[Drama 2018] Life on Mars, 라이프 온 마스

[maddymappo]

Will there be an epilogue?  

 

I enjoyed this series very much  Great writing, directing and acting.  

 

I am wondering if TJ ever came out of the coma?  Seems to me he almost came out and went back in. Difficult to grasp exactly where he is in reality. We know that he goes back to the time his father died. But how can he coexist with himself as a child and his mother and aunt not realizing who he is?   There are aspects that defy logic, so you just have to be open and accept it as it is. He enters a world where he  has real human bonds, emotional attachments, and he can share affection and joy with the people around him. He let's go. Literally he jumps off the roof, he completely opens and exposes himself to the joy and pain of life.  This world within, the coma, is where his inner life is fulfilled.   It just worked for me. Perhaps another season would be a let down, how do they improve on this?

[Dramanoona]

I am vey wary about Season 2s....

I would love the team to be back but the writers would have to make a very convincing narrative about TJ and his reasons for staying may be explored (perhaps mirrored by how people are coping with his loss in 2018?) 

 

In any case, it is now up to the PD and writers.

[katakwasabi]

@titania1000 thank you for the comparison between OCN version and BBC version. Interesting read. I hope there's a second season too with the same cast and also with the criterias you listed 

[maddymappo]

 

@titania1000  wrote:

  23 hours ago, maddymappo said:

Will there be an epilogue?  

 

Do you mean a 2nd season?

It's not confirmed but it's very likely based on the very last scene (after the credits) of season 1 and the declarations of the PD.

At the very end just as the credits begin, my version said "An epilogue will air soon"  - I thought that meant another episode, but now I find that there is another scene (perhaps the "epilogue" after the credits. 

We see TJ by himself about to leave the police station when the telephone rings and it is Kim Hyun Seok - that seems to open the possibility of another season, not just an epilogue.  

 

[katakwasabi]

Ahhh~ no new episode to wait for today 

I miss them~

 

 

 

[Dramanoona]

I know. It's been a week and any news about their reward vacation?

[katakwasabi]

5 minutes ago, Dramanoona said:

I know. It's been a week and any news about their reward vacation?

 

Havent heard or seen pics about their vacation trip~

 

Anyways, 10th august was Go Ah Sung's aka Nayoung's birthday~ happy belated birthday nayoung!

 

[Prettysup]

A snippet of the interview done with the direct Lee Jeong-hyo after the end of 'Life on Mars'.

 

Q : This is the second time you worked with Jung Kyung-ho after JTBC’s ‘Cruel City’.
A : There is not a single scene in this drama without Jung Kyung-ho, we can almost apply for the Guinness World Records for this. He started work together with the crew and ended together with them. He was already prepared for this earlier, so not once did he show any displeasure or complain at all. However he said 3 times that “let’s film it this way”, but I did not listen to him except for the first time, because of various reasons such as the pre-ordered special equipment etc. This is the reason why I cried at the wrap-up party, I felt that I have done him wrong. This time I also felt that as an actor, he is rich in expression and very detailed. We still have 3 more projects to work with each other, because we agreed that we will do a total of 5 projects together. 

Q : Park Sung-woong’s character is also indispensable, it feels more heart-warming compared to the tough character in the movie ‘New World’.
A : I meet up regularly with the cast from tvN’s ‘The Good Wife’, and one day Jeon Do-yeon sunbae suddenly invited Park Sung-woong to a gathering. Because he is a jovial person, he suits the character very well. When I told him that I needed a comical element from him, he asked,“really?” and he had fun doing it. It was his own idea to put on weight for the role as he wanted to have a contrasting image from Han Tae-joo, so he gained 10kg. He also gave many suggestions and ideas on the set.

Q : Go Ah-sung is also a new discovery.
A : I auditioned many actresses, but because of the lines plus the sexist element, most actresses said that “it does not feel good”. But we have no choice because this is a past-generation drama. After handing the script to Go Ah-sung, she said that because this is a past-generation drama, she understood those requirements. Once she arrived at the set, she became 100% Officer Yoon.

 

Q : What is the secret to the popularity of ‘Life on Mars’ ?
A : Actually at the beginning, I did worry whether this will succeed or not. Because we travelled to the past, we need to show the policemen from the present and the 1980s, and there are many things not experienced before. I felt that in order for this drama to succeed, we need to go into the main character’s subconsciousness and view of the world. The audiences enjoyed the chemistry of the team, and this is the actors’ credit. Another important factor is the difference in technology between the original drama and this, as I felt that the original version deliberately did not use much special effects in it. However it had been 10 years since that was aired, so I tried many new things in order to allow technology to solve as many issues as possible.

 

Q : Han Tae-joo and Yoon Na-young’s love line is very subtle, which also played a big part to the success of the drama.
A : In the original script, they have intimate scenes. However I feel that their relationship should be subtle, so I convinced the scriptwriter to change it, because I felt that in Han Tae-joo’s situation, it will be very hard for him to fall in love. However they do have a very cute relationship, like in one scene which Yoon Na-young misunderstood Tae-joo, and acted coldly towards him. Initially it was not meant to be filmed in a comical way, but Go Ah-sung did it in a funny way, and after the rehearsal, we felt that the effect was very good.

 

Q : It is interesting to revisit the 1980s.
A : The big credit goes to the artistic crew. From the beginning, we felt that the crux lies in how do we recreate the 1980s. This is different from tvN’s ‘Reply 1988’ which focused more on daily lives, as we actually needed to create crime scenes. After pondering about it, I changed my mind and decided not to dwell too much on the research.  Because it is most important that the viewers can feel that this is in the 1980s, we focused on passer-bys, signboards, cars etc. Actually if you look closely, there were also people dressed in 1970s clothes and hair-dos.

 

Q : It is surprising that the ending entirely followed the original version.
A : This was decided from the beginning. This drama was shot from the beginning with that ending in mind. The production team liked the ending very much, but we need to convince the viewers in order for it to work. After Tae-joo returned to 2018, he continued his relationship with his girlfriend. When he abandoned those people and chose 1988, it will confuse the viewers as to which one is the real world? There was no doubt filming the scene which Tae-joo jumped down, both Jung Kyung-ho and myself believed that “Han Tae-joo must jump off with a smile”, because to him, he will only find happiness going back to 1988.  

Q : Many viewers are hoping for a second season, if this works out, how would it going to be?
A : We have finished the original story completely. If there is a second season, then it will need to need to consist of new stories that the original version did not have. There are many things to consider for this, I will not deliberately film a second season, as the ending of Han Tae-joo finally smiling is an ‘end’ already. After filming 2 similar genre dramas consecutively, I want to do a rom-com for my new project next year.   

 

 

 

[Dramanoona]

@Prettysup Thank for the sharing the interview.

I kind of expected no season 2, even with that epilogue because it would take a darn good script to explain the continuation of HTJ's story in 1988.

 

Whether he is truly dead or still in a comatose state, TJ is really happy in 1988 and he CHOSE to be there. He made a conscious decision and you can see when he rejects Chief Ahn and turns off the radio, he has accepted that life.

 

But now, my curiousity has increased over these 'intimate scenes' that the director requested to change. Haha.

Actually, the relationship between TJ and NY did fit fot that time, plus as the director said, would it be fair on NY for TJ to start a relationship since TJ always wanted to 'return' in the beginning of the drama.

[celebrianna]

Q : Go Ah-sung is also a new discovery.
A : I auditioned many actresses, but because of the lines plus the sexist element, most actresses said that “it does not feel good”. But we have no choice because this is a past-generation drama. After handing the script to Go Ah-sung, she said that because this is a past-generation drama, she understood those requirements. Once she arrived at the set, she became 100% Officer Yoon.

 

My respect for her as an actress just increased even more. There are many things that we might not like about the past but I love that Go Ah-Sung showed her professionalism by acknowledging that it’s important to keep the integrity of the time period even if they didn’t suit her sensibilities. I for one feel uncomfortable seeing the sexism but I also appreciate that it’s a depiction of the time. It’s the same way I feel about the way the cops beat up suspects but that also happened in the past. I hope to see her in another solid project.

[katakwasabi]

This is too cute not to share~ happy birthday jung kyung ho!

 

 

[katakwasabi]

20 hours ago, LyraYoo said:

I guess I am too late for the party . Thing is I am enjoying the discussions here (I am already on episode 4, and reading pages 10-11  )

 

This show is so good may I say.

 

Also the one thing that strikes me the most is how the director captured each frames with fantastic visuals, the 1988 is becoming more real as I go on. 

 

I am not sure if this was already discussed, but will spew this anyway:

 

Had anyone observed (or I may find out during my progress on this thread) about the red room presented in this drama? Also the same color used in each victims since episode 3 . Red nailpolish, red coat, red scarf . And red jersey of Tae Joo.

 

There are other interpretations of the scenes of Tae Joo hanging out in Insung club:

 

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Wow. Keen observation. Thank you for sharing. I didnt know there was a meaning behind the choice of red. I just thought it was a nice colour and popped out in a scene 

 

I hope you enjoy life on mars till the end. I liked it to bits, ep 7 case is one of my fave eps. Besides LoM introduced me to JKH hahaha

[40somethingahjumma]

@LyraYoo

With a show like Life on Mars, there's no such thing as late. It's one of those rare television experiences that everyone should embark on and talk about. If it weren't for Prison Playbook, this would have been my favourite thing this year because it was just unbelievably good. Even without reference to the BBC series, it is a wonderful piece of storytelling. The nice thing about having followed it from start to finish is reading people's ideas and speculations about what on this side of 1988 was going on.  And the best part was going on the journey with HTJ as he navigated through all the messiness of being a fish out of water.

 

But I really, really wanted TJ and NY to go undercover as husband and wife.

 

Thanks for the stuff on the Red Room. I didn't think too much about the colour red as a theme/motif in the drama but thank you for your observations. I kept thinking the entire time that the Red Room was a bit empty compared to the BBC version... which was always packed full of cops.

[katakwasabi]

On 9/20/2018 at 4:04 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

But I really, really wanted TJ and NY to go undercover as husband and wife.

 

Hoping theres a season 2 or a spin-off to see more of the 1988 squad especially TJ and NY going undercover as husband and wife 

[katakwasabi]

On 9/25/2018 at 8:35 AM, katakwasabi said:

 

Hoping theres a season 2 or a spin-off to see more of the 1988 squad especially TJ and NY going undercover as husband and wife 

 

ODH and JKH were on radio recently. 

Caption trans: '그리고 라온마 시즌 2도 기대해: I’m looking forward for season 2 of Life on Mars!'

 

ohhhhh..make LoM2 a reality please hahahah

 

 

[katakwasabi]

LoM squad 4 evaaaaa!

 

 

 

[katakwasabi]

go ah sung is nominated for an award at APAN Star Awards 2018~

[Dramanoona]

Sigh. I would love a season 2 but with the same cast and crew.

And of course, the story should be strong.

I miss Park Sung Woong and his antics! It's just not the same in the other drama he is in.

[katakwasabi]

What is this about??? Hoho

 

 

[katakwasabi]

Nayoungie won an award! Congrats Go Ah Sung!