That Was Then

It was nice to see that the networks both decided to do the exact same show this season. "That Was Then" and "Do Over" are almost mirror images of each other, with both pilots storylines being remarkedly similar. There are three differences. "Do Over" is 30 minutes, versus an hour for "That Was Then". "Do Over" is a sitcom..."That Was Then" goes for the drama-comedy. "Do Over" is the early 1980s versus the late 80s in "That Was Then."

The half hour format seems to work better for these shows. "Do Over" was fun and quick moving. "That Was Then" tended to drag (at least the pilot so far.) I love time travel stuff, but I found myself bored during "That Was Then" at times. Hopefully it will improve. Otherwise, I don't see ABC giving it much chance. How much chance can it really be getting at 9 PM on Friday night?

"That Was Then" grabbed my attention in mid-July when ABC started running promos for the new fall season. I'm a big fan of the "Back to the Future" movies so I was really hoping they would pull this one off in the same way.

Flash forward to late September: The show airs and I love it instantly. The writing, the acting, everything, is perfect. I laugh, I feel inspired, and I believe I've just witnessed the birth of a very popular show.

Though James Bulliard (Travis Glass), looks a little old to be in high school, we soon forget this as he plays the part to a T. Tyler Labine (Donnie Pinkus) is the perfect wise cracking mulleted-buddy. He steals every scene he's in, and plays one of the funniest new characters on TV this season. Top that off with the beautiful Kiele Sanchez (Claudia), who turns in great performance as the innocent "love that got away" from Travis. I actually remember seeing her on MTV a few years back on the wannabe VJ contest, and I was happy to see her career blossoming.

Along with the youthful stars, veterans Jeffrey Tambor (who could forget him on "The Larry Sanders Show") and Bess Armstrong round out the cast as Travis's parents.

The cast is perfect. The writing is perfect. This is a great show, one that I certainly hope will get a second chance in a much better time slot than 8 on Friday night. It deserved better, and I can only hope ABC will have sense enough to bring it back when the time is right.

let me first say that i am biased. i had just arrived in los angeles to pursue my career in acting in july 2002 when i realized that being an extra would be a good, easy way to get my first taste of the biz. i was disheartened to find that extras are treated like dirt on most tv shows. even more depressing was that the overall environment of even the most successful shows (like ER) is filled with stress and unhappiness.

when i started working on 'that was then', it restored my faith in showbiz. all the actors and crew had such great time working together. there was so much pride and optimism in everyone's work. they really thought this show could be the next big thing...

i watched the first two episodes. i thought they were both great. well acted all around. they had the poignancy and humor of cameron crowe and john hughes. james bulliard and tyler lablane were both fantastic (and, i might add, wonderfully friendly people on the set). kiele sanchez was mesmerizingly beautiful (and a very sweet girl in person as well). once i saw the show, i realized why the actors and crew were always so nice and happy. they were making a very good show.

and then my heart sank when i found out that the show was cancelled. i was actually working on the show the day before abc canned it. and by then, everyone knew that the ratings were bad, so the atmosphere was a little less optimistic and happy. but everyone was still nice, got along well, and worked hard. the next day, they were all unemployed again. abc said that it was a good show in a bad timeslot and they were looking to put it somewhere else. seems that those plans have been scrapped. it is months later and i still wish i could thank the actors on this show for being the ONLY actors i ever encountered who would take the time to talk to the extras and even eat with them during lunch. i wish them all the best of luck.

This was such a great series, so of course ABC canceled it after just two episodes. The story was great, and so was the '80s music. The only problem with this series was the time slot (Friday night at 8pm.) If ABC had put this series in a decent time slot, it might have had a chance. What a shame.

You can disregard what the previous poster said. He obviously never watched this show. My wife and I both loved this show. Do Over was terrible in comparison. Anything with Tyler Labine in it is just plain awesome. I really wish that the network had shown the rest of the episodes of this show to finish out the season at least. I'm still disappointed it wasn't given the chance it deserved. Tyler Labine is the new Jack Black and he rocks. He was great in Evil Alien Conquerors. The whole 1980's high school/college scene in this show took me back to a simper and better time. It was refreshing to watch. I'm still hoping the DVD set is released someday for this show.