Once and Again

Once and Again was a drama series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who also were the driving force behind Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life, and it starred Sela Ward, Billy Campbell, and Evan Rachel Wood, among others.

Rick Sammler, a divorced architect, and Lily Manning, a soon-to-be-divorced salesperson, Meet Cute when they're dropping their kids off at school. They soon become romantically involved, but their relationship is complicated not only by their children (they each have two; Rick's son Eli and daughter Jessie, while Lily has two daughters, Grace and Zoe), but also their respective exes (Jake and Karen).

The show ran for three seasons (from 1999-2002) on ABC, and while it didn't earn the acclaim of their previous show My So-Called Life, it was praised for its handling of the teen characters, and was probably the show that first brought Mischa Barton and Evan Rachel Wood to people's attention. The show was also praised (and criticized) for having the characters speak their innermost thoughts in black-and-white segments scattered throughout each episode.


 * Almost Kiss: Eli and Grace have one of these before Jessie interrupts them.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Downplayed on Eli's part, but while Grace's feelings for him fluctuate throughout the series, there's still a pretty strong Incest Subtext there.
 * Cool Big Sis: Zoe feels this way towards Jessie...at first.
 * Crossover: Miles Dentrell from Thirtysomething appears as a recurring character here.
 * Grey and Gray Morality: Just as in My So-Called Life, everyone is portrayed as having their faults and their virtues. The closest thing to a Complete Monster on the show is Miles Dentrell, and even he gets to show some human side.
 * Heroic BSOD: Jessie has one when she finds out.
 * Hostage Situation: In the Season 2 episode "The Other End of the Telescope", a busboy at Jake's restaurant (played by Brian Krakow) takes the restaurant hostage after Jake fires him.
 * It's All About Me: Lily, big time.
 * Keep Circulating the Tapes: As of now, only the first two seasons are available on DVD, and there seem to be no plans on releasing it.
 * Lipstick Lesbian: Jessie and Katie are high school versions of this.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: In addition to Rick, Lily, their children and their exes, there's also Lily's sister Judy, Rick's co-worker David (at least until he was Put on a Bus) and several others with recurring roles.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted with Jessie; when she gets her first period (in the first season episode "There Be Dragons"), there's no attempt to make this a Very Special Episode, as both Rick and Karen have an appropriate response, and when Jessie gets angry at her father later that episode, there's no connection.
 * Also, there's an episode where Lily thinks she might be pregnant, but it turns out to be a false alarm.
 * Put on a Bus: David, as well as the ex-boyfriends of Karen (Lloyd Lloyd and Leo) and Judy (Sam Blue and Will Gluck), and Jake's ex-girlfriend Tiffany.
 * The Bus Came Back: Sam and Tiffany.
 * Shout-Out: Various episodes are named after either songs (Season 2 episodes "Wake Up,Little Susie", "The Other End of the Telescope") or movies (Season 1 episode "My Brilliant Career", Season 2 episode "Thieves Like Us"), and even plays ("Love's Laborer's Lost") or poems ("Ozymandius 2.0").
 * Teacher-Student Romance: Ultimately averted, but Grace does develop strong feelings for Mr. Dimitri throughout Season 3.
 * There Are No Therapists: Subverted with Jessie - as she's sent to see Dr. Rosenfeld in Season 2 - but played straight with the other characters, particularly Grace.
 * Unfortunate Names: Karen's boyfriend for part of Season 1 was Lloyd Lloyd. Lampshaded by Judy in Season 2.
 * Your Cheating Heart: The reason why Lily divorces Jake in the first place.