On 'The Sopranos,' actor Michael Imperioli excelled at playing Christopher Moltisanti, a goodfella in every sense of the word. A made man. Definitely on the wrong side of the law. Since the HBO series has ended -- and even before that -- Imperioli has found work on the other side of the badge. He's doing it again. Michael Imperioli will star in '187 Detroit' for ABC, a new cop drama.

The premise of '187 Detroit' is kind of 'The Office' meets 'NYPD Blue' in Michigan. It's a funny take on a Detroit homicide squad if they were to have a documentary crew following them around on cases. Imperioli will be Fitch, the hot-tempered, veteran detective who boasts an impeccable record for closing cases and catching killers.

Tony's going to be getting suspicious; Cristophuh's been spending a lot of time on the other side of the law ...

'The Sopranos' star Michael Imperioli, who played a cop last season on ABC's 'Life on Mars' and, more recently, in the big-screen drama 'The Lovely Bones,' will yet again take a bite out of crime as the lead in ABC's drama pilot '187 Detroit.'

The series, the latest to follow the mockumentary format employed so successfully by comedy series like 'The Office' and 'Modern Family,' will find the former Christopher Moltisanti playing a character named Fitch, a prickly homicide detective who's very good at putting away the bad guys.

(S01E17) It's the last episode ever of the American version of this show. I'm not sure if it's appropriate or not, but it happened on April Fool's Day, as well. They certainly took the show to its most literal conclusion possible. As I write this, I'm still processing a lot of the story.

Comparisons are inevitable, and the ending of the British series was hands-down better. However, this one was good for a couple of laughs and wasn't completely outrageous (close, but not completely).

Tonight marks the series finale of ABC's 'Life on Mars.'

The show, an American version of a Brit series of the same name, stars Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Gretchen Mol and developed a cult following despite only one season on the airwaves.

Unfortunately, there weren't enough fans to warrant a second installment. (Reminding us of that other recent short-lived '70s-set series 'Swingtown' -- oh, 1970s, why must all the good shows that depict your awesome polyester wardrobes, feathery hairstyles and outrageously outdated mores be killed off so quickly? We're not counting 'That '70s Show,' and we think you know why.)

But, ahem, AOL TV was granted an exclusive on set visit to 'LOM,' where we got our '70s fix, but good.

So what was life actually like on 'Mars'? Read through our post to see the highlights (and then shed a tear for the passing of this fine, fine show -- we're nostalgic already).

(S01E16) In our second-to-last episode, we get a few revelations about Sam and the reason behind his trip to 1973. Nothing conclusive, of course, but that's probably been saved for next week. Will Sam get back to 2009? Will he die? Will he get hit by another car and wake up in 1938? The mind boggles.

Sam is really adapting to his environment and becoming more brutal in his police work. Being stuck in a 1973 cop show is really rubbing off on him. On the plus side, even a bullet can't keep Michael Imperioli from delivering a great performance while in surgery. I think I'll miss you the most, Ray.

(S01E15) Well, that was quite an ending, wasn't it? I admit I wasn't expecting that one. One cannot help but wonder if at that stage of filming, the creators were aware of the cancellation of the series and decided to throw in a few curve balls to create an "anything can happen" atmosphere and keep the loyal viewers on their toes.

(S01E14) The more I watch this show, the more I think Sam is not stuck in the past. I'm not sure where he is. It's definitely somewhere fictional. My guess is some virtual reality thing. However, they further proved how unrealistic the show is by pulling out the old "identical twin from the middle of nowhere" trick. It saves casting time and money by using the same actor or actress for two different roles.

I don't care how similar two people look. There are minor differences in things such as voice and mannerisms that anybody who even remotely knew Valerie would have picked up that Annie was not her. Also, if Valerie was such a loner, how is it that she worked with her two roommates yet supposedly they didn't know her that well? If they saw her both at home and work and didn't figure out the switch, then I'm sorry, but they are a few bricks short of a load.

(S01E13) Now that it has been made public of the imminent demise of Life on Mars, it certainly makes any sort of analysis kind of moot. Hopefully, when the series ends (a mere one episode longer than the series that spawned it), it will offer some sort of satisfying closure to its fans (all three of them).

Tonight's episode was a good one with a twist I didn't see until just before it actually happened. Once again, it focused more on the cop mystery of the week rather than Sam's predicament (which was only touched upon with the strange freeze frames in the beginning). The creators will likely have a hell of a lot of exposition about Sam in the final episode.

(S01E12) To begin, I know exactly where they shot the opening scene for tonight's episode. It was in the New York Transit Museum. It's an old subway station that was converted into a museum and includes subway cars from different decades. I visited there recently, which allowed me to recognize some of the background advertisements from the scene.

In the original British series, it was determined that Sam was in a coma. In this series, I think he's in some sort of shared virtual reality. This is simply a hunch based on what we've learned so far.

On to the actual episode...

(S01E11) It's been a while since Sam had his visions. I missed them. However, I think tonight's episode overdid it a little with the Wizard of Oz references. Sam is over the rainbow. We got it. We just don't know why.

I'm glad the creators wrapped up the Maria storyline as quickly as they did. They could only milk her daddy issues for so long, and Sam and Gene have way too much for a bromance going on of their own to let a little thing like sleeping with the boss' daughter interfere.

(S01E10) Every dramatic series has the occasional "comedy" episode, and Life on Mars is no exception. This one was definitely intended for humor which could be confirmed by the cameo appearance of Wallace "Inconceivable" Shawn, who apparently ran The X-Files a few decades before Mulder and Scully investigated the paranormal.

This was a good episode and served several purposes. The first of which was to determine that whatever happened to Sam is not any sort of alien-related experience, thereby getting the most silly and cliché theories out of the way. My only question at this stage is whether the explanation for Sam's predicament is going to be scientific, magical or a combination of both (technomancy, perhaps?). The episode added to the confusion about this by nicknaming Wallace Shawn's forensic investigator "The Sorcerer."

(S01E09) Finally, we get a continuation of the cliffhanger phone call ending from November! Mind you, it was kind of weird (notice that the song about the white room with black curtains played while Sam walked into a white room with black curtains). I wish they showed this episode first, as it was the better episode of the two and really showcased Michael Imperioli's talent as Detective Ray Karling.

Gene Hunt seems to be a big fan of 70's pop culture, as he keeps referring to it in his interview. Ray, on the other hand, keeps using the pseudo-profanity that Disney only permits. Ray also thinks of very colorful and amusing metaphors. It becomes cartoonish after a while. The episode also prodigiously used the slo-mo effect to the point where I thought they must have had to fill time.

(S01E08) This show has found a new directive. That directive is: deviate from the original British series as quickly as possible. It was bound to happen. I just didn't think it would happen so soon or to such a large extent.

To begin: WTF??? When we last left Sam Tyler, he was answering a mysterious phone call. Now we have a jump in time out of Lost and he's at the scene of a suicide in mid-attempt. That's page one of sloppy serial storytelling.

Random House defines outrageous as highly unusual or unconventional; extravagant; remarkable. It's as though they've been watching TV, and wrote their definition to fit some of the crazy characters on television shows today.

Oh, don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. I love these larger-than-life characters, played to perfection by the talented actors who grace these roles. Some fit in perfectly with their surroundings, others stand out like a sore thumb amongst castmates. One thing they all have in common, though, is that watching them is pure entertainment.

Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker on The Mentalist)
Jane doesn't quite have the social graces to blend into society, and that's why I love him. The frumpy suits, the obnoxious antics, and the constant pushing of the envelope make for some good TV. From card counting in the casino to reading Lisbon's mind; hypnotizing suspects to making a sandwich in a victim's home, Jane's done it all. Unconventional, to say the least.

(S01E07) In what would have been the season finale if this were the British version of the show, Sam finally meets his father (and talks to himself as well, in an amusing timey-wimey sort of way). Originally, his father left him on his fourth birthday right after the party. Now, something else happened.

On a tangential note, I do wish this show had theme music of some sort. Preferably something akin to the style of '70s police television dramas. The opening montage seems to go too quickly. At least, this is what I thought while listening to the '70s-style music during the opening chase scene.

Life on Mars does has a slower pace than most of the other shows on television. Fortunately, it is kept interesting by being filled with eye candy such as wide shots and different colors. The shirts and the wallpapers alone fascinate me. I even got a laugh from Gene Hunt's loafers.