TVSquad

I think it is good. Let the story have some kind of solution.

Spoilers:

Even if Sam stays in '73 getting an answer as to why he is there would be a great way to end the show. If you solve that and then demand he keep going as a cop, then you just have another cop show.

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I know British shows don't last as long but only two seasons?! Come on! Who else thinks BBC or someone equally as dumb is going "I don't like the show, let's cancel it"?

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Well, I love love love this show, but I respect the decision. Better to go out on a high note, better to keep the integrity of the concept, than to keep going just for the sake of keeping going.

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David, have you actually seen the show? One would think that if you had you would understand the decision on this. Also, do you understand how British TV works? It ain't the same as the US.

I personally wish more US tv shows would have shorter runs or at least go into it with a predefined time frame. Ive given up on so many shows before they even start since I don't want to be watching something I like just to know it's going to be cancelled before the story plays out.

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I said I know that British shows don't last long. Do you know how to read? But there are hardly any episodes and they will end it?

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I always figured this show would have a limited run just because of the gimmick upon which it's based, but as much as I enjoyed series one I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so limited. Well, better limited to two series' worth than run it into the ground. What a great show.

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David, if you know that British shows don't last long, then you'll know that two seasons isn't unusual at all. The Brits do love the specials though...

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Yes David, I can read.

My point was not that you know that British shows are shorter but that British TV is produced differently than US tv. Biggest difference is that the majority of revenue for TV over there does not come from advertising.

And it is obvious you haven't seen the show because if you had you would understand exactly why it is getting a limited run.

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The BBC Aren't cancelling it.

ALL BBC drama programmes last less than 10 episodes, I think 6-8 is the average length & writers don't need to string out a series to pander to executives so things end when they're supposed to rather than when they start to lose ratings.

The best example in the UK, and the example which is used to gauge all series is Fawlty Towers.

At least if a series ends when the writers/producers want it to end it won't end up like Smallville or Alias or X-Files etc, all of which jumped the shark around the 3rd season.

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The ridiculously small number of episodes for a number of UK series is quite pathetic, in my option. Blackadder: 4 seasons each with just 6 episodes?! The Vicar of Dibley with a grand total of 14 season episodes, strung out over 6 years?!

If an idea is worth doing at all, then there should more top quality episodes' worth of material that could be generated. I don't pretend to understand the real reasons for it, but pretending it's a quality control issue is just stupid. Would Cheers have been better with just six episodes across a couple of seasons or so? Or Friends? I don't think so.

Oh, I'm British and live in the UK so don't try the 'dumb Yank' racist-style retort, mm k?

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Life on Mars has a definite storyline that would be spoiled if stretched out, you can't compare it to Cheers or Friends (although they had their fair share of filler episodes) which was why I compared it to 3 shows which went on/are going on far too long

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Pick your favorite long-running (let's say 4+ years) US program. Count the four- and five-star episodes. Odds are, you'll have the same number or fewer episodes as you'd get in the lifetime of a typical British programme. Quality beats quantity every time.

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I much prefer the UK system. I think it produces the most creative results. Instead of networks using shows as nothing more than an advertising delivery vehicle in the later years of a show's life, shows have a definite run and the creators are freed up to create other interesting projects.

Just think of all the time wasted on the US system - our time, the writer's time, the crew's time.

A good example of this is Ricky Gervais. I much prefer the two seasons of "The Office", and now have "Extras". Now, rather than have "Extras" stretched, he is moving on to other projects.

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Incidentally, the "Bravo" mentioned in the article is a UK channel, not the American one. :(

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Actually more and more BBC drama are recieving longer and longer runs. The average length of a series/season is 6-8 episodes. Spooks/MI-5 is a bit longer with 10 episodes per season (the earlier season were slightly shorter). At the top of the list for length is Doctor Who and Torchwood which have 13 eps per season (14 for Doctor Who if you count the annual Christmas special).

The head of the BBC said a couple of months ago that the budget for drama is now being developed for fewer drama series, but longer runs.

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