin air, I felt so empty.

 

4. [+256,-5]
If they went with Im Chang Jung for the role, I'm ready to go back to 1988 
and change Detective Kang to Joong Gu-hyung nim.

 

5. [+210,-9]
His role in New World was so strong that it came to my mind everyday. But in Life on Mars, he was a totally different person! He even gained weight for this role. ㅋㅋㅋ I beccame a fan. Jjang!

 

6. [+178,-9]
Seriously, rather than a 430 billion Lee Byung Hun in Mr Sunshine, Life on Mars is so much better in terms of their cinematic quality and acting. This is this year's best drama.

 

7. [+72,-0]
It's sad that today is the last episode. Articles for Life on Mars are rare, that's a pity too.

 

8. [+70,-8]
Life on Mars is a great drama. Amongst all of the dramas this year, this is the best. The acting, casts, script, are all great. 100 times better than 430 billion won Lee Byung Hun in Mr Sunshine.

[40somethingahjumma]

"You can't change the past but you can learn from the past and change the future."

 

That I suppose is the lesson that the returning HTJ learns as he finally lays hands on the elusive "manicure killer", KMS. He didn't travel back to the past in the way we understand time travel a la Back to the Future. I believe the better description would be that he relived the entire experience in order to gain an insider's understanding of the events and background to KMS' killing spree in the future. In that regard this reminds me of one of my favourite Star Trek: TNG episodes, "The Inner Light" in which a key character from the Enterprise gets transported into an alien time and place and ends up living a lifetime in that world to gain insight into a civilization whose end had come. There were no survivors of that race, all that was left were memories in a probe for passing travellers to stumble onto. But he was more than just a passive bystander. He really lived it all in the space of an hour. 

 

Like many others along the way, this was an excellent episode and a better than decent wrap up of the Manicure Murders. TJ wasn't transported to 1988 to change history but to find more clues or link them in a coherent fashion to make sense of the difficulties in solving the case in 2018. There was no hope of saving KMS and all the women he murdered... tragically... all that could be done was to prevent further carnage that he and his brother wreaked. Certainly we aren't privy to the mechanics of this "time slip" event yet but it does make sense that TJ was ushered into that period for very specific reasons beyond the personal. 

 

I don't think the show ever rejects TJ's rigidly scientific approach to crime solving out of hand. What it does is to show that science has its place and can be a great tool but it needs to be part of a larger tool kit in criminal investigations. One of many approaches... whether it be gut instinct, psychological profiling and active leg work. Crime solving is a complex activity involving many kinds of skills and expertise. It sounds like a cliche but team work held together by trust is at the heart of things. There's no doubt in my mind that TJ is still a man of the 21st century despite the fact that he finally managed to bond with the team in 1988. To his credit, his time in a comatose state was a learning experience... to rethink his approach to the investigative process, to take on board the criticisms and alternative perspectives to broaden his own skill set. I loved how they managed to bring DC, YG, NS and NY into the present as voices in his consciousness or ghostly remnants of his memories spending time with them to help him think through the case.

 

I also really liked how they brought Seo Hyun back in this. It's a lovely repudiation of the 1988 chauvinism in that it showed that women can run investigative teams efficiently and men can learn to work under the leadership of a woman who is good at her job and delegates tasks effectively.  She certainly runs a well-oiled machine. It was also good to see TJ's mother in 2018... I believe the actress was in Tunnel as well as the professor that raised the female lead.

 

One of the greatest regrets that I have regarding this show is that I won't get to see TJ and NY go undercover as husband and wife. I had really hoped that they would give us that much but alas that was not to be.  But that doesn't of course diminish what this adaptation has achieved. Not one whit. 

 

 

[Dramanoona]

Hi fellow Tunnel fan! @40somethingahjumma ^^

 

I have also thoroughly enjoyed the drama (even though I prefer the time he was in 1988 to 2018)

 

[40somethingahjumma]

I forgot to mention too... as a sometimes ukulele player, I was thrilled to bits that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" was featured in last night's episode. Of course a salient reference to Wizard of Oz and Dorothy returning from her time in Oz. Here's me hoping that that reference will point to an ending that's more like the WoO than the BBC one. Heh.

 

 

@Dramanoona

To be fair I think there was a lot more development in 1988 than 2018 so we're naturally more attached to the characters in that era. But TJ had to return to 2018 to help the solve the case... what he does now that all of that is done and dusted will be interesting. I'm wondering if they'll give us another twist from the BBC ending. It may not end up being what we think. 

[nisfii]

Hello, I'm a silent reader here..

This Drama is so good, maybe the best drama for me this year. I notice JKH since smile you, and became his fans since then. But I didn't watch all his drama (because I don't like his character in some drama). But in Life on Mars he was Superb..and another cast and crew also doing a good job

 

By the way, Can someone PM me the link to live stream tonight episode?

 

Thank you in advance :)

[ryudian]

but I love the UK ending. Han Taejoo can go back to 88 and save the gang. GO GO GO HAN TAEJOOOO

[sheelatpsfm]

I have finally watched ep15..

 

I'm hoping he does not jump.. Its a shocking that four of them died on duty.. What??? 

 

He didn't go back to the past but he dreamed it while he was in coma. But what he dreamed was important that he was able to solve the case finally when he woke up. 

[Mau_Cherry]

2 hours ago, LucidPlazma said:

Just saw ep 15.The end had me heartbroken. 14 episodes with the gang and now we find out they all died. I guess u can't have both a brilliant drama and a happy ending.

And I have a question. How come HTJ's mom doesn't remember him being in 1988 as an adult? I mean, KMS remembers him and he was only a kid then, but his own mom doesn't. 

 

Because - as i understand it - KMS remember the kid he met before. Thats the true past. But the true past and the past TJ was in has differences. The biggest it - the body from the Brother was never found - so they fabricated his death.

[40somethingahjumma]

1 hour ago, ryudian said:

but I love the UK ending. Han Taejoo can go back to 88 and save the gang. GO GO GO HAN TAEJOOOO

The BBC ending was good for the type of series and themes of that series.

But I don't think it's necessary for this show to follow the BBC version particularly because this is a Korean drama and the main murder mystery is resolved not in 1988 but in 2018. In the BBC version, the things that Sam did in 1973 did have consequences for 2006 etc. However, this is not the case here.

 

Anyway, I'm fine even if they decide to go with BBC ending. It would still work and provide a clear explanation for what TJ was doing in 1988. 

[katakwasabi]

OCN latest picture update on its facebook page. 

 

 

It really is ending today. LoM you are such a gem of a drama~ fighting for the final ep. May the ratings break 5%!

[aisling]

If they’re going with the BBC ending I have a problem with

 

Spoiler

1) TJ taking his own life - this is something I have a hard time to understand.

 

2) TJ leaving his old mother behind.

 

[Dramanoona]

It will be amazing if they did that group run as the ending.

I have a feeling it would be ambiguous. A 'did he' or 'didn't he' ending.

We can assume he didn't and treasured what he remembered or believed. Or we can assume that he did go ahead and did what he did to return to that time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Prettysup]

Will be missing TJ after tonight 

 

 

 

[katakwasabi]

12 minutes ago, aisling said:

If they’re going with the BBC ending I have a problem with

 

  Hide contents

1) TJ taking his own life - this is something I have a hard time to understand.

 

2) TJ leaving his old mother behind.

 

 

Same here. I dont know how to feel if it goes the UK version route. 

 

A few more minutes until ep 16. A few more minutes until we get our answers~ kyaaaa~

[Dramanoona]

Gosh! So many weird promos for Voice 2 at the moment.

And still waiting for Ep 16.

[Dramanoona]

Finally! Montage of them running. May only be able to recap sporadically.

[katakwasabi]

It will start in a while! So excited. Love the title sequence!