Once and Again

I panned Thirtysomething on this site, so I'm duty bound to give praise where due...the same people made Once and Again. I saw an episode or two on TV and remembered it fondly enough to get the DVD, which I proceeded to devour in about 4 nights. (I now know why DVD TV shows are so popular: you don't have to wait a week to see each episode.)

I thought the situations and dialogue were completely realistic. My wife, a divorce attorney, saw the show years ago and remembers it as completely unrealistic. But isn't that the master craft of entertaining TV and movies -- making the unrealistic appear realistic? I'll bet there is some good writing on this point...please send me a message if you know of any.

Once and Again is a pearl of a show. It's always interesting, and more importantly, realistic.

I started watching it as my sister had a crush on Shane West, but by the second episode I watched, I was hooked. Expecting it to be nothing more than a lightweight excuse for Shane West to act moody and broody, I found that instead it was a show where I saw that he actually can act, not to mention all his co-stars.

Easily the most impressive is Evan Rachel Wood, showing to me (before Thirteen was even an idea) that she had a tremendous amount of talent, I found her story lines to be compelling, and her to be exemplary in them. Indeed, it was this show that made me want to see Thirteen so much, so as I could see her performing again.

But I won't ramble.

Once and Again is brilliant, and if there was ever a show that should be continued, this is it.

Bought Series One on spec and I am so glad I did. I expected an updated version of Different Strokes or something. No way. I watched all the episodes over the last two days stopping only to sleep. Wow! I went through all the emotions, crying a lot which doesn't come easily to a middle aged man. Superb acting from big and small, the script was outstanding with hardly a dull moment. The camera-work switching between homes mid dialogue and once coming through fridge doors! Series Two coming out soon and I can't wait. Yes everyone is a bit too good looking but I can cope with that as the story lines are all too true. Relationships, bereavement, etc are all there and are not sensationalised. Very nicely surprised and very much recommended.

Every time I see a cast member in another production, I think of this program.

At a minimum, someone should write a novel based on the show.

What happened to these people? The ending...wasn't. (But was very exciting, all the same.)

I can't see giving a synopsis, because that's been done very well already.

In the same time-frame were the shows, "Time and Again" and "Now and Again," also. Due to this, our family resorted to calling "Once and Again," "The Dead Insurance Guy Show."

The dissatisfying (non)conclusion of this program has resulted in my hesitation to become interested in many series since that time. Don't leave the viewer "hanging," like this. Please!

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 :)