by Carmen Andres

“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 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 in the midst of airing its final episodes. The series was recently canceled, but ABC says the storyline will wrap up by the finale in April. But right now, 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.

One of the recent episodes—“Revenge of Broken Jaw”—opens with Sam talking with Dr. Goldman, a psychologist who is helping him 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 about. Let them into your world. You’re not in Hyde anymore. It’s time to start making this place feel like home.” Read the rest of this entry »