Life On Mars - WTF?

[dc]

This is a bit of reflection on the panel of that title at Eastercon, not an in-depth thing about the episode, but even so, if you haven't seen it you probably want to skip this.

On Friday night, I was on a panel entitled Life On Mars - WTF? (which I said was pretty much my reaction to the series from the start; in a good way, I hasten to add). Interesting to see how many of the notions which were aired on Friday night. Peter Harrow must have had a broad smile on his face (and quite right, too!) at the mention of brain tumour; I got some blank looks when I mentioned the references to The Wizard of Oz, but tonight they went from subtle to in your face; whoever it was who suggested that Sam was an undercover officer from Hyde, well done; and whoever it was (was it Wendy Bradley?) who suggested Sam really was from 1973 and the future stuff was a result of whatever accident occurred in episode one of series one should have a drink of self-congratulation. Probably, anyway... The last thing, almost, I said on Friday was that however it ended, I hoped it would end without destroying the ambiguity the series has maintained about Sam's state since the beginning in a crass and unsatisfying manner. I think they pulled it off. major_clanger asked us at the end if we expected to be satisfied or disappointed at the end of the final episode. I think I am pretty satisfied, and I do like that not all the is were dotted.