Great Performances

By Matt Roush --
ABC's Once and Again regularly goes inside its characters' heads - young, old and in between. But never has this emotional journey been as harrowing or heartrending as when Lily's mentally ill brother, Aaron (Patrick Dempsey), recently returned for a haunting visit. Dempsey, so charming on Will & Grace as a closeted sportscaster who briefly dated Will, beautifully conveyed Aaron's perilously fragile equilibrium with bashful grins and sudden twitches. On medication, his sweet and playful side emerged endearingly, all too soon vanquished by anxiety attacks and violent breakdowns as sinister, threatening inner voices took over. In playing a character tragically damaged, Dempsey was triumphant.__TV Guide (March 31 - April 5, 2001)