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?

I just saw the the first episode tonight and I was real impressed.I thought the show was great.I always wanted to turn back the clock and change my life.As we all know we cant.I will continue watching this show untill the day it is cancelled.

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.

Come on. They only showed two episodes of this series. I believe the show the audience deserved more than that. The two episodes I saw showed a lot of promise. I liked the cast, but everybody needs more than two episodes to prove themselves.

The network really missed an opportunity to promote this show on 80s and other retro-style radio stations. The 80s are in, and this show could have done well had it been given a chance.

The world, they say, will never know.

"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.