Once and Again - The Complete First Season

I was so excited when I read online that the Once and Again DVD set was coming out!!! I can't wait for the other seasons to come out too. I MISS THIS SHOW! I honestly thought they would bring it back this season and was shocked when they didn't. I was disappointed and frustrated when ABC canceled Once and Again. They were nominated for awards and won and they had a loyal fan base that fought hard to keep this show on the air. ABC conveyed the message to us fans that they are not concerned about what we want to see. Once and Again was such a quality show with great story lines and a perfect cast! I feel so cheated that the show was just left with no conclusion. I am still a hopeless fan wishing that ABC or SOME other network would come to their senses and renew this show so we can pick up where it left off. The same situation happened with My So Called Life when that was canceled way too soon. I guess there is only so much room for EXCELLENT t.v. and when a good show comes on that fans really respond to, they slap us in the face. I AM SO EXCITED to watch these DVDs!!!!

For those of us who do not have all the time in the world to watch television, Once and Again was one show that we will never see the likes of again. As a maturing adult in my 20's, I never taught that so many life lessons could be learned from a TV show. The cast and their chemistry was incredible and were not given a fraction of credit they deserved. Hopefully they'll read some of our feedback and see what they put together in the eyes of their viewers.Each episode from the highs of life to the lows offered us a life lesson to walk away with. Realistic with all the bumps in the road of life. Like most shows out there, unless it is brainless comedy or some lame reality show that gets ratings in the US, shows like this one do not make it unfortunately. I will cherish this set for the rest of my life and hope my kids view it the same some day. Waiting anxiously for the 2nd and 3rd season to be released. Feedback for ABC on the cut: You guys suck, bad decision.

Exactly like the other writers on this page I was immediately attracted by this wonderful show when it was broadcasted on a belgian tv network and followed every single show till they stopped it one year ago (the marriage of Rick and Lilly). I wait for this DVD release since then! The way the story was written and the actors (including the kids) all that was a fresh air on today's television. The way they discribed their emotions (those black and white moments), the way they played their charachters, this way of telling life with some sense (!!), humor and the complexity of the human kind. I thought that this show could have changed a little something in all this "wonderful land of television". For me it IS one of the best show I have ever seen and really hope to watch it at home once and again, again, again,...

Great service from dealer. The TV series is interesting, but too much like soap opera. No interesting case of the week at work, etc. just personal lives.

I was very disappointed when I started watching the first season of this series, and discovered that Disc 4 (episodes 13-16) was empty. As I made this purchase back in 2010 and was only able to see the series some years later, there is no way I can make any claims on the product. But it leaves me frustrated and wondering if the complete second season series will also feature more empty discs.

I bought this series because of its many glowing reviews. I really wanted to like it but was quite surprised to have a contrary reaction. It symbolizes 80's TV, though it was created in the late 90's. Being in the old 4:3 screen ratio just underscores how dated it is. Amazon describes it as coming from producers of other 'Uber-Sensitive' shows (whatever that means) and, if that is your criterion for 'good TV', then this is the series for you.The show centers around two couples -- the Mannings and the Sammlers -- both in the process of splitting up. Lily Manning and Rick Sammler meet, and get together. So far, so good. Sela Ward plays Lily Manning in rather a poor man's version of Diane Keaton, cute at first but without her charm and warmth. Their road is not easy, what with all the hiding and clumsy lying to their families they seem to think is necessary. It is hard to believe that the producers and writers think that this could believably pass as adult behavior in any era.One soon tires of their whining, indecision, and self-serving natures. The wives and mothers are both self-absorbed and over-privileged. Case in point: while snogging Rick, Lily rolls her eyes when her husband's new girlfriend is mentioned. Icing on the cake: there is an Uber-Need to show the characters in B&W asides, commenting on their lives. Sort of mini shrink sessions on which the audience is forced to sit in. After the first several dozen of these, the Fast Fwd button became a welcome feature on my remote.Billy Campbell, who plays Rick, is usually quite good, and is certainly handsome. Though he seems to be best known for this series, his character is cloying, childish, and always shows up where he is least needed or wanted, and is the most awkward. In fact, all the characters do this which passes for 'drama' in this context.Rick seems to be the producers' idea of a WASP Everyman: an architect, overly 'nice', apologetic, and self-questioning to the point of immobility. At one point, he collapses and ends up in the hospital with pneumonia. He didn't say anything to Lily because she might think he was a 'crybaby' (his word). Oy! He has a son, played well by Shane West, with whom Rick is alternately super-critical and overly 'concerned' -- the latter usually after Eli tells him off.In the Manning family, Grace (the oldest daughter), is an annoying, self-deprecating brat with a dreadful self-image. Her main activity is getting mad at her mother's commentary, and flouncing out of the room. She becomes very slightly less cartoonish and mono-chromatic towards the end of the season. A case of too little, too late.The high point is Patrick Dempsey's wonderful cameo appearance as Aaron Manning, Lily's mentally and emotionally challenged brother who shows up for their father's funeral. His performance is genuine (standing out for that alone), gentle, and moving. It is the show's only moment of true gravitas. There are a other touching moments here and there, but they generally just come across as pleasant but fleeting reprieves from the show's stultifying banality.Grace sums up the premise of the show while writing a paper on global warming. She contends that the generation before hers (i.e., her parents) were totally burnt out by living through Vietnam and Watergate, and now all they care about is themselves. Every episode of the show proves her point.