In 1981, a TV movie was made from the 1979 NBC TV series Turnabout by combining episodes 1, 2, 5, and 7. The movie was named The Magic Statue. It starred John Schuck and Sharon Gless as Sam and Penny Alston, who purchase an Asian statue from a roadside Gypsy. Unlike the Tim and Sally Willows from the original book Turnabout and movie Turnabout, the Alstons are happily married and argue far less. They are, however becoming bored with their respective careers and make the mistake of discussing near the statue how nice it would be to switch jobs. The statue works its magic, and overnight the couple swaps bodies. From there, they must learn to manage each others' lives and jobs while trying to figure out how to get the statue to switch them back. Other characters include, Richard Stahl and Bobbi Jordan as Jack and Judy Obermeyer, the Alstons' nosy neighbors, Bruce Kirby as Al Brennan, Sam's boss, and James Sikking as Geoffrey St. James, Penny's boss. The movie ended with Sam and Penny Alston being switched back to their original bodies, and them believing that it had been some sort of shared dream.
The Magic Statue provides examples of:
- All Just a Dream: In the end Sam and Penny believe it was all just a dream.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Sam and Penny wake up in each other's bodies.
- Gender Bender: Sam and Penny wake up in each other's bodies.
- Swapped Roles: Sam must now work as a cosmetics executive while Penny must learn to be a sports writer.
