''Twice in a Lifetime'' is a Canadian

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

that originally aired from 1999 to 2001. Created by Steve Sohmer, the series aired on CTV in Canada and

PAX Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...

in the United States.

Plot

The series follows an aspiring angel who for some reason, will not enter heaven, but is assigned to guide someone who has died prematurely. The prematurely deceased, played by the episode guest stars, may choose from the afterlife to correct something that went wrong earlier in their 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 their life in one timeline, and due to circumstances seen by their advocate and judge, is then given 3 days to travel into their past, and without revealing their true identity, convince their 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 and in changing this learn a key lesson to make them become a better person. 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 Paul Popowich is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Smith, an angel who helps people change their pasts, in season two of '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Popovich has performed in many television series, including ''Beverly H ...

played the role of advocate Mr. Smith in Season Two.

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series '' King of Kensingto ...

played Judge Othniel in 42 of the 44 episodes, replaced for two episodes of Season One by

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in '' The Helen ...

as Judge Deborah. Waxman died in heart surgery on January 18, 2001, while the second season was airing.

Cast

Main

: Judge Othniel Jepthah * Gordie Brown: Mr. Jones (season 1) *

: Mr. Smith (season 2)

Recurring

: Judge Deborah (season 1) * Diahann Carroll: Jael, a lawyer (season 1)

Production

Crew

Ten episodes were directed by

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

veteran

David Winning David Winning is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and occasional actor. Although Winning has worked in numerous film and TV genres, his name is most commonly associated with science fiction, thri ...

; including "The Trouble with Harry" (

Jere Burns Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...

Brent Carver Brent Carver (November 17, 1951 – August 4, 2020) was a Canadian actor best known internationally for performances in both London's West End and on Broadway in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as Molina, for which he won the Tony Award for Best L ...

), "Moonshine Over Harlem" (

Earle Hyman Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; October 11, 1926 – November 17, 2017) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on '' ThunderCats'' as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also ap ...

) and "It's a Hard Knock Life" (

Markie Post Marky or Markie may refer to: Nickname * Marky Cielo (1988–2008), Filipino actor and dancer * Marky Delgado (born 1995), American soccer player * Markie Mark (born 1974), BBC Radio director * Marky Markowitz (1923–1986), American jazz trumpete ...

). Veteran television producer Barney Rosenzweig ('' Charlie's Angels'', ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

'') oversaw the first season of the series.

Writing

* The scenario of this series always takes place in four stages: the accidental death of a person, their judgment, their second chance in the past and the happy ending. * In season 2, Mr. Jones is replaced by Mr. Smith, a mystery man with no ID pulled out of a burning church by a firefighter (season 2 episode 1: Fallen Angel) He dies in the firefighter's arms. His death seems to make 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. Also Mr Smith seems to be trying to remember who he is and complete his job as a guide/defense and helper to the souls he picks up so he can either get his life back or become an angel. It's never made clear and we never find out what his whole story is. * In two episodes of the first season, we see the judge Deborah, played by

, and Diahann Carroll playing the role of prosecutor.

Episodes

Season 1: 1999–2000

Season 2: 2000–2001

Reception

Awards

Syndication

Reruns of ''Twice in a Lifetime'' are currently airing on the

W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was established in ...

in Canada and Ebru in the United States.

Home media

Video Service Corp has released two volumes of ''Twice in a Lifetime'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, with each volume featuring two episodes. In February 2022,

Visual Entertainment Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.Twice in a Lifetime: The Heavenly Collection
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References

External links

* *{{epguides, id=TwiceinaLifetime, title=Twice in a Lifetime 1999 Canadian television series debuts 2001 Canadian television series endings 1990s Canadian drama television series 2000s Canadian drama television series Angels in television Canadian fantasy television series CTV Television Network original programming Canadian time travel television series Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Muse Entertainment Religious drama television series 1990s Canadian time travel television series 2000s Canadian time travel television series