Rick (Billy Campbell) and Lily (Sela Ward) are fortysomething
parents with two kids; both are still feeling the repercussions of their failed
first marriages; both are haplessly single and consumed by their family
identities (plus, let's just face it, both are gorgeous beyond belief). Dropping
off their respective kids at school in their respective SUVs, they spy each
other across a crowded driveway. Granted, it's not terribly romantic, but sparks
fly and tentatively, embarrassingly, like teenagers, they embark on a first
date--awkward conversation and fumbling make-out sessions in cars included. So
begins the acclaimed TV series Once and Again from producers Edward Zwick
and Marshall Herskovitz, the guys who brought you über-sensitive dramas thirtysomething
and My So-Called Life. And like those award-winning shows, Once and
Again mines the mundane and ordinary to find extraordinary drama,
tackling both midlife crisis and teen angst, as Rick and Lily's kids
(most notably heartthrob Shane West and blooming wallflower Julia
Whelan) navigate the perils of high school while their parents
traverse the mine field of adult romance, with ex-spouses and
disapproving family members lurking in the shadows. |