Television

There is perhaps no more worn genre in television than the cop show. There's just so much you can do in terms of gritty realism and inner-workings revelations to pump new life into the old formula, and cable shows such as The Wire and The Shield have set standards that the broadcast networks can't hope to match.

So instead they've gone the weird and wacky route with surprisingly good results. With Life, NBC took the serialized approach of introducing an ex-con cop who's seeking to solve the murder for which he was wrongfully convicted, with the twist that his 12 years in prison have turned him into a kind of Zen philosopher. And now ABC unveils Life on Mars, which introduces time travel into the cop-show equation.

This show, premiering Thursday, is also another Americanized remake of a British series. But the results promise a fresh and innovative experience, and it's hard to think of two more improbable descriptions for a show about a bunch of New York City cops.

Jason O'Mara stars in Life on Mars.

The debut episode, "Out Here in the Fields" (a reference to the classic Who song, "Baba O'Riley," one of many in a show full of classic rock riffs) introduces modern-day detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara), seen racing through the streets to a crime scene while arguing with his girlfriend and fellow detective Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet).

But just as you're thinking how cool it is to see Lisa Bonet back on TV, she is kidnapped by a fugitive serial killer, and Sam is hit by a car and wakes up to find himself trapped in 1973. Thus begins the sci-fi, supernatural, psychosomatic mystery that will be the basis of this show. Twenty-first-century Sam now finds himself living in 1973, working at his old (now even older) precinct with a gang of mid-'70s cops headed by wild-man lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel).

The show's production team plainly has a great time re-creating 1973: the cars, the clothes, the TV commercials, the songs on the radio. Sam could spend an hour every week just walking down the street, and it would be fun to watch. Mr. Keitel is the most lovably gruff cop this side of Sipowicz, and if he doesn't fade from view as the season progresses, he's reason enough to stay tuned.

Mr. O'Mara is solid enough as the protagonist, and he's got some able support with Michael Imperioli taking a post-Sopranos stretch from gangster to cop.

Presumably, arcing over each week's crime solving, Sam will be trying to figure out how to get back to 2008. But the real mystery that viewers may be following through the coming weeks is: Will we ever see Lisa Bonet again?

Life on Mars

9 Thursday, ABC (Channel 8). 1 hr.