"Once and Again" (1999) TV series 1999-2002

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Creators:

Marshall Herskovitz
Edward Zwick

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

21 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Plot:

A divorced father and a soon-to-be divorced mother meet and begin a romantic courtship which is always complicated by their respective children and their own life problems.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Bibliophilia | Single Mother | Bookstore | Dating

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

Sela Ward	...	Lily Manning (63 episodes, 1999-2002)
Bill Campbell	...	Rick Sammler (63 episodes, 1999-2002)
Julia Whelan	...	Grace Manning (60 episodes, 1999-2002)
Meredith Deane	...	Zoe Manning (60 episodes, 1999-2002)
Marin Hinkle	...	Judy Brooks (58 episodes, 1999-2002)
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Jessie Sammler (55 episodes, 1999-2002)
Shane West	...	Eli Sammler (54 episodes, 1999-2002)
Susanna Thompson	...	Karen Sammler (49 episodes, 1999-2002)
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Jake Manning (47 episodes, 1999-2002)
Todd Field	...	David Cassilli (28 episodes, 1999-2001)

Runtime:

60 min (63 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bedford Falls Productions

Trivia:

The character 'Rick Sammler' was ranked #36 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).

Quotes:

Grace Manning: You know, she's just the kind of person that everybody worries whether she has a ride home. And, I guess, I'm just the sort of person people assume can walk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Marshall Herskovitz (2007) (V)

Why did such a brilliant masterpiece get cancelled?

Every time I see a rerun of Once and Again, I am baffled by just how incredibly brilliant every aspect of this show was. The superb acting by arguably one of the best if not the best full ensemble of actors ever to team up on a TV series. From the main leads Sela Ward and Billy Campbell's incredible chemistry and great sensitivity toward their characters to the smallest performances by Marco Gould as Spencer Lweicki and Mischa Barton as Katie Singer, every bit of casting was magically on the money. The Great courageous and non-traditional writing is unforgettable. The Cinematography and editing served the story in every regard and gave every plot and subplot just what it needed without dragging it or chipping away at it. Special kudos must go to Julia Whelan, Meredith Deane, Marin Hinkle, Susanna Thompson, Jeffrey Nordling, Bonnie Bartlett, Evan Rachel Wood, Shane West and Ever Carradine for taking such complex characters and breathing enough life into each one of them for a series of his or her own. As an actor, I can write a thousand words about each one of these actors alone. The show also had the distinctive feel of not being a franchise show (i.e.: law, Hospital, cop, political or any specific workplace type show). O&A was about life and just how real life can be. It was a brief and yet bright spark that lit up television for three amazing years during which Herskovitz, Zwick and company gave TV audiences a show that went everywhere a good show should and lived with its characters through personal and professional matters with such lucid transition that would make an art film jealous. The fact that The TV academy ignored the show to that extent will forever remain one of the reasons why Emmys continue to be dismissed as a serious merit award and instead are thought of as just a well-marketed popularity contest. As for the ratings...My guess is that either this show was pitched to the wrong network from the start (Just think what NBC, CBS or HBO could have done with this GEM) or those Nielsen families have some serious explaining to do. In the end, all that matters to me is that somehow the show still managed to inspire me more with every viewing, but never once jeopardized its integrity by creating paper-thin and perfect characters that were free of flaws. This is just one of those shows that time will remember :)