• Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 27, 2002
Metascore
47

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 22
  2. Negative: 7 out of 22

Critic Reviews

  1. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Aug 19, 2015
    80
    All this should seem precious and dumb, but it doesn't, thanks to the cast's deadpan intelligence and some sharp, self-aware writing (the characters' names often refer to characters in fiction by J.D. Salinger ). Best of all, Travis fails to wrap everything up in a neat, happy way; the second episode, which is much better than the first, essentially starts all over again, picking up on the time-travel mayhem Travis wreaked a week earlier. [27 Sept 2002, p.59]
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Michael Speier
    Aug 19, 2015
    80
    Poignant and smart, and its cast is a pleasant lot that mixes unknowns with vet thesps Bess Armstrong and Jeffrey Tambor. The upside is strong --- it's sweet and sentimental --- but the downside is a fate similar to critical faves "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So-Called Life," two skeins that won raves but no ratings. [27 Sept 2002, p.6]
  3. Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Aug 19, 2015
    70
    An often entertaining series.
  4. San Diego Union-Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert P. Laurence
    Aug 19, 2015
    63
    Not that That Was Then is poorly done. The production is polished, and performances are excellent throughout, particularly those of Jeffrey Tambor as the self-absorbed father and Tyler Labine as Pinkus, Travis' manic pal...But the atmosphere is awfully heavy, self-consciously sober. [27 Sept 2002, p.E-7]
  5. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Marisa Guthrie
    Aug 19, 2015
    63
    Occasionally bogged down by hokey dialogue, the drama is ultimately redeemed by a veneer of hope and some wonderful performances, notably Jeffrey Tambor as Travis' cynical bookmaker father and Labine as his follicle-challenged best friend.