(S01E06) Gotta love that old school funk that the episode started with. I've been constantly commenting about how similar the individual plots and characters are to the original British version of the show (which has been noticed in the feedback), but in this episode I saw a lot of the show coming into its own. Some of the plot differences even make more logical sense that the original version.

The attention to detail from the entire series is superb. Little bits like Sam's frustration with using an old style typewriter add to the flavor of the show. As usual, Michael Imperioli gets the best lines. It wouldn't surprise me if he got a best supporting actor Emmy nomination for this role, despite its cartoonish nature.

I didn't see the plot twist of Maya leaving Sam in 2008 coming. In the Brit series, it happens much later in the second season. However, in retrospect, it's a much more appropriate time for her to leave him. The scene with Sam's happiest memory was particularly touching. With Maya out of the picture, Sam can feel free to pursue Annie as a possible love interest (as hinted at the end of the episode). The I Love Lucy homage in the closing credits was a nice touch, although it would have been more appropriate to use a 70's series instead of a 50's series, no matter how iconic it is.

The entire hostage situation was kind of ridiculous to me. How could one man, whether he's armed or not, hold off an entire battalion of cops? The officers of the 125 seem one step away from total corruption (with only Sam and Annie to reel them in), but they never seemed so bad at their jobs as they did in this episode. It was never even properly explained where our criminal-of-the-week got all the explosives and weaponry. I suppose the detail is superfluous to the story, but still...

It was nice to see Annie and Sam loosen up in the beginning of the episode. I laughed at Sam's turn as Michael Jackson, and I'm glad he chose to emulate 80's Michael Jackson rather than a later decade.

While I appreciate the gritty look of the series, the characters' dialogue keeps screaming that they are trapped on Disney television and while in the House of the Mouse, there are no bad words. In that regard, this program may have been more appropriate on HBO or Showtime.

My memory is shaky. Did hospitals have surveillance cameras like that in 1973? I do love the attention to detail of the series. Gretchen Mol looked particularly sexy in her nurse uniform, and I suspect that was done on purpose.

The overall theme of psychosis and perception of the world from this episode was played very well (particularly since one of the reasons of Sam's visit to 1973 may be insanity). I also liked how they kept it uncertain whether the hospital administration was corrupt or the patients were genuinely untreatable. They didn't try to wrap it all up like other, more cliché cop shows.

Keitel's New Yawk accent was particularly tough to translate in this episode. "You against the world" sounded more like "Jew against the world". His creative use of whiskey bottles to save his life was also cute.

The series is starting to step away from its progenitor and come into its own. I look forward to when they stop adapting the plots from the original and present some stories that the original didn't (unless, of course, they begin adapting the sequel series Ashes to Ashes).