in the open space: God & culture

Last night, Life on Mars —a series about a police detective who is hit by a car and is inexplicably thrown back in time from 2008 to the same New York precinct in 1973—concluded its run. Up until last night, at least, it was a solid series with such great story that explored what it means to love, sacrifice and make your way in this world of ours. A series that asked deeper questions and didn ’t always come up with pat answers—like life. A series that brought God-talk into these open spaces. (Caution: major spoilers—and rant—ahead!) And now, well, I really don’t know what to say. Um. Seriously ?! It ends like that ? It’s all a dream ? You see, it turns out that Sam is actually one of several astronauts on an Earth mission to Mars in 2035. To kill the time during the two-year journey, the space-ship’s computer runs virtual-reality-like dreams for the astronauts, but Sam’s has a glitch caused by a minor run-in with a meteorite. He wakes up okay, and it turns out the people in his dream ...

How do we know where we belong? We define ourselves by our connections with others, with the people we see and interact with every day. —Sam’s voiceover at the beginning of the "Revenge of the Broken Jaw" episode of Life on Mars Life on Mars —a series about a police detective who is hit by a car and is inexplicably thrown back in time from 2008 to the same New York precinct in 1973—is wrapping up its run . Sam still doesn’t know if everything he’s experiencing is all a coma-induced dream he’s having in 2008 or if he’s really there in 1973—or why. He is literally in-between times and places. “ Revenge of the Broken Jaw ” opens with Sam talking with Dr. Goldman, a psychologist who is helping work through the aftermath of being shot. The doctor tells Sam that it’s natural after such a trauma to put up emotional walls. He observes that Sam is “reluctant, even frightened to let people in.” He tells Sam: “You need to tear these walls down, Sam, reach out to the people you care ab...

“You know something, Tyler, you’re not so special. We all go crazy at some point. Happens to every cop that gives a crap about what he does. That’s why we’re alcoholics. That’s why our women leave us. We’re broken toys.” --Gene Hunt, “ Tuesday’s Dead ” episode of Life on Mars (see the full episode here ) The above quote was uttered by hardened police chief Gene Hunt in ABC’s Life on Mars , a series about present-day cop Sam Tyler who gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Sam doesn’t know why he’s in 1973, if it’s a real experience of time travel or it’s all in his head. In many ways, I’m beginning to think of this series as an interesting and engaging exploration of a common human experience: those times when we find our lives turned upside-down, when nothing seems to be the way it should be, when we feel lost and far from anything familiar. Like Sam, we try to make sense of it all—of who we are and why we are here—as we try to find our way home . In a series that explores this, I...

Please God, I don’t know where I am. I’m completely lost. I know now you answer prayers. So, I’m asking . . . please help me find my way home. Thank you. Amen. This is a prayer said by Sam Tyler at the end of the “ Things to Do in New York When You Think You’re Dead ” episode of Life on Mars , a new series on ABC about a present-day cop who gets hit by car and wakes up in 1973. He doesn’t know why he’s there, if it’s a real experience or all in his head. But as he goes through the days, he not only finds clues to his predicament but also healing for past wounds, particularly in his father’s abandonment of him as a child—of which he takes a step forward in this episode (which you can watch online here ). Sam utters this prayer after a series of encounters that cause him to reconsider his beliefs about God. Early on, during an investigation into a young girl’s death, he encounters a Catholic priest who responds incredulously to Sam’s off-the-cuff remark urging the priest to consider how...