"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)

Let's talk episodes:

But first please let's give our due to Julia Whelan, whose poignant performances from season 1 -- and especially in 3 -- were, more than anyone else's, worth the price of admission.

Some especially brilliant ones where the viewers' expectations are up-ended:

1. The purloined lip gloss! What better metonymy, I ask?

2. Best of all: the several episodes in which Lily thinks Grace might be a lesbian because of her interest in the gay/lesbian student support group, though she goes because of her huge crush on her way-too-old (male) writing instructor, the faculty mentor of the group. All the while her step daughter Jessie is in the throws of a crush on a beloved (female) friend, without anyone's notice.