Allison Stein

Allison Stein is an author and artist with a dark Southern streak and a taste for whimsy. Her award-winning short fiction appears in "Houston, We've Got Bubbas" and "Flush Fiction" from Yard Dog Press. When she’s not painting, writing, hanging out in cemeteries, or scaring young children, she’s a software marketing writer. http://www.allisonstein.com

Published on 10/20/2008

Does ABC not have faith in its edgy sci-fi retro cop drama?

The second episode of Life On Mars placed third in its time slot, behind ER (NBC) and Eleventh Hour

The Thursday 10 p.m. ET timeslot has killed many a show in the past.

Honestly, though, what WAS ABC thinking when it slotted the edgy, sci-fi retro cop show immediately after the chick-friendly doctor drama? And opposite another Americanized Brit import, the sci-fi paranormal Eleventh Hour, not to mention the long-time ratings winner ER? Did they not want this show to succeed?

Apparently ABC cared about this show when it scrapped the show's first pilot and cast, including Star Trek alum Colm Meaney, and moved its location to New York. But why delay its debut until mid-October and slot it in the dead zone?

ABC cared enough about this show to bring in heavy hitter Harvey Keitel as Lt Gene Hunt, in his first television role. Life On Mars is also ABC’s only scripted drama this season. So go to so much effort, only to consign this show to the armpit slot of the schedule?

The answer may be as much of a mystery as why Sam Tyler finds himself in 1973.

Life On Mars, which airs on ABC on Thursdays at 10 pm ET., stars Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, and Lisa Bonet. The series follows Detective Sam Tyler, a modern-day NYPD detective who mysteriously finds himself in 1973 following a car accident.