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David Kelley may bail on Life on Mars

Life on MarsI don't know if this is good news or bad... David E. Kelley may be checking out of Life on Mars, the ABC pilot based on the hit BBC crime/time travel drama. According to Variety, the prolific Mr. Kelley -- Boston Legal, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally MacBeal, The Practice, Chicago Hope, etc. -- is unhappy with the financial arrangements and if things aren't worked out, he's going to move on.

Life on Mars was a terrific show. The UK version has played on BBC America, starring John Simm and Philip Glenister. Following the British model, the series lasted just two years -- 16 episodes total. In the ABC pilot, which Thomas Schlamme directed, Jason O'Mara (Men in Trees) is playing Simm's role, Sam; Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is Gene. Kelley wrote the American variation on the story of Sam Tyler, a police detective in present day who awakens from a car crash to find he's living in 1973. Has he really gone back in time or is it all in his head?

The reason I'm wondering about the good news/bad news scenario is this: with David E. Kelley involved, Life on Mars has a really good chance of making it into the fall lineup. He has a proven track record and the network would trust him to develop the project successfully. And I want to see an American version of Life on Mars!

On the other hand, as much as I like Kelley, Life on Mars doesn't seem like his thing. My concern is that he'll take what's really great about the original British show -- the fish out of water stuff, the politically incorrect style of police work in the early 1970's, the love/hate relationship between Sam and Gene -- and give it the David Kelley spin. That spin is great on legal and medical dramas, but Life on Mars is more gritty and has a sci-fi vibe as well. It might be better with a different writer attached. I'll be curious to see if the pilot is picked up as filmed, especially if Kelley takes a powder. A new headwriter might mean a second pilot. That's not unheard of. Time will tell.

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