NOW AND FOREVER -- PLEASE!

by Mimi Torchin

I'm almost reluctant to write this column. The last time I made a plea for viewers to watch a prime-time soap in danger of fading into oblivion, it disappeared from sight almost immediately. That show was the admirable and darkly funny Pasadena, and although we were promised it would return after a several-week hiatus, we've seen neither hide nor hair of it for several months. Liar, liar pants on fire, Fox! Now I don't want to be branded a Typhoid Mary or have it appear that an endorsement by me is the kiss of death for a series, but I'm going to chance it one more time. If Once and Again, the show in question, can't survive on network television, then I'm afraid the viewers don't deserve programming of this quality.

Once and Again is very likely the best dramatic show on the air - and, believe me, I watch most of them (I know: "Get a life!"). Simply drenched in humanity, it is totally honest, often painfully real, sublimely acted by attractive performers, incisively and entertainingly written, and totally relevant to today's world. It is heartwarming but not sentimental (although I have never understood why sentimentality is considered such a terrible affront); real yet dramatic; intelligent but not pretentious; funny but never played for cheap laughs. From a business point of view it accomplishes something almost unheard of and extremely important to any network: It appeals to all demographics (its portrayal of teenage angst and growing pains is unmatched on television). In its third season, Once and Again has remained as fresh as in its first - even improving, although it seemed nearly perfect right from the beginning. In fact, I can't think of a single point to put on the negative side of the balance sheet. So, folks, why aren't more of you watching?

One of the most estimable and flawless aspects of this show is its cast, headed by the luscious Sela Ward and the handsomely brooding Billy Campbell. They play Lily and Rick Sammler, the newly married 40-ish couple trying to juggle the demands of their evolving relationship with those of their ex-spouses and blended family of children. To me, Ward is the heart of the show. She exudes warmth from every pore and is all the more endearing for being the personification of the axiom "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Lily is a flawed human being, as are all the characters on the show. All of them are also, however, essentially and to their cores good, loving people. But while Ward and Campbell may be at the center of the show, there really are no supporting roles in this family saga. Each character is so completely and seamlessly integrated into the tapestry of this ongoing story that one can hardly imagine the show without any one of them.

Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, the show's creative team, know a great ensemble when they have one, and every major character (there are about 10) has had episodes that centered on him or her. And with these remarkable actors (from the youngest to the oldest) at the writers' disposal to do their bidding, the scribes are wise enough to make sure that all their stories evolve from character. The show also employs a docudrama-type device filmed in black and white in which the characters speak their innermost thoughts directly to the camera, as though they're talking to a therapist. Sometimes these sequences also function as flashbacks. At first they seemed intrusive, but they've grown on me, and I think they provide important insights into the characters' psyches. Because of the character-driven writing we have gotten to know these people as well as (and perhaps better than) we know members of our own families. We can't help but care about them. This organic storytelling is so compelling, so true, that it is sometimes almost unbearably painful to watch. Yet I wouldn't miss a single second of this show, which has a firm hold on my heartstrings.

A perfect case in point was the show that aired Friday, January 11, and focused on Rick's ex-wife, Karen (played by the luminous and fiercely talented Susanna Thompson), whose slow unraveling over the last two years finally came to a devastating climax in this episode. Although Karen, a successful attorney, never really adjusted to losing Rick, she bravely soldiered on. But we sensed that she harbored a secret hope that she and Rick would reconcile. When Rick and Lily began dating seriously, however, Karen - already a little too high-strung for her own good - became more on edge and began slipping into a quiet depression. Last season culminated in Rick and Lily's wedding. Karen and Rick's two kids have been spending more and more time with the couple, and Karen has been feeling increasingly isolated.

In the episode in question, Karen's struggle with depression was starting to worry both her early-adolescent daughter, Jesse (played with breathtaking sensitivity by Evan Rachel Wood), and Rick. We shared Karen's sessions with her therapist and watched her slowly start to respond to her anti-depressant medication. About three-quarters through the show, Karen appeared to have a breakthrough; life seemed worth living again. As she mentally ticked off things she was looking forward to (an assignment from her shrink), hope glowing from her eyes, her face almost radiant. She stepped off a curb - and was hit by a car, her delicate body flying through the air and landing in a sickening, broken heap on the pavement. The remainder of the episode revolved around the reaction of her family, especially her children, and Karen's newfound will to live. The show, which covered so much ground and elicited so many emotions, was simultaneously agonizing and hopeful. It was flawless from beginning to end.

Once and Again should be required viewing for all writers of serial drama, daytime or primetime. Focused on the large and small details of family life and interpersonal relationships - with nary a vampire, clone, space alien, time traveler or super-villain on the canvas - this reality-bound primetime soap is nevertheless elevated beyond kitchen drama into the stratosphere of profundity. If you have the time to watch only one nighttime show a week, make that show Once and Again. It might just change your life. At the very least, you'll be deeply moved and unfailingly entertained. What more could you ask for? __ Soapnet.com (January 18, 2002)

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