Once and Again. In the engaging second-season opener of this critically acclaimed drama, loving couple Lily Manning (Emmy Award-winner Sela Ward) and Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell) attempt to help their children accept their relationship. When we last left the pair, they were enjoying their newly mended romance and nervously preparing for a pizza dinner with the kids. Apparently, that meal didn't go as well as planned; tonight's episode begins on a day several months later and no one is looking back on it fondly. ET/PT 10 pm CTV/ABC.

On the viewing highlights page is the usual group photo from last year and:
Juggling Act
Once and Again begins its second year where last season left off. Lily and Rick struggle to maintain their romance while dealing with the feelings of their respective children. Rick's ex-wife, Karen, also weighs in with her opinion about the progress of the relationship.

Then in the programming section:
Once and Again (Season Premiere) Lily and Rick's attempt to blend their families does not go smoothly.

Periods of Adjustment Series creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick wrote this simply plotted yet richly textured second-season opener. Typically, the episode unfolds in vignettes, which depict how the romance between Lily and Rick figures into the anxieties of each other's teenage daughters, Grace and Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood). The latter is having a particularly difficult time. As she tells Rick, "You and Mom get divorced, fine. And I have to have two different houses, and now I have to go to Lily's all the time. So I'm gonna have three houses where I have to live. And do I get to choose?"

Lily plans a romantic evening with Rick and tries to get Jake to watch the kids, but he says he can't. So Rick and Lily hatch a scheme; they go out to dinner and then they will both come back to Lily's house and Rick will pretend to leave for home and wait outside until Lily's girls fall asleep. The plan works and Rick sneaks back in the house and evening of romance continues and they make love in the living room but fall asleep afterwards. They wakeup the next morning. Lily wakes up and panics and tells Rick he must leave right away because the girls will find out, but it's too late, the girls are up, but Rick manages to sneak pass them and opens the door to find Jake who came to see his girls. Meanwhile the girls rush to see their father and discover Rick in the process, who has obviously spent the night... and....

In the season premiere, "Wake Up, Little Susie," Lily and Rick (Sela Ward, Billy Campbell) are reunited after a month apart, and you can guess what happens next. Rick isn't planning to stay over, but next thing they know, it's 6:30 a.m., and there's no avoiding the girls. Zoe (Meredith Deane) takes it in stride, while Grace (Julia Whelan) pretends to ("It so doesn't matter"). This may be the time to try getting the families together for an evening, but it doesn't go well, thanks to Grace and Zoe's sisterly squabbling and Jessie's (Evan Rachel Wood) already-fragile state; she's just started high school and is feeling awkward, alone and invisible. Shane West and Jeffrey Nordling also star.

Lily and Rick spend the night together on a weekday, and it's very awkward when the kids find them out. Eli struggles with school and joins a band. And we learn that Jake isn't that into Tiffany. Looks like he's wearing a big, fat scarlet letter this season, which Grace finds out about before Tiffany does.

ET: Will we get to see the family dinner that was starting at the end of last season's finale of "Once and Again"?

BILLY: You don't see that, but what you do see is actually really canny. What you get in the first episode (of the second season) is another dinner, which is the one to take place after the one (you didn't see) which was an unmitigated disaster. So what's even better, you get us trying to have dinner again after already having had a disaster, instead of just having a disaster. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Once and Again" returns for a second season this fall as Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, creators of "thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life," continue to bring their singular vision of modern life to television with a Golden Globe-nominated drama series about two single parents, Lily Manning (Sela Ward) and Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell), who have found a second chance at love.

Their romance, however, has not been without challenge; parenting, divorce, infidelity and even death have pushed them to the limit, but they continue to work toward creating a life together while trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the lives of their own families. Will blending their families be too great a risk for another chance at love? The second-season premiere will air TUESDAY, OCT. 24 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

In the season premiere episode, "Wake Up, Little Susie," Lily and Rick fall asleep together on Lily's couch. A rude awakening the next morning makes them realize they can no longer keep their relationship separate from their families' lives.

"Once and Again" stars Sela Ward as Lily Manning, Billy Campbell as Rick Sammler, Julia Whelan as Grace Manning, Shane West as Eli Sammler, Meredith Deane as Zoe Manning, Evan Rachel Wood as Jessie Sammler, Susanna Thompson as Karen Sammler, Jeffrey Nordling as Jake Manning, Todd Field as David Casilli, Marin Hinkle as Judy Brooks, David Clennon as Miles Drentell and Jennifer Crystal as Christie Parker. Guest starring in "Wake Up, Little Susie" are Vanessa Lee Chester as Annie, Audrey Anderson as Carla, Julie Marie Berman as Julie, Josh Breslow as the kid and Samantha MacLachlan as the assistant. The epin" is executive produced and created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. The one-hour drama series is from The Bedford Falls Company in association with Touchstone Television Productions, LLC. The series premiered Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1999.

Once and Again - Wake Up, Little SusieType: Network Series / Drama

Duration: 1 hr

Description: Lily and Rick (Sela Ward, Billy Campbell) finally have a chance to blend their families, but the transition does not go smoothly. (In Stereo)

Performers: Bill Campbell, Meredith Deane, Marin Hinkle, Jeffrey Nordling, Susanna Thompson, Sela Ward, Shane West, Julia Whelan, Evan Rachel Wood

Airing:Tue 10/24/00

The second-season opener focuses on the teenage anxieties of Grace (Julia Whelan) and Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood). Lily: Sela Ward. Rick: Billy Campbell. Carla: Audrey Anderson. Zoe: Meredith Deane. David: Todd Field. Christie: Jennifer Crystal Foley.

Cast: Billy Campbell, Sela Ward, Shane West, Evan Rachel Wood, Meredith Deane, Julia Whelan, Susanna Thompson, Jeffrey Nordling, Todd Field, Marin Hinkle, Audrey Anderson, Jennifer Crystal Foley

Let the speculation begin! My notes - Todd Field is listed as a cast member for this episode and Jennifer Crystal is now Jennifer Crystal Foley. I'm looking forward to additional information on this episode in the next few days.