How Life On Mars Stood Out

[King_Serperior]

Back in 2001, I was little. Little enough to get, see, and want Bionicle, but little that I thought Tahu was a girl just because his mask was shaped the way it was. Back then, they had these little separate booklets other than the instructions that housed what other lines would be selling at the same point in time the set it was packaged with would come out. I would see the Life On Mars promo pages. I would often think to myself it was pretty strange, because there was no straightforward fighting, which brings me to my first point. LoM never introduced major conflict like other themes. While there were things like rebels, they were never clearly introduced as much as say, skeletons in Ninjago were. Both humans and martians seemed to be just there to give kids a choice, in retrospect, between playing intrepid human explorers or martians mining and riding that tube system that was used in the martian base set. Despite the fact that some say conflict brings out the worst in children, it did sell, and Bionicle, which was heavily conflict and story oriented, lasted for almost 10 years. Second is that each character wasn't a blank face as they are in most action themes today. Each character on each side had name. I also found it inventive how the Martians' names would be the names of stars. Thirdly, instead of the here-are-two-sides-they-will-fight-for-one-year-or-so LoM got a weekly radio log accompanied by a mini-game. Each log would tell a chapter of the story, which in turn painted a fantastical version of Mars complete with underground cities and castles. To be honest, I still think of LoM as more progressive than a lot of themes that had potential, like World Racers or Pharaoh's Quest.Credit to the maker of Biodium Vault for helping me rediscover this lost theme and for inspiring me to work on my on LoM story as well.

[Katuko]

I have fond memories of spending a few hours just rebuilding the martian robots with no real conflict involved, yeah. For some reason this theme did not bring out my natural kid instinct of "everyone fight!", because making spaceships and discovering aliens were "enough". Finding the webpage with all the unexpected backstory almost blew my mind, since I am a sucker for backstory at times. Life on Mars was a very nice theme, and I missed it after it went away.

[Lyichir]

I in fact disliked Life on Mars because of the lack of clear antagonists. The only conflict in the theme involved the "rebel" Martians, who were never fleshed out as a faction of their own. As such, it ended up looking like there was no conflict at all, and a lack of conflict leads to a poorly-developed plot.I disagree that most characters in modern themes are "blank faces". Agents had a clearly-defined cast of characters, as did Pharaoh's Quest, Atlantis, and the upcoming Monster Fighters.I was never aware of all the plot materials online. They must have been poorly promoted, and that is a weakness in my eyes. Themes like Agents didn't need to promote supplementary material, since the sets established a clear plot without needing comics, books, movies, or story serials.I loved the sets for Life on Mars, which had epic color schemes and included some of the best mechs of the time, but the story always underwhelmed me. Modern themes are much better in terms of story, in my opinion.

[Sumiki]

I see Life on Mars as one of those themes that came along while LEGO was evolving into its present form. There was story, but not much of it - this leads some to praise it, and some to dislike it in favor of newer and more story-oriented themes.I was a little too young to really remember the sets, and I never saw but one in person - one that I built. I wish there was more teal in that set ... it was some mech, if I recall correctly.I'd like to see it brought back. I think it'd be pretty successful, even if they didn't introduce antagonists.

[Gatanui]

I'd like to see it brought back. I think it'd be pretty successful, even if they didn't introduce antagonists.

In a way, it was brought back as Mars Mission in 2007 which again had the tube transport system and other elements of Life on Mars. I enjoyed it a lot for its great sets and games (CrystAlien Conflict was one of the best LEGO games ever). The only thing that I didn´t like about Mars Mission was the immobile alien minifigs.I liked Life on Mars a lot but I never owned a set (just like Mars Mission and a few other themes, actually). The aliens were funny, and I loved the tubing system just from seeing it. If I remember right I saw it in person once and I enjoyed it. It´s a shame I never knew about the Life on Mars games and story. Maybe it wasn´t advertised enough, but then again, I wasn´t nearly as active on the computer as I am now or even in 2007.~Gata.

[Lyichir]

I'd like to see it brought back. I think it'd be pretty successful, even if they didn't introduce antagonists.

In a way, it was brought back as Mars Mission in 2007 which again had the tube transport system and other elements of Life on Mars. I enjoyed it a lot for its great sets and games (CrystAlien Conflict was one of the best LEGO games ever). The only thing that I didn´t like about Mars Mission was the immobile alien minifigs.I liked Life on Mars a lot but I never owned a set (just like Mars Mission and a few other themes, actually). The aliens were funny, and I loved the tubing system just from seeing it. If I remember right I saw it in person once and I enjoyed it. It´s a shame I never knew about the Life on Mars games and story. Maybe it wasn´t advertised enough, but then again, I wasn´t nearly as active on the computer as I am now or even in 2007.~Gata.

I loved Mars Mission primarily because it was a dark reimagining of Life on Mars. "Say, what if our first encounter with extraterrestrials wasn't with a friendly, bubble-headed species, but instead a hive-dwelling Xenomorph-like conqueror race?" At the time I felt a bit stung due to the theme throwing the peaceful negotiations of Life on Mars out the window, but eventually (tying in largely with the release of LEGO Battles, which better fleshed out the aliens), I grew to appreciate Mars Mission for what it was: a more visceral war story, rather than the comparatively bland exploration of its predecessor.

[Dralcax]

I remember seeing a promo or two, but I never had a set. It appeared to be more peaceful, like Lego City (minus Police). It seemed different and offbeat somehow. It was unique, but didn't really take off.

[King_Serperior]

I in fact disliked Life on Mars because of the lack of clear antagonists. The only conflict in the theme involved the "rebel" Martians, who were never fleshed out as a faction of their own. As such, it ended up looking like there was no conflict at all, and a lack of conflict leads to a poorly-developed plot.I disagree that most characters in modern themes are "blank faces". Agents had a clearly-defined cast of characters, as did Pharaoh's Quest, Atlantis, and the upcoming Monster Fighters.I was never aware of all the plot materials online. They must have been poorly promoted, and that is a weakness in my eyes. Themes like Agents didn't need to promote supplementary material, since the sets established a clear plot without needing comics, books, movies, or story serials.I loved the sets for Life on Mars, which had epic color schemes and included some of the best mechs of the time, but the story always underwhelmed me. Modern themes are much better in terms of story, in my opinion.

I see where you're getting at, but when I mean "blank faces", I was talking about stuff like Mars Mission, Space Police (although this one I'd probably let it slide because doing bios on a whole police force would be draining). For some reason I'm kinda seeing Monster Fighters to be one of those "blank face" themes, but then again I might be proven wrong. In retrospect, a lot of the Mars Mission stuff was better (That huge limited edition 6-wheeled drill tank being displayed on top of one of my cupboards), but I really hated the stiffness of the new martians compared to the old martians.I also kind of miss those visors that would cover more of the helmet, which in this day and age are essentially nonexistent . Space fans in the 90s would probably know what I'm talking about.

[Bambi]

I've always liked the Life on Mars sets. Never got any, but I did get a few Mars Mission sets..

[Lyichir]

I in fact disliked Life on Mars because of the lack of clear antagonists. The only conflict in the theme involved the "rebel" Martians, who were never fleshed out as a faction of their own. As such, it ended up looking like there was no conflict at all, and a lack of conflict leads to a poorly-developed plot.I disagree that most characters in modern themes are "blank faces". Agents had a clearly-defined cast of characters, as did Pharaoh's Quest, Atlantis, and the upcoming Monster Fighters.I was never aware of all the plot materials online. They must have been poorly promoted, and that is a weakness in my eyes. Themes like Agents didn't need to promote supplementary material, since the sets established a clear plot without needing comics, books, movies, or story serials.I loved the sets for Life on Mars, which had epic color schemes and included some of the best mechs of the time, but the story always underwhelmed me. Modern themes are much better in terms of story, in my opinion.

I see where you're getting at, but when I mean "blank faces", I was talking about stuff like Mars Mission, Space Police (although this one I'd probably let it slide because doing bios on a whole police force would be draining). For some reason I'm kinda seeing Monster Fighters to be one of those "blank face" themes, but then again I might be proven wrong. In retrospect, a lot of the Mars Mission stuff was better (That huge limited edition 6-wheeled drill tank being displayed on top of one of my cupboards), but I really hated the stiffness of the new martians compared to the old martians.I also kind of miss those visors that would cover more of the helmet, which in this day and age are essentially nonexistent . Space fans in the 90s would probably know what I'm talking about.

I suppose the lack of actual "characters" was a con for Mars Mission. Space Police was still okay in my book, because like with Agents you had vibrant, diverse villains. Monster Fighters looks like it'll defy your expectations, though. Have you seen the heroes for that theme? Each one is named, and they all are very unique.The early Mars Mission aliens were pretty lame, but the later "Alien Commanders" were better. By the way, one other rarely-observed trait of the early aliens is that they glow in the dark.As for the visors, the helmets used in Atlantis (and the recent LEGO City space subtheme) are a lot like the ones you miss.

[King_Serperior]

Are the Monster Fighters really named? Kinda makes you wonder what kind of name they're gonna give to that female minifig with the arrow in her hair. Pardon this really bad joke: She used to be a monster fighter, but then she took an arrow to the hair

[Lyichir]

Are the Monster Fighters really named? Kinda makes you wonder what kind of name they're gonna give to that female minifig with the arrow in her hair. Pardon this really bad joke: She used to be a monster fighter, but then she took an arrow to the hair

She's Ann Lee, the guy in the bowler hat with the robot leg is Dr. Rodney, the greaser in the swamp monster set is Frank Rock, and the guy wielding the hammer is... Jack McHammer. We don't know the explorer-lookin' fella's name. But needless to say, they're not just assorted faces like in LEGO City or Mars Mission.

[King_Serperior]

So the bowler hat guy has a robot leg now? Didn't think to look at the Toy Fair pics more closelyMars Mission Alien Commanders... one of the best non-minifig aliens Lego has ever made. Period.

[Eyru]

I thought Life on Mars looked really cool (especially the tube system), and seeing as I was only seven or eight when the line existed, it didn't really matter to me that there was no story. I remember making up my own stories with my little alien and his glider, and expanding them as I got more sets.In fact, thinking back on it, I definitely prefer LoM to lines such as Space Police. The lack of a good guy/bad guy made for interesting stories because you weren't forced to portray the humans as the good guys. Looking at any of today's alien sets, the aliens are always made to look like the bad guys, so even if you take away the police, it's hard to pretend that you're left with any heroes. LoM was cool because the Martians could be good or bad, warlike or peaceful, depending on your mood. I think it's a progressive line in terms of the fact that the humans didn't have to be the good guys.

[King_Serperior]

I miss this progressiveness the early 2000s brought. Now every Lego theme today except friends is just conflict, conflict, conflict. Yet a good story requires conflict.

[Lyichir]

I miss this progressiveness the early 2000s brought. Now every Lego theme today except friends is just conflict, conflict, conflict. Yet a good story requires conflict.

There are a lot of issues with releasing a non-conflict story theme. For one, it's hard to work subtle emotion into a kids toy rooted in bright colors and the perpetually-smiling figures of the time. Life on Mars was one example of a theme with a complex story that didn't come across well in the sets. You could read about each character online or in the magazines, but just by looking at the figs and the sets it's hard to understand what's going on. The main plot of the theme, the attempted coup against the Martian king, could not be deduced from the sets alone.Compare that to a modern, conflict-based theme like Agents. The good guys are varied, and their characters are more evident thanks to the multiple expressions offered by double-sided heads. The red-headed Agent Fuse, for instance, comes across as a techhead, but based on his other expression it can be deduced that he gets flustered more easily than the others in the heat of a mission. Agent Charge, on the other hand, is a manly action hero: his face alone suggests a lifetime of escaping explosions and charging into action. On the villainous side, you have figures like the clearly-mad Dr. Inferno, the cruel and brutal Break-Jaw, or the obviously gold-obsessed Gold Tooth. Each set establishes a clear scenario, as well: in 8633 Speedboat Rescue, Agent Chase has to rush to rescue the captured Agent Trace from Break-Jaw and his remote-control sharks. This sort of scenario still leaves lots of room for imagination. Will Chase slip past the sharks undetected with the mini sub, or take them out with missiles? Will he blast the handcuffs off of Trace, or use the harpoon to create a zip-line to the sub? The addition of a self-evident story adds meaning to a set without eliminating freedom to expand upon the story as you choose.Note that I did not compare Life on Mars to its more direct successor, Mars Mission. Mars Mission's biggest failing, in my opinion, was to create a conflict without adequately fleshing-out either side of the feud. You couldn't sympathize with the humans because it neither explained their good traits nor the threat the aliens presented. This left a moral ambiguity to the theme, which it would have been better off without.Later space themes did better with this: Space Police established the police force in general as a peacekeeping force, and the alien gang as criminals. As such, this theme didn't need fleshed-out characters for the heroes any more than the LEGO City Police did. Alien Conquest, on the other hand, includes several established roles for characters without having to name them, so you could read a personality into the ADU commander or ADU scientist without having to read the website. As a bonus, Alien Conquest ditches the morally-ambiguous aliens of Mars Mission for a more concrete foe: these aliens were clearly invading our home turf, and the humans were simply defending their home.

[King_Serperior]

Agents was a good theme. But before drifting off, I'll say the one reason it fizzled was the fact that the last wave focused on a generic city. In my mind, it was weird as to why Dr. Inferno would focus all his resources on this one city while in the first wave he was spreading his message and his minions to all corners of the globe.

[Lyichir]

Agents was a good theme. But before drifting off, I'll say the one reason it fizzled was the fact that the last wave focused on a generic city. In my mind, it was weird as to why Dr. Inferno would focus all his resources on this one city while in the first wave he was spreading his message and his minions to all corners of the globe.

The last wave was weak, I agree, but not because of the setting. The problem was that unlike the previous year, the missions didn't really feed into one another. I don't know what the official story was, but my interpretation was that following the collapse of Inferno's master plan, old and new villains alike scrambled to pick up the pieces. Gold Tooth went back to simple theft of gold, Inferno hastily tried to do as much damage as possible with a new invention, and new villains like Dollar Bill (who I always assumed was Inferno's financier) tried to fill the new villainous power vacuum. I never assumed all the missions took place in the same city, but if they did it's probably LEGO City itself, which is not just any city; it's the LEGO world's biggest population center.

[jamesster]

Life on Mars was among the first LEGO themes I ever got into, I own all but one of the sets (the tan four-legged mech, whatever it's called). I didn't ever go to the LoM section of LEGO.com though, so I didn't even know about the radio logs until a year or two ago. But even before then, I did kinda look at Arcturus as a villain, due to his red eyes and whatnot.

[King_Serperior]

That tan mech was the Excavation Searcher. One of the sets I kinda regret missing out on. I mean, it's a four-legged mech with aliens and hovercrafts!

[Aanchir]

One of the things I loved about LEGO Life On Mars was how intercompatible the sets were. 7317 Aero Tube Hangar included docking stations for 7313 Red Planet Protector and 7314 Recon Mech RP. Likewise, 7316 Excavation Searcher came with its own docking station compatible with the Aero Tube Hangar, which had a certain tube that was not connected to any vehicle docking station. In retrospect it's abundantly clear why my family got most of the Martian vehicles and few of the human ones, not to mention why Mars Mission (whose sets were mostly independent of one another) failed to have that same appeal despite recycling features from Life on Mars and other assorted space themes.

[memories]

I loved it, hahah. I had a lot of it. One of my friends and I could spend days just building and playing with Life On Mars. I never read the story, through. LoM was so much better than Mars Mission.