PREMIERE

WELCOME BACK TO 1973! NYPD DETECTIVE SAM TYLER FREAKS OUT WHEN HIS LIFE CHANGES IN AN INSTANT � AS HE ATTEMPTS TO ADJUST TO HIS NEW BUT OUTDATED SURROUNDINGS AND THE MAVERICK POLICING OF A BY-GONE ERA � ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF ABC'S "LIFE ON MARS," THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9

Stellar Cast Features Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol and Jonathan Murphy

Lisa Bonet Returns to Series Television in the Recurring Guest Starring Role of Maya Daniels

NYPD Detective Sam Tyler finds himself in 1973 in the cultural hotbed of New York City during the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women's lib and the civil and gay rights movements � without a cell phone or computer -- suddenly hurtled back in time, ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal. He's trying mightily to understand what's just happened to him and how he can get back "home," on the premiere of "Life on Mars," THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

In the premiere episode, "Out Here in the Fields," NYPD detectives Sam Tyler and Maya Daniels, partners on and off the beat, are in hot pursuit of Colin Raimes for the murder of a young woman. A questionable alibi forces them to let Raimes go, but when the couple has a personal falling out, Maya, unconvinced of Raimes' innocence, goes it alone to track him down. Sam, scared for her safety, desperately searches for Maya and is hit by a car. Regaining consciousness, he's mysteriously back in 1973 New York, now assisting a new, tough and politically incorrect precinct boss, Lieutenant Gene Hunt, and the other squad members in searching for a killer who seems to use identical methods to those of Raimes. Is this why he was sent back in time? Will it help him save Maya? And will he ever get back to 2008?

Sam feels like he's on a different planet. It's the Wild West out there -- uncontrollable criminals, police on the take. Forced to use a different moral code and without hi-tech crime fighting techniques, he clashes with his new boss at the 125th Precinct, the irascible Lt. Hunt, who would rather use his fists than his brains to solve a crime. The other squad members of the 1-2-5 include Detective Ray Carling, a big, mean guy in a street-fight with life. Ray may be a rough, tough sexist, but he's a handy guy to have in your corner. Annie Norris is a member of the Police Women's Bureau. At a time when females were only allowed to do menial tasks and not real police work, she's the smartest person in the room. Annie struggles to deal with being undermined, under-used and, in general, against the sexism of the times, even while she dreams of becoming a real cop. She's also the one person Sam can turn to for help in guiding him in his new reality. Then there's rookie Detective Chris Skelton, a sweet guy trying to make it in this uncompromising world, but out of his league right now with Gene and Ray.

Just how will Sam deal with all this ambiguity while trying to remain a top detective, as he desperately attempts to get back to 2008? He might just find things aren't so dissimilar in New York circa 1973 and 2008.

"Out Here in the Fields" was written by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg and directed by Gary Fleder.

"Life on Mars" stars Jason O'Mara ("In Justice," "Grey's Anatomy," "Men in Trees") as Detective Sam Tyler, Harvey Keitel ("Bugsy," "Reservoir Dogs," "The Piano," "Pulp Fiction," "Mean Streets") as Lieutenant Gene Hunt, Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos," "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day") as Detective Ray Carling, Gretchen Mol ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter,""3:10 to Yuma," "The Notorious Bettie Page") as Annie Norris and Jonathan Murphy ("October Road") as Detective Chris Skelton.

Guest starring in "Out Here In The Fields" are Lisa Bonet ("High Fidelity," "Enemy of the State," "The Bill Cosby Show") as Maya Daniels (2008), Clarke Peters as Captain Bellow (2008), Michael Bertolini as Colin Raimes (2008), John Cenatiempo as Sizeable Ted, Mike Starr as Nelson, Ken Marks as scientist, Seamus-Davey Fitzpatrick as young Colin, Austin Basis as Willy Kramer, Phyllis Somerville as Mrs. Raimes, Carrie Getman as Dora Keene, Ramsey Faragallah as Raimes' lawyer (2008), Francisco Burgos as boy one (2008), Aru Banks as boy two (2008), Michael Mulheren as patrolman and Robert Salerno as young Lawrence.

Josh Appelbaum ("Alias," "October Road"), Andre Nemec ("Alias," "October Road") and Scott Rosenberg ("October Road") are executive producers. "Life on Mars" is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios.

"Life on Mars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV-parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.

This episode of "Life on Mars" will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.