Twice in a Lifetime

Season II Episode guide

 

Click to see episode synopses:

Fallen Angel #227

Matchmaker, Matchmaker #223

My Blue Heaven #224

It’s a Hard Knock Life # 225

Curveball #226

Expose #228

The War of the Poseys #229

The Escape Artist #230

Some Like It…Not #231

**New**

Grandma’s Shoes

Used Hearts

The Frat Pack

The Night Before Christmas

 

**Episode synopses provided courtesy of Muse Entertainment and Pebblehut Productions

 

 

#227 Fallen Angel

(First episode)

Written by: Pamela K. Long

 

 

 

Ray Patterson (played by guest star, Bruce Boxleitner) is a courageous and honored fireman. He seems like the model citizen.  But inside he harbors a giant regret : four years ago his thirteen-year-old son, Richie (Aaron Poole), severely beat another boy during a fight that Richie had instigated.  Ray covered up the crime instead of teaching Richie to take responsibility for his actions.  The mistake had tragic consequences; Richie’s bad behavior worsened over the years, and Ray’s life ends at the wrong end of his son’s gun. 

 

When Ray dies, Judge Othniel (Al Waxman) grants Ray a chance to correct this mistake, and sends him back with Mr. Smith (Paul Popowich), a newly-appointed celestial guide.  Mr. Smith knows he died in a fire Ray had been fighting, but he has no memories of his previous life.  Nor is he ready to accept his new mission.  But with a bang of his gavel, Othniel sends both men back to Ray’s past.  They’ll need to learn on the fly, follow their instincts, and renew their faith in order to help mend the fragile relationship between this estranged father and son.


 

 

 

 

 

#223 Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Written by: Star Frohman

 

 

 

Men = heartache, pain and tsouris.  So goes the mantra of Rhonda Finkelstein (played by guest star Lesley Ann Warren), who has instilled the mantra in her daughter Molly (Danielle Brett) as well.  Rhonda’s philosophy originated eleven years ago, at the exact moment her husband Ira left her and Molly for a young, blonde twinkie.   In Judgment Court, Rhonda is shocked to learn that she is the cause of Molly’s deep-rooted loneliness, and begs Judge Othniel for a second chance.  But in order to help her daughter find love and happiness, Rhonda must first learn how to open her own heart to love.


 

 

 

 

 

# 224 My Blue Heaven

Written by Bob Wolterstorff & Mike Scott

 

 

 

All his life, Dan Patello (played by Ralph Macchio) aspired to be a cop, like his father, Russ (played by Richard Comar), and grandfather. He’s got it in his genes.  But Dan never anticipated the rampant corruption within the department that includes planting evidence and accepting bribes.  When Dan is killed during an illicit shakedown, Smith doesn’t want to defend him.  He has no sympathy for this dirty cop.  But Othniel sees Dan’s promise and sends the duo back to prevent Dan’s younger self from accepting his first bribe.  Along the way Dan will uncover his father’s secret, a secret he may not be able to accept.


 

 

 

 

 

#225 It’s a Hard Knock Life

Written by Marcy Vosburgh

 

 

Nancy Donovan (played by Markie Post) has lived the epitome of a hard-knock life - at least that’s what she believes.  She grew up in an orphanage and was never adopted.  Over the years she became a bitter recluse, only showing love for her many cats.  When Nancy dies, Othniel recognizes her potential and sends her back to the orphanage where her younger self grew up.  She believes her mission is to find Young Nancy (played by Alexandra and Holly Stapley) a home with a “perfect family.”  But Nancy is surprised to learn that the director of the orphanage (played by Sandi Ross) had always loved and supported her- but Nancy did not recognize that love. She discovers that home is where the heart is.


 

 

 

 

#226 Curveball

Written by Randy Brown

 

 

 

Max Bogart (played by Mike Hughes) is a 14-year-old minor league baseball player whose love of the game has been soured by his overbearing, domineering father, Ben (played by Stewart Bick).   Ben’s win-at-all costs attitude ultimately leads to tragedy, when Max is critically injured at the batting cages.  Smith is so distressed at the death of a child, that he bumbles the transition, and Max is sent back to his father’s childhood instead!  In getting to know his father as a boy, Max discovers the events that shaped his father as a man… a man who loved his son, but was unable to fully express it.


 

 

 

# 228 Expose

Written by Star Frohman

 

 

 

Somewhere along the way, tabloid reporter Kat Lopez’s (played by Maria Conchita Alonso) ambition has overtaken her conscience.  Willing to do whatever it takes to get the scoop, Kat meets her demise while digging for tabloid gold in a garbage dumpster. Judge Othniel returns Kat as the assistant to legendary but fading movie star, Dorothy Ireland  (played by Laura Press) whose job is to protect Dorothy from the prying eyes of her younger self.   Kat finally sees the devastation her former ambition has wrought, and must stop the presses before it’s too late.


 

 

 

 

 

#229  The War of the Poseys

Written by Neil Landau

 

 

 

Mark and Mindy Posey are husband and wife marriage counselors (played by Martin Mull and Kathleen Laskey).  The trouble is, all those cute things they used to love about each other are now just plain annoying and they’re getting a divorce.  On the way home from a settlement session they’re too busy arguing to avoid a fatal car crash.  Judge Othniel and Smith try to get their testimony of regrets, but it’s no use; these two are continuously at each other’s throats. Unable to bring them to order, Othniel finds them in contempt of court and sends them back in time - together!  Over the three days, they discover the secret misunderstandings that have fueled their resentments for all these years.  Now they must help their younger selves keep the flame of their love alive. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

#230  The Escape Artist

Written by Neil Landau

 

 

 

Tony Tremaine (played by C. Thomas Howell), a once-renowned escape artist, is executed in the electric chair for murdering his beautiful sister Vicki (played by Polly Shannon), who was also his partner in the “Amazing Tremaines” act.  In Judgment Court, Tony insists that he’s innocent and pleads with Judge Othniel to grant him a second chance.  Othniel sends him back to the magic club where he used to perform, this time as a security guard.  Smith accompanies Tony as a ventriloquist.  Together they must try to prevent the murder and uncover the real culprit.  But both Tony’s and Smith’s faith are put to the test by a most unexpected twist of fate.


 

 

 

 

 

# 231  Some Like it… Not

Written by Lance Kinsey

 

 

 

When Judge Othniel grants womanizer Sandy Greiner, D.D.S.(played by Patrick Cassidy), three days to “walk a mile in a woman’s shoes,” Sandy doesn’t take him literally.  But when he and Smith find themselves returned to the past as women, they suddenly realize what a hard road lies ahead.  And it’s a road that’s even harder to navigate in high heels!  Sandy returns to his old dental office as receptionist, Mandy, with all the necessary voluptuous attributes. Smith becomes temp bookkeeper, Lorraine.  Now Mandy must face the task of serving the needs of her misogynist boss, while learning some hard facts about what it’s like to be a member of the opposite sex.   It’s only as a woman that he’s able to become a better man and finally see the love of his life-- who’s been right under his nose for years.

 

GRANDMA’S SHOES

 

Cloris Leachman as “Ruth Harper”

Paul Popowich as “Mr. Smith”

Al Waxman as “Judge Othniel”

Tamara Hope as “Young Ruth”

Aaron Ashmore as “Young Paul”

Chloe Randle Reis as “Young Marley”

Fiona Reid as “Mama”

Peter Donaldson as “Daddy”

 

 

Ruth Harper moved out of the family farm 50 years ago with dreams of seeing the world and becoming a successful writer. Before she left, she convinced her brother Paul to bury his only shoes  - which had once belonged to his grandmother – as a symbol of throwing off the yoke of their poverty. As Ruth was on board a train to Buffalo, Paul was mortally bitten by a poisonous snake while working barefoot in the fields. When Ruth dies, Judge Othniel grants her the chance to return to her past and save her brother. In the process, Ruth must learn to appreciate the family she’s taken for granted and recover what she had left behind on the farm … her heart.

 

“USED HEARTS”

 

Jackee Harry as “Darcy Green”

Novie Edwards as “Young Darcy”

Paul Popowich as “Mr. Smith”

Al Waxman as “Judge Othniel”

Martin Roach as “Dwight” and “Young Dwight”

Derwin Jordan as “Harrison” and “Young Harrison”

Tiffany Deriveau as “Young Rebecca”

 

 

 

 

Darcy Green and Dwight are the proud owners of  “Darcy’s Dreams,” a used car dealership, where turning back the odometer and selling dreams,

are the name of the game.         Darcy dies in a freak accident when a car in the showroom rolls on top of her.  In her life review she is horrified to learn that a souped-up Mustang she sold to teenage Rebecca and her brother, Harrison, years before had claimed the young girl’s life.  Harrison went crazy from grief.

Darcy is returned to earth as a consumer protection official and her mission is to stop her younger self from selling the car to Rebecca.  But her younger self is too devious a saleslady. Darcy also discovers that the love of her life, Dwight, uses defective parts in the cars he sells and lies about it.  She and Dwight have to come clean and turn honest in order to save Rebecca’s life.

 

 

THE FRAT PACK

 

 

Dale Midkiff as “Reese” and  “Chip”

Zachary Bennett as “Young Reese”

Corey Sevier as “Young Ethan”

Paul Popowich as “Mr. Smith”

Al Waxman as “Judge Othniel”

Kevin Jubinville as “Ethan”

Jeff Geddis as “Dooley”

Jesse Nilsson as “T.J”

 

 

Reese O'Malley, thinks he's been good to his younger brother Ethan.  After all, hasn't he always bailed 'the loser' out of jams all his life?  So Reese is surprised when Judge Othniel accuses him of harboring sibling jealousy and returns him to his college days.  Reese, a proud member of Gamma Omicron Delta fraternity, must prevent Ethan, a promising athlete, from permanently injuring himself during the fraternity’s initiation "tequila track test."  As Reese observes their relationship with new eyes, he realizes that he secretly wanted his brother to fail.  This in part stems from his belief that their mother, Edie, always favored Ethan.  Reese must also make peace with the dying Edie, if he is to discover at long last, the true meaning of brotherly love.

 

 

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

 

 

Stephanie Kramer as “Delia Harmony”

Cara Pifko as “Young Delia”

Paul Popowich as “Mr. Smith”

Al Waxman as “Judge Othniel”

Kim Poirier as “Amanda”

Gordon Currie as “Jake”

 

 

 

Delia Harmony lost her Christmas spirit 19 years ago - the night her twin sister Amanda died.  She and Amanda had been fighting over Jake, the drummer in their up-and-coming country band, when Amanda raced off into the night on Delia’s motorcycle and never returned.  Delia blamed herself and gave up on everything, her singing, her career… even Christmas.  When Judge Othniel grants Delia a chance to save her sister and discover the true meaning of family, Delia doesn’t realize that it’s also a chance to recover a long-lost love… and the joy of Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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