Going 'Once,' twice, sold on this series

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Like life, TV isn't always fair.

After a seven-week hiatus, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz's loving ode to family life, Once and Again, returns for what may be its last chance at finding an audience. Of course, an audience has to find the show first: This is its third time slot this season and its seventh in three years.

Once again, the show focuses on Rick's ex-wife Karen — played by the lustrous Susanna Thompson, who is giving one of the year's best performances. In the last (and too-little-seen) episode before the break, Karen was just beginning to pull her life back together when she was hit by a car, a scene as shocking and terrifying as anything you might find on 24.

The accident has not only left Karen bedridden; it's torn her family apart. Rick (Billy Campbell) is wracked by regret. Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood) is overcome by fear and is taking her anger out on her stepmother, Lily (Sela Ward). And Eli (Shane West) is trying to pretend the accident never happened.

Guilt, anxiety, terror, control: These are messy, complicated issues, and Once doesn't shy away from any of them. But while Once can be difficult to watch, it is never depressing. As always, the emphasis in this life-affirming series is on the bonds that pull families back together rather than the pressures that push them apart.

"Everything about this family has changed," Rick says. "The truth is, we still need each other."

Though Once boasts one of the strongest dramatic ensembles on television, the glory in tonight's return belongs to Thompson, who breaks your heart without ever making a maudlin play for your sympathy. As she has all season, she gives an honest, uncluttered performance — nuanced and full-bodied yet crystal clear.

While it's possible Once was never bound for wide popular appeal, there's also no question that ABC has seriously mishandled this show — moving it so often that even the producers could be excused for losing track of it. And now the network has saddled it with one of the most inappropriate lead-ins imaginable: The Chair. It's enough to make you think ABC wants credit for trying to save the show without actually having to do so.

But there's nothing any of us can do about that. The producers and actors have done what they can to create a marvelous series. Now all we can do is watch. And treasure. __ USA Today (March 4, 2002)

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