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Twice in a Lifetime (TV series)

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7.5/10
TV

Created by
  
Steve Sohmer

First episode date
  
25 August 1999

7.2/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Drama/Mystery

Theme music composer
  
Glenn Morley

Final episode date
  
30 May 2001

Twice in a Lifetime (TV series) wwwgstaticcomtvthumbtvbanners184584p184584

Written by
  
Randy BrownLiz CoeStar FrohmanBabs GreyhoskyJim KramerNeil LandauSuzanne Marcus LevinePamela K. LongMike ScottSteve SohmerMarcy VosburghRobert Wolterstorff

Directed by
  
Graeme CampbellHolly DaleSteve DiMarcoAlan GoluboffManfred GutheAllan KingEleanor LindoGraeme LynchDavid Winning

Starring
  
Al WaxmanGordie BrownPaul Popowich

Networks
  
ION Television, CTV Television Network

Cast
  
Al Waxman, Paul Popowich, Brody the Bear

Twice in a Lifetime is a Canadian mystery/drama series that originally aired from 1999 to 2001. Created by Steve Sohmer, the series aired on CTV in Canada and PAX in the United States.

Contents

Synopsis

The series follows an aspiring angel who for some reason, will not enter heaven, but is assigned to guide a man who died prematurely. The prematurely deceased, played by the episode guest stars, may choose from the afterlife to correct something that went wrong earlier in his life. The key concept to the series was that each episode featured a different guest star in the leading role, while the series regulars played a supporting role.

Episodes are centered on an individual who had reached the end of his life in one timeline, and due to circumstances seen by his advocate or judge, been given 3 days to travel into his past, and without revealing his true identity, convince his younger self to make a different choice at a pivotal point to effect a different outcome for example, by quitting smoking, or choosing a different job. This way, the series was an anthology of many different arenas and characters.

Season One featured Gordie Brown as advocate Mr. Jones, and Paul Popowich played the role of advocate Mr. Smith in Season Two. Al Waxman played Judge Othniel in 42 of the 44 episodes, spelled for two episodes of Season One by Polly Bergen as Judge Deborah. Waxman died in heart surgery on January 18, 2001, while the second season was airing.

Production staff

Ten episodes were directed by sci-fi veteran David Winning; including "The Trouble with Harry" (Jere Burns, Brent Carver), "Moonshine Over Harlem" (Earle Hyman) and "It's a Hard Knock Life" (Markie Post). Veteran television producer Barney Rosenzweig (Charlie's Angels, Cagney and Lacey) oversaw the first season of the series.

Main actors

  • Al Waxman (VF: Michel Prud'homme): Judge Othniel Jepthah
  • Gordie Brown (VF: Jean-Pierre Michael): Mr. Jones (season 1)
  • Paul Popowich (VF: Pierre Tessier): Mr. Smith (season 2)

    • Recurring cast

  • Polly Bergen: Judge Deborah (season 1)
  • Diahann Carroll: Jael, a lawyer (season 1)

    • Episode development

  • The scenario of this series always takes place in four stages: the accidental death of a person, his judgment, his second chance in the past and the happy ending.
  • In season 2, Mr. Jones, Mr. Smith is replaced by a firefighter whose death made him lose his memory. Jones is as much an expert as Smith is a clumsy beginner. Note that in the second season, the passage to the afterlife is different from season 1.
  • In two episodes of the first season, we see the judge Deborah, played by Polly Bergen, playing the role of prosecutor.

    • Syndication and DVD Release

    Video Service Corp has released a two volumes of Twice in a Lifetime on DVD, with each volume featuring two episodes.

    Reruns of Twice in a Lifetime are currently airing on the W Network in Canada and Ebru in the United States.

    References

    Twice in a Lifetime (TV series) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA