Do Over Plot

Joel Larsen is 14 today. The problem is, he was 34 yesterday. 

Thirty-four-year-old Joel Larsen gets a second chance to get his life right, thanks to a freakish accident that catapults him back to 1981. Joel gets an incredible opportunity to do it all over again. Will he make the same mistakes or get it right this time?
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Do Over Cast
Penn Badgley .... Joel Larsen 
Angela Goethals .... Cheryl Larsen 
Josh Wise .... Pat Brody 
Natasha Melnick .... Isabelle Meyers 
Michael Milhoan .... Bill Larsen 
Gigi Rice .... Karen Larsen 

Do Over Trivia Facts
The show takes place in 1981, but many of the songs on the soundtrack are from 1984 and later.

Penn Badgley guest starred on the New UPN Twilight Zone on the episode entitled "Homecoming". He also appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Do Over Memory
Do Over was one of those great shows that just didn't make it. It never ceases to astound me how the most run of the mill same old sitcoms make it year after year, but innovative shows die in a short period of time. Mind you there just happen to be another show at the time with basically the same plot on ABC, but even so that's not near as bad as having basically the same sitcom 20 times repeated on every network. I suppose I could relate a little to the character. I've often thought what it would be like to go back to high school knowing what I know now. Who wouldn't love such an opportunity? Think about it. Knowing how your fellow teenagers end up. Knowing to buy Microsoft stock and Google stock.  The premise of the show getting a second chance and being a kid with the experience of an adult is very intriguing. Personally, I love time travel tv shows and movies. The possibilities are endless. Can you imagine going down the halls of your school seeing the most popular jock in school, the big smart aleck who you know ends up with a hug pot belly. How about the nerd who makes a 100 thousand dollars a year. Maybe you would be a little nicer to your nerd buddy. What about the girl you dated who used to be fine, but looks more like her mother now or the fat girl who ended up being a knock out. What would you do if you had such knowledge? Maybe go find your future wife and start dating her early. Maybe you could prevent that moment or moments in school that gave you physiological issues for the rest of your life. You might be able to make straight A's since you know your teacher is secretly dating his students. Would anybody listen to you if you tried to stop them from making mistakes that would surely ruin their futures? Or by trying to change the future would you just screw it up. As was shown on the ABC version of this program "That Was Then". Another awesome show that ended way too soon.

Another aspect of Do Over that was so interesting was the way Joel Larsen's mother kept inventing things that in a few short years would be extremely popular, but the dad kept saying it was worthless. Makes you wonder how many times that happens in real life. The only gripe I had with the show was the fact that events didn't seem to happen in the real life timeline. Like songs on the soundtrack that weren't out yet. 

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