rose_griffes | ah, former TV loves: a rec, in case you missed it back then

It's been ages since I talked about the show Life here, but someone pointed out recently that Netflix has both seasons available for livestreaming. Then I checked and they're accessible again on hulu.com (for free!) as well.

So if you're in the US and you haven't watched it before, you might consider giving season one a try; it's only eleven episodes due to the writers' strike in 2007-2008. I would view it as sort of a mini-series. The show is definitely a procedural, but the emphasis is on the characters, two cops named Charlie Crews and Dani Reese. Plus there's a bigger puzzle going on with Crews's (and Reese's) history that gets addressed in each episode as well.

Need more information? Show premise and picspam here, plus an awesome fanvid here. (Slight language alert for both.)

Person of Interest fans who haven't seen Life yet, you should definitely consider it. They have a lot of similar themes. Both film on location in a major US city and use that backdrop well. (Life had better cinematography, although sunny LA gives it an advantage over gray NYC, too.) Both feature characters shaped by their pasts in inescapable ways. Both shows have Batman references! Oh, and both shows have a character with the last name Reese. Heh.

In Life's favor, it has Damian Lewis, Sarah Shahi and Adam Arkin, and they're pretty much unbeatable. Sorry, PoI cast, but it's true. Though at least part of that is that Life had better writing--dialogue in particular--since it was more character-based. I'll give PoI a point for having better cases of the week, so it probably balances out.

In conclusion, I miss the ~~show~~ characters. *sadface*

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Ah. I remember Life fondly. I did enjoy it when it was first on. Wonder if I have time to squeeze it into my viewing schedule?

Probably not yet. I still haven't managed to get back to Ultraviolet after watching the first episode. I'm starting to think I need a TV weekend...

Ooh thank you for posting this. I've been wanting to get my hands on Life. Think I'll start watching/rewatching (I only saw the first two episodes previously, though I liked them) via Hulu tonight!

One question: I know it got canceled, but did it get to have a conclusion of sorts at least?

Edited 2012-04-09 23:42 (UTC)

Ooooh, you watched it as well. I wonder how many PoI fans watched it? It would have a similar appeal, I think.

Such an enjoyable show. Too bad the improvement in the cases of the week in season two was accompanied by a sacrifice in characterization, in particular for Dani Reese.

You know what I would do in your place? Watch season one and stop there, unless you find that you're a Charlie Crews only fan. The season one finale does wrap up a lot of story lines in a satisfactory way, and season two changes the characterization of Dani Reese enough that I found it a struggle at times. Charlie was my favorite, but Dani was a close second, so it frustrated me that some of what I loved most about her was ignored or altered.

eta: if you do decide to watch season two, yes, there is a resolution there as well.

I love parts of season two. I think they found a better balance in the cases of the week--they were more interesting than in season one. But since I viewed it as a character-driven show, I wanted it to keep that aspect, and it only did a moderate job in that regard.

Edited 2012-04-09 23:58 (UTC)

Interesting! I'll see how S1 goes... I'm a little afraid I will lose interest anyway because procedurals have a hard time holding my attention, but I really like D. Lewis and S. Shahi. I'm hoping there's a lot of the bigger mystery arcs to keep me watching!

Charlie Crews was a really quirky character, and Damien Lewis has a really interesting face. I remember being really upset when they cancelled the show, because there were still so many unanswered questions.

Basically I like any TV that that makes me think or has some sort of story arc. Babylon 5, Alias, and Battlestar Galactica spring to mind.

Did you ever watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? Because that was seriously one of the best shows I've ever seen, and it had a fantastic arc. It's on Netflix too.

Good luck, then! I do well with procedurals, but they're not the only kind of shows I like. I think there's enough of a bigger story in S1 to keep you hooked, but I guess you'll decide that for yourself! :)

Never got into that one. It must have been up against something else I was watching at the time, because I would have tuned in to watch Summer Glau kick ass.

Forever pressed though that all official versions of Life do not have the same music as broadcast version.

I didn't watch when it was airing because the advertisements of topless Summer Glau with strategically-placed hair were a total turn-off for me. That publicity was quite misleading, as it turns out; I've wondered since then if that's why it never got higher ratings. Those who might have been a faithful audience (like me) never tuned in and those who were lured by the those posters stopped watching because there wasn't enough naked Summer Glau.

I don't want to talk it up too much, since that can lead to disappointment. The show wasn't perfect--plotholes now and then, mostly. But IT IS SO GOOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY WATCHED IT!!!

Ahem. Heh. You should give the pilot a try. That was all it took to get me hooked. Then I got my younger brother hooked as well with just that episode. And I had only watched one of the Terminator movies, so a comprehensive knowledge of the source material is definitely not required.

Yes... *sigh* I haven't bought the DVDs and that's part of the reason why. I ended up watching season one through Amazon, so I have those episodes (with the original music) downloaded to my computer. And since I have less love for season two, there's really not enough motivation to buy the disks.

Stupid LJ, why won't you let me use my userpics today?!

eta: *snickers* and apparently complaining about it is the key!

Edited 2012-04-10 01:31 (UTC)

Wow, seriously?! I can't believe that we share so many tv interests! I really enjoyed Life as I was completely taken by the whole zen philosophy angle that the show explored. It was very insightful but perhaps too smart for television which imo contributed to its early demise. Damien Lewis is an amazing actor.

And well, you know how I feel POI.

As an aside - I'm currently also watching Missing.

Damian Lewis blew my mind in Life.

Missing! It's not great TV, but I'm really enjoying it. Too bad Becca Winstone quit the CIA ten years ago, otherwise I'd be writing crossover fic with her and Reese. Hee.

Have you seen Damian Lewis in Homeland?

I watched the pilot episode and it exceed my personal acceptance level for grimness. I knew I wouldn't be able to face that kind of darkness and tension on a weekly basis, even though the cast did a stellar job with the material.

Did you see the Shakespeare Retold with Lewis? A modern-day Much Ado about Nothing and he played Benedick. I'll admit--I find him more attractive as scary Reese with an American accent than sort-of-a-jerk Benedick with a goatee and English accent.

Much Ado about Nothing is one of my favourite Shakespearean play's so I'll have to add it to the roster of things to see. Lewis is quite amazing is gritty roles, so I can see what the attraction is all about :D

X-over between POI & Missing - it could work. Would definitely like to see a match between Reese and Paul Winstone. hmmm - Sean Bean & Jim Caviezel.

But I shouldn't be thinking of new x-over ideas as I already have one POI crossover fic that I've been dragging my feet in trying to finish writing.

Oh, I just watched some of my favorites from season 1 recently, so much fun. And non-procedural fan me did find enough arc and character goodness to love it too. :)

What is this business about the broadcast music being entirely different? o_O

The broadcast music thing is so annoying. I guess it's one thing to have the rights to play certain songs during the episode, but not the same to have the right to put that music onto the DVD. *sigh* This makes me sad--Person of Interest has also picked some fantastically quirky songs (Unkle and Nina Simone in the last episode, for example) and I'm guessing the DVDs will be missing them... :(

ah, former TV loves: a rec, in case you missed it back then

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