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List Price: $59.99 | | Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 50436
Released: November 5, 2002 |
| Our Price: $56.98 |
| Used Price: $46.45 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Starring Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Sela Ward and Golden Globe nominee Billy Campbell, Once And Again explored brave new territory with the compelling story of two families blending at the seams. The second marriage of Lily Manning (Ward) to Rick Sammler (Campbell) pushes both to the limit as they try for domestic normalcy while navigating divorce, parenting, financial hardship and many other life lessons.
From the creators of thirtysomething and My So-Called Life comes the complete first season DVD Collection. Enjoy all the moving moments and memorable performances of a brilliant supporting cast, including Shane West (A Walk To Remember) and Evan Rachel Wood (Practical Magic) once and again.
Description of Once and Again - The Complete First Season:
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.
The first season takes Rick and Lily from first date alone to first date en famille, in which their respective broods finally meet and confront the fact that their parents--gasp!--like each other. Along the way, there's amazing writing, pitch-perfect direction that takes scenes from comedy to drama in seamless swoops, and a tight-knit ensemble that hits all the right notes. Ward won an Emmy for this first season as the anxiety-ridden Lily, but she's equally matched by the quietly stunning Campbell, and their interaction is touching, funny, sexy, and heartbreaking--everything you could want in a romance, and more. --Mark Englehart
Once and Again - The Complete First Season Reviews:
once and again dvd 
2009-09-25 - Hi,
the item was shipped quickly. There's a slight production problem with the first dvd, though. But the item was sealed, so it's not the seller's fault. The rest of the dvds are fine. Thank you.
Great drama 
2009-09-14 - I thoroughly enjoyed the series. Sela Ward really made the show. She's excellent and the storylines were exceptional.
Once and Again -The Complete First Season 
2009-07-08 - Fast shipping. Highly recommended. Item as described. Great packaging. Couldn't ask for a smoother transaction.
An absolutely splendid family drama
2009-05-06 - I did not see ONCE AND AGAIN when it was originally broadcast and have only recently watched Season One after borrowing the DVDs from a friend who is a huge fan. I also have Season Two to watch, as well as Season Three on tapes. For years she has anxiously expressed hopes that Season Three will finally be released on DVD. Sadly, the first two seasons are now out of print. In every way O&A seems to be suffering unwarranted abuse on DVD. Its fans are unable to obtain the third season on DVD and would be fans are unable to experience it for themselves, unless -- like me -- you have a friend who is a big fan.
Although a couple of things bugged me about O&A's first season, as a whole I found it delightful. It is vastly better than the frequently offensive thirtysomething, which was not only offensive to women but passionately hated by many people (the only happy women were "nesting" women, while single, career-minded women were frequently punished by life for their presumption of desiring more than domestic bliss). I know the show has its fans, but I know of few shows that has aroused as much out and out hatred as thirtysomething. I bring this up because there is significant overlap between the creators and production staff of that show and ONCE AND AGAIN. This was, to be honest, the main reason that I held off for so long in giving O&A a chance.
As anyone who has seen the show knows, ONCE AND AGAIN focuses on two people around 40 who meet and fall in love, as well as on their families, including kids and exes. There is no real story in Season One apart from the interaction between the various characters. Luckily, it is a great set of characters that as a viewer I quickly came to like a lot. Sela Ward is splendid as Lily, the soon-to-be-divorced mother who meets divorced Rick, who is just as appealingly played by Bill Campbell (who most recently was seen on TV in THE 4400 as the enigmatic Jordan Collier and who endeared himself to me when he went on a public campaign to get a guest role on my favorite TV series [and evidently his favorite as well] BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, even offering, to the chagrin of his agent, to work for free -- that didn't work out but we'll see if he shows up on the new BSG prequel CAPRICA). There are no real weak links on the show. Those characters we don't like we are supposed to not like. Most we do. The on surprise for me is that Evan Rachel Wood, who I knew first came to some prominence on this series, has such a small role in Season One. My friend the O&A fanatic assures me that she becomes more important in the series.
I'm truly surprised that this show did not manage to stay on the air. It is not merely better than thirtysomething, it is much better than a show it somewhat resembles but it about to go into its fourth season, BROTHERS AND SISTERS. But I long ago had to acknowledge that I have no clue as to what will or will not be a hit on American TV. I find the entire CBS schedule to be nothing less than a horror story, while almost all of the shows I love are either on cable (where their low ratings are not a major issue, like MAD MEN, BREAKING BAD, and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) or on one of the major broadcast networks, where they live perpetually imperiled lives (like DOLLHOUSE, CHUCK, PUSHING DAISIES, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, or ELI STONE). So while at the end of watching Season One of this excellent series I am surprised that it didn't succeed, I remain grateful that at least I will get to enjoy two more.
I'm still waiting for the 3rd and final season....
2008-12-30 - It has been 3 years since the release of the first 2 seasons of ONCE AND AGAIN on DVD, and we are still waiting for the 3rd and final season !!!
This series was fantastic, and I remember that the final season gave us some closure. During the last episode, I think the actors spoke about their roles and what had happened during the 3-year run.
It's a shame that the release of this 3rd season, which was announced and planned for early 2006, never took place..
I just hope that someday it will happen : Don't we say "Better Late Than Never" ?
