Seventeen so far for Life on Mars

ABC hasn’t quite got the faith to give Life on Mars a full back nine order, but it has ordered four more, so there’s life in the remake series yet. The total is for 17 so far, which means fans can look forward to 10 more stories from the American version. That also means there will be more American episodes than British ones, by one.
   It is getting beaten by Eleventh Hour, another remake of a British series which originally starred Patrick Stewart, and by ER, in its final season, but ABC still sees eight million viewers as respectable.
   A new timeslot means Life on Mars will give up a cushy post-Grey’s Anatomy spot in the US in favour of airing after Lost next year. It might work better given the type of viewer. At least the series is getting promoted, which is more than I can say for NBC’s Journeyman, also made by 20th Century–Fox, last year.