Andy's Anachronisms
Time Travel Television Reviews

Twice In A Lifetime

Twice in a Lifetime
Principal Cast
  Mr. Jones
Judge Othneil
Geordie Brown
Al Waxman

Synopsis

Twice In A Lifetime premiered in the Fall of 1999 and features Gordie Brown as Mr. Jones, a celestial guardian angel. In Twice In A Lifetime recently departed souls are given the opportunity to have their case argues before Judge Othneil (Al Waxman) who decides whether or not they should be allowed to return to Earth and attempt to set their own lives right.

A co-production between American based Paxson Entertainment [PAX TV] and Canadian based CTV, the series features weekly guest stars such as Patrick Duffy, Corbin Bernsen, Stephanie Zimbalist, Kate Jackson and Joe Penny to name a few.

Getting Around In Time
Nothing quite like the power of God almighty to help warp time and space. I mean if the supreme being came create the universe out of nothingness, then why not just manipulate time to suit his needs. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Then again it does raise the question why did it take him a whole 7 days to create the world?

At the end of the episode the deceased are returned to the present with their lives straightened out and presumably still alive. Their memories are conveniently wiped of their time in the afterlife and of their second chance. For all they know their life has always been this good.

Review
While I have a few episodes of this on tape, I have only managed to watch one episode so far. That's not intended as a comment on the quality of the series, just a reflection on my busy schedule. I just wanted to state up front that I may be making some generalizations based limited data in what follows.

Playing on that age old premise of "what if?", Twice in A Lifetime manages to appeal to the most selfish of time travel themes, namely altering your own personal timeline. However it should be noted that the deceased do not undertake the intervention willingly. Judged in the afterlife to have failed to live a good life for a variety of reasons, the defendants are given the opportunity to make amends or face the unpleasant alternative of an eternity in somewhere other than Heaven.

Borrowing elements of Highway to Heaven, Touched by an Angel and Quantum Leap this series has enough appeal to make for a convincing moral tale. I was also surprised to find that while the show does not shy away from its religious message the writing managed to avoid being overly preachy. At no time during the episode did I find myself feeling as if I was being lectured or recruited by a religous group.

I look forward to catching up on a few episodes of this I have on tape, and I may have to report back with further thoughts on the series at that time.

Related Links
I wasn't able to find any fan sites related to this series which is not uncommon for a fledgling series such as this. If anyone happens to know of any fan sites related to Twice in A Lifetime, please pass them along.

Return to Andy's Anachronisms Home

Return to Television Review Index

www.timetravelreviews.com