'Once and Again' is down, but it's not out of the counting

By Gail Shister, Knight Ridder Newspapers

"Once and Again" is toast, but don't unplug the toaster yet. Though the series finale of ABC's ratings-challenged drama aired Monday, the sets are still in place and the actors under contract until June, executive producer Marshall Herskovitz says.

According to one scenario making the rounds, "ABC's fall pilots are so weak that the network will reverse itself" before the new lineup is announced May 14. With "Once and Again's" actors in tow, firing up production would be relatively seamless. Since the last episode, the network has received some 37,000 e-mails asking that the series be saved.

"I was told we're not coming back, so I'm working under that assumption," Herskovitz says. "But if all ABC's development fails, it's remotely possible they could bring us back. It would make them look good."

Should, by some miracle, "Once and Again" get a fourth season, Herskovitz would walk away from producing a Tom Cruise feature film. "The Last Samurai" starts shooting in the fall in New Zealand and Japan. Herskovitz says his first obligation, contractually, is to "Again." "It's complicated. I'd hate to see the show die. On the other hand, I've already accepted the reality. If they bring it back, I will be there."

If not on ABC, how about continuing production on a cable network, such as Lifetime (partly owned by ABC)?

"It's a simple matter of economics," Herskovitz says. "We would have to do the show for literally half of what it costs now. I'm not going to ask everybody to cut their salaries in half. I'm not going to sacrifice quality." __ Knight-Ridder (appearing in Chicago Tribune, April 18, 2002)

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