Product Details

• Actors: Eric Close, Dennis Haysbert, Reiko Aylesworth, Margaret Colin, Heather Matarazzo
• Format: NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00164FLDK

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underappreciated gem, June 29, 2008

By 

Peter Thelin "Newtron" (S.F. Ca. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Now and Again (DVD)

I was so sad when I learned that CBS had canceled this show after the first season - it was an interesting meld of sci-fi adventure and CBS comedy/drama. In its way Now and Again was completely original; far more character based then action, a wonderful and interesting cast. The show ended on a cliff-hanger - I'll never forgive CBS for not at least making a TV movie to tie up loose ends.

There was something about the era this show was made in - Stargate, Dark Angel, Firefly, 7 Days, The Invisible Man, , Brimstone, Vengeance Unlimited, Special Unit 2 - to name just a few of the interesting shows that made it o screen - unlike the present "reality TV" loaded TV schedule; all of these shows were on Network stations. Today almost everything worth watching is on Showtime, HBO or FX.

I can hardly wait for Now and Again to be released on DVD just so I can watch the bonus material.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The government's reluctant secret weapon - the speed of Michael Jordan, strength of Superman &, um, the grace of Fred Astaire, April 4, 2009

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Now and Again (DVD)

NOW AND AGAIN came out in 1999, the same time that the ABC family drama ONCE AND AGAIN debuted, and I remember that in the first two or three weeks of that fall season I used to get the titles of these two shows mixed up. But, as good as ONCE AND AGAIN was, NOW AND AGAIN was the one I really ended up looking forward to watching. This was creator/writer/producer Glenn Gordon Caron's baby and, as apropos of the guy responsible for REMINGTON STEELE and MOONLIGHTING, NOW AND AGAIN, airing on CBS, was graced with humanity, great storytelling and whimsy. Once again, though, it became yet another case of a major network giving up on a really promising show before the show had time to find its audience. I remember how very angry I was when NOW AND AGAIN got cancelled.

The premise is this: John Goodman plays New York insurance agent and devoted family man Michael Wiseman who, in the show's debut, dies in a subway train accident. Exit John Goodman. Except that the U.S. government then takes Michael Wiseman's brain and secretly implants it in a young bio-engineered body (Eric Close of DARK SKIES, WITHOUT A TRACE). And, suddenly, Michael has the "the speed of Michael Jordan, the strength of Superman and the grace of Fred Astaire." The Six Million Dollar Man treatment doesn't sit well at all with Michael - who now has a new identity as Mr. Newman. All he wants to do is get back to his devastated wife and daughter. But the government has plans for Mr. Newman, intending to turn him into its secret weapon - and so contact with his old family is strictly forbidden. Wiseman's main watchdog is the imperious Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert), who performed the experimental brain transplant and who heads up this very top secret government project. To clue in folks who haven't ever eyeballed this series, the quirky tug-of-war relationship between the doctor and the ex-insurance salesman provides some of the show's most terrific moments.

Dennis Haysbert (24, THE UNIT and, of course, those All State Insurance ads) is fabulous and exudes sheer presence. His Dr. Morris is written as a complex enough character that most times I felt quite ambivalent about him - is he a bad guy, Newman's eventual pal, a domineering egotist, what? And, as a bonus, with his deep and imposing voice, Haysbert also treats us to some very good singing. The central role of Michael Wiseman/Newman is played by a tremendously-in-shape Eric Close, and he gives as good as he gets in his exchanges with Haysbert. Eric's performance lends his character that needed weight and maturity, making us believe that there really is a more mature brain housed in that 20-something-year-old secret agent body. What makes Michael and Dr. Theo's interactions so compelling is that Michael never for a moment allows the high and mighty Dr. Theo to dismiss him as a mere laboratory experiment.

Under Dr. Theo's supervision Michael is frequently restricted to quarters and forced to undergo an ongoing series of rigorous training and testing. Seems like we see the man being examined and prodded more so than we see him out in the field. So one more element which may have turned off potential viewers is that not every episode is action-packed. Mr. Newman isn't always in the middle of a mission as the show chooses to focus more on characterization and delving into the various relationships. Which is fine by me. One of the things I like best about NOW AND AGAIN is the wistfulness evoked. Michael Wiseman may be in a young new body and may suddenly have all these superhuman abilities, but, at heart, the guy hasn't changed. At his core, he's a family man desperately in love with his wife, his daughter and his former life (to quote or maybe paraphrase the opening credit sequence). Each episode demonstrates his constant pining for what he'd lost, with Eric Close being simply marvelous and very heartfelt in these yearnful moments.

The show frequently checks in on Wiseman's grieving widow Lisa (Margaret Colin) and his precocious awkward daughter Heather (Heather Matarazzo) as they try to move on with their lives. Both these actresses - but especially Margaret Colin - are wonderful and lend solid forms to Wiseman's vision of his dream family. Also rounding out the key supporting cast is Wiseman's fussy but likeable best friend Roger Bender (Gerrit Graham). The neat thing for hopeless romantics like me (and, hopefully, you) is that, even though Wiseman is supposed to stay away from his old life at all costs, well, dude doesn't. Not only does he touch base with his buddy Roger, but those who regularly tuned in to these episodes were soon treated to moments brimming with romantic tension and anticipation as Wiseman begins to interact with his wife and with his daughter, against Dr. Theo's express wishes. Except that only Roger knows who Mr. Newman truly is (Lisa and Heather think Michael and Theo are IRS agents). And, then, is it really so strange or surprising that, despite still very much mourning her dead husband, Lisa Wiseman should find herself attracted to the much younger Mr. Newman? No, right?

I did mention that this show has an element of whimsy, of quirkiness. In Wiseman''s fledling secret agent career, he gets caught up in his share of odd, surreal pickles - whether it's a case featuring spontaneous human combustion, a wave of fearlessness affecting New Yorkers and resulting in recklessness and fatality, or a plague which erases the words off books, leaving behind only blank pages.

All the episodes are very good, so it's really hard picking out favorites. I really like the first three episodes: "Origins," "On the Town" and "Over Easy." Note that "On the Town" has Michael escaping confinement and accidentally runing into Lisa, who instantly thinks he's some kind of homeless stalker but also senses something familiar about him. This one is also one of the funniest episodes of the season, thanks largely to Roger's assumption that Michael has returned from the dead, but reincarnated. These first three episodes also introduce the Eggman, an old innocuous-looking Asian guy whose expertise lies in biological terrorism. The Eggman would also reappear in the season/series finale "The Eggman Cometh," thus qualifying him as a recurring antagonist. My two cents is that, had the series gone on, the Eggman would've developed into an awesome villain; he is such an atypical Big Bad. And, for some reason, the episode "Pulp Turkey" also immediately springs to mind. This one has Michael and Dr. Theo having Thanksgiving dinner at Lisa and Heather's house and they end up foiling a home invasion.

Very much like POPULAR, one of its contemporaries and yet another gone-too-soon series, NOW AND AGAIN frustratingly ends on an unresolved cliffhanger, as things come to a head between Michael and Dr. Theo and between Michael and his family. As the years keep on passing, I've given up hope for even a follow-up TV movie, and I'm resigned to there not ever being a resolution to the cliffhanger story. The aggravating thing is that the networks haven't learned their lesson; good shows keep on getting kicked to the curb (JERICHO, ELI STONE and PUSHING DAISIES being the most recent casualties).

NOW AND AGAIN had that perfect blend: amazing cast chemistry and wonderful elements of romance, comedy, pathos, and sci-fi adventure. Even the theme song hooked you in with its catchy groove. And since I'm pouring it on with the mad love, let me also mention that this series oozed creativity, wit and unpredictability. All this, apparently, making up the recipe for too much of a good thing.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspending Disbelief, October 15, 2008

By 

Irishman65 "irishman65" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now and Again (DVD)

This show offered a younger Eric Close (who was in a number of series I liked much better before landing his current long-standing role in Without a Trace) playing a man who held the essence of the deceased John Goodman. Once you got past this premise the show held its own special magic. Some episodes were better scripted than others but the character development was amazing and the desire of the deceased to watch over his wife and daughter from his prior life was bittersweet. The actor who played the president on 24 and who is now in The Unit played the role of the shadowy scientist. All-in-all it deserves a look if you liked the shows mentioned by the other reveiwer. I look forward to watching it again.