Even after the novelty wore off the BBC original of this time-traveling cop show, there was a remarkably squalid Manchester to contemplate. Whether the East Village in Manhattan, circa 1973, will be equally compelling to viewers of an Americanized version is uncertain—the good old days of penury, filth, deindustrialization, heroin, and landlords burning down the Bronx. Present-day New York cop Jason O’Mara is hit by a car while chasing a suspect and wakes up 35 years ago, without a computer or cell phone, in the middle of Vietnam and women’s lib. But he’s still a cop, with such rough cohorts as Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli. He will need their help to get back to the future—and Lisa Bonet. This is a flabbergasting cast, so far called upon to do not much besides posturing. But my fingers are crossed, and my eyes too.

ABC
Thursdays, 10 P.M.

Related:

• Archive: “Television”
• Articles by John Leonard
• Table of Contents: Oct 13, 2008 issue of New York | Subscribe!