That Was Then

Manages to be complicated and monotonous at the same time. As with other new fall shows, this one puts too much reliance on narration, the sign of a lazy scriptwriter.

Successful series have been built around less interesting fantasies, but the creators of That Was Then are almost as hapless as their hero. They saddled themselves with a casting nightmare. As the supposedly 16-year-old Travis, Bulliard looks closer to 26. And in the fake beard that's intended to make him look 30, he just looks silly. In fact, none of the cast members who have to play two ages is convincing. [27 Sept 2002, p.B39]

Nothing here works. For one thing, beaming back to 1988 is hardly atmospheric to anybody older than 20. More fundamentally, this is teenhood on Mars. What you get are kids who not only look about 10 years older than they're meant to be, but who also have adult sensibilities. Lacking credibility even for a fantasy like this are Claudia's intimate chat about her virginity with Travis and his with his mother (Bess Armstrong) about an affair she's having. What's more, Travis' obnoxious, ever-present best friend, Pinkus (Tyler Labine), is just about unbearable.

Sort of "Back to the Future" by way of "thirtysomething" -- a derivative, annoying drama with a time-travel conceit. [27 Sept 2002, p.C08]

What are the odds that two networks could each make such a horrible show in the same year?