Once and Again, entering its third season and moving around the schedule again, pops up on Fridays. When we saw Rick and Lily at the end of the second season, they had overcome innumerable obstacles and gotten married. In tonight's season premiere, they find that blending two families, psychologically and physically, is tougher than they thought. The volatile situation is made even more tense when Eli (Shane West) gets in hot water with the law and turns to Grace (Julia Whelan) for help. ? Cheryl Everette

Now comes the hard part for Lily Manning (Sela Ward) and Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell). After tying the knot in last season's "Once and Again" finale and uniting their two families, there is little time for romance. They have to now deal with the smaller and bigger issues connected to marrying again and bringing their families together.

If tonight's effective and affecting third-season opener (10 p.m., Channel 7) is any indication, this isn't going to be anything close to "The Brady Bunch."

Lily and Rick are going to have to behave as much like referees as parents and stepparents.

Essentially, every issue they face deals with power - loss of it, fear of not having it, joy of winning or earning some of it every once in a while.

The little issue tonight concerns the territorial dispute between Lily's younger, fifth-grade daughter, Zoe (Meredith Deane), and Rick's fragile, 10th-grade daughter, Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood). They share a room for the few days a week that Jessie is legally required to live with her father. And things between the two daughters aren't going well.

Sleeping arrangements and poster placements lead to numerous battles that land uncomfortably in the lap of their parents when they would rather be in each other's arms.

But they soon are confronted with a bigger problem, which has been revealed in ABC's promos. Eli (Shane West), Rick's lost but inherently good 18-year-old son, has been arrested on drug charges after his friend's marijuana is found in his car.

Eli's mother and Rick's ex-wife, Karen (Susanna Thompson), who is shaken by Rick's remarriage, wants her son to face the music. Her sentence: Life without music, his one true love.

Will Rick agree or will he listen to reason in the name of Lily and reach for a compromise?

It would be unfair to tell you the outcome. Besides, that really isn't the point. To many, the power plays between Rick and his ex- wife and Rick and his new wife will be realistic and compelling, which is a hallmark of this critically acclaimed but little-watched program.

If Rick expected Lily to sit back and be powerless in her new position as a stepparent, he was sadly mistaken. Seeing the one parental opening available to her, Lily befriends Eli and is able to do something his birth parents can't do: See him for who he really is.

Indeed, one of the strongest scenes in the hour is a face-off between Karen and Lily in which Rick is uncomfortably and oddly silent.

The perplexed look on his face makes you feel for him. He is certain to be in the middle of many more arguments this season. And you have to empathize with the ladies as well. Lily has to feel a little powerless, Karen has to feel like she is losing a little control.

Sure, the children don't have it easy. But the territorial dispute among the four parents (Lily's ex, Jake, played by Jeffrey Nordling, will have his own issues eventually) will likely be a big focus of the series this season.

As well-written and as beautifully performed as this series is, the family drama will probably be a tough sell on Friday nights, when viewers typically head for the video store.

It got the time slot because ABC Entertainment won a power struggle with ABC News. The coveted 10 p.m. Friday slot has been the domain of the news magazine, "20/20," for years. "20/20's" ratings have been strong, though its demographics could have been better.

The loser in the power struggle is Barbara Walters, who didn't appreciate being moved to 10 p.m. Wednesday. Like Karen, she doesn't like losing and is biding her time to reclaim control.

If "Once and Again" doesn't establish its ratings power within a month or so, one can see Walters getting her old home back before the new year.

Rating: 31/2 stars out of 4

This season the most interesting aspects of the last weeknight are in the returning series joining the schedule.

Most prominently, ABC's shimmering family drama "Once and Again" moves into the 9 p.m. slot, knocking "20/20" out of its longtime home. With no real competition for its mostly female target audience, this could be the shot in the arm the Ed Zwick-Marshall Herskovitz series needs.

'Once and Again'

Where to find the ickiest wimps in all of television land? Look no further than "Once and Again," the pseudo-sensitive domestic drama returning to ABC for an unwarranted second season tonight (Channel 7 at 10).

The show, about two divorced people who marry, was dying in the ratings until the producers started to concentrate on the innumerable adolescent offspring who crowd the screen. Tonight, for instance, 18- year-old Eli (Shane West) is arrested for possession of marijuana after he and his sisters stupidly stand by while a traffic cop performs a thoroughly illegal search of their car.

What follows is a surfeit of soul-searching and lots of busy "business" inflicted by the director to invest conversations with action; thus hardly anyone ever sits or stands still while they talk. They're always eating or pouring orange juice from a carton or doing anything to keep moving.

The male lead, Billy Campbell, is an utterly buttery bore, but the show does have one selling point in the assertive Sela Ward as his new wife. These folks' problems, though, and the way they go about dealing with them, have nothing to do with real life as it is lived in America -- or perhaps anywhere on this planet, with the possible exception of trendy L.A. suburbs inhabited by overpaid producers of truly terrible television shows. Like this one.

Lily (Sela Ward) and Rick (Billy Campbell) have merged their two families under one roof, but domestic bliss eludes them in the angsty show's third season premiere. When Zoe (Meredith Deane) and Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood) aren't arguing over sharing a room, Eli (Shane West) is getting busted by the cops for pot possession.

The squabbles hit a fever pitch when Rick's ex-wife Karen (Susanna Thompson) and Lily fight over whether Eli should get a job that's respectable (Karen's view) or reflects his passion (Lily's view).

Written by series creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, it's not the finest hour of "Once & Again," but it's an astonishingly believable depiction of the problems inherent in blended families.

If breaking up is hard to do, hooking up after divorce is even tougher. And fusing two families together—well, you might not even want to go there. But "Once and Again," entering its third season on ABC tonight, unflinchingly does just that.

It's the story of a lovely lady, Lily (Emmy-nominated Sela Ward), and a man named Rick (Billy Campbell), each with a pair of kids. But from the start, it was clear that this was no "Brady Bunch," especially after infidelity threw the relationship into a tailspin midway through the first season. Nor are the kids without some serious problems, such as Rick's daughter, Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood), whose eating disorder was confronted in the second season. Now Lily and Rick are newlyweds. And tonight it's clear that the honeymoon, if there really ever was one, is over. The younger children, Jessie and Zoe (Meredith Deane), are at war, while the eldest, Rick's 18-year-old son, Eli (Shane West), is not only out of school and work, but also in trouble with the law. Things get even more complicated between the couple and Rick's ex after Lily helps Eli land a job with a rock band.

The strength of this show is its insight into the complex web of ties that bind lovers, ex-spouses, siblings, parents and children, and so on. Whereas many programs gloss over the details of family relationships, "Once and Again" revels in them, often through subtleties such as a knowing glance or a sly twist of everyday speech. You can see the crush that Lily's older daughter, Grace (Julia Whelan), has on Eli just by the way her face lights up whenever he's in the room

At the same time, this show is not everyone's cup of tea. With its heavy emphasis on romantic entanglements and moments of crisis, it can't help but feel at times like a soap opera. Nevertheless, it has dimensions that reflect the lives of many of its viewers. In that sense, it's fitting that "Once and Again" has moved to the time slot that was long occupied by another program about contemporary life, the newsmagazine "20/20

"Once and Again" premieres tonight at 10 on ABC. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).

10:00 (ABC) "Once and Again." The first two seasons had Rick and Lily meeting, loving, fighting and getting married. Now comes the hard part.

• One of TV's most beautifully done dramas, ABC's Once and Again (tonight, 10 ET/PT), opens its new season on a new night — but with the same, incredibly high standards of writing and acting.

For its third season, Once is adopting a slightly lighter tone, which is most noticeable in the premiere in the byplay between the newly married Rick (the under appreciated Billy Campbell) and Lily (Sela Ward, who seems to grow more beautiful each season). They argue, but the arguments no longer touch the core of their relationship.

They also seem to have a more relaxed perspective on their problems. Lily loses her job (naturally — she worked at a dot-com com-pany), but instead of falling apart, she goes home and listens to music with the also unemployed Eli (Shane West).

Remember, however, that what seems "light" on Once would be intense on any other series. The changes haven't affected the show's honesty or its commitment to exploring the emotional intricacies of everyday life — as witnessed by tonight's central story, built around Karen's (Susanna Thompson) reaction to Eli's struggles. This is a fabulous series, and Friday is lucky to have it.

"Once and Again"" (10 p.m., WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, ABC). Season premiere. Home and not alone. Now that they're married, Lily and Rick (Sela Ward, Billy Campbell) try to cope with the realities of bringing their children together in blended family bliss under one roof. But the gulf between Rick and slacker son Eli (Shane West) only widens. Television's smartest and most emotionally astute family drama moves to Friday nights.

From julesluvsmark: Anything new about Grace and her unrequited feelings for Eli?

For now, looks like they stay unrequited. But we see some touching (not that kind of touching, you dirty birdies) moments between Eli and Lily in the first episode, when she takes his side in a fight with Karen.

Sela Ward (who looks like she spent the summer working out, she's never looked so buff) and the rest of the merged families are back on a new night in the terrific (5 VCRs) season premiere of "Once and Again" (Friday, ABC, 10 p.m.) Eli gets arrested, Lili loses her job, and Zoey and Jesse are ready to kill each other. On top of that, Grace is obviously still starry-eyed over her step-brother (the Brady Bunch, this isn't.) This season look for Jake and Judy to become business partners, Steven Weber to returning as Judy's once married now divorcing ex-boyfriend, Will Gluck to make one final appearance (Mark Valley's heading over to "Pasadena"), and Eric Stolz to guest star as Grace's teacher (he'll appear in the second episode).

nyc, nyc : Any storyline hints you can give us for Once & Again. How about Rick & Lily relationship, have you rec'd any hints as to future stories for them, outside the merging of the kids.

Robert Bianco: I can't really give you any story hints for Rick and Lily. But I can tell you that the first episode, which airs this Friday, is easily one of the weekend's top hours. To judge from the premiere, their relationship will have its problems, as any relationship does, but it's much more solid than it was last year. They're in love and committed to each other, and that comes through loud and clear in the opener.

Miami, FL : Can we look forward to a 4-Star review of the season premiere of "Once and Again"? I know the quality dropped off a bit in the second season, what do you think about this season?

Robert Bianco: There are 7 new series debuting this weekend - so I'm not quite sure yet how we'll handle the return of "Once and Again." As I said, though, it's a very strong beginning and gives promise of a good season to come.

Impossibly attractive, just-married former divorcees Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell) and Lily Manning (Sela Ward) bring their four children together in a home hardly as harmonious as the Brady Bunch. Lily and Rick's ex-wife, Karen, clash as Rick and Karen's son Eli is busted for carrying a friend's marijuana, while Lily becomes his defender and friend.

It's a well-crafted example of the friction inherent in bringing two disparate families together. This critic predicts more than a few families will see themselves in Friday's drama.

Caught with pot in his possession, Eli gets busted. Eli has been living with the newlywed Sammlers, and the incident brings the budding-unemployed-musician and his stepmother Lily even closer. Shane West said Eli is a problem child and he may be moving back in with his mom. Karen thinks Eli is not taking control of his life and heading down the wrong path, whereas Lily doesn't think he is. Lily tries to help Eli secure employment, because Rick & Karen have been pressuring him to find a job. Lily suggest he try the local recording studio-he is offered a gig there.

However conflict arises when Karen decrees that there will we no music in Eli's life for a while because of his arrest. Eli says the pot wasn't his but will not say that he never smoked pot...The connection between drugs and the music world is to close for Karen and she wants Eli far away from temptations door. Karen & Lily clash because Lily is the one who got Eli the job. Poor Rick is caught between the two women. Shane West said "There is a great scene with Karen/Lily & Rick in which they discuss who the true parent is in this situation" The third season bow of O&A artfully plunges us into the domestic turmoil of newlyweds L & R , the kids & extended families. As Lily, Sela Ward, looking more beautiful than ever, brings a new warmth, maturity and serenest to her bonding scenes with Shane West (Eli) Billy Campbell remains a marvel as gentle giant Rick, but excellent writing and a fine performance make the character so much more complicated than that. Susanna (Karen) continues to shine as she strikes just the right balance of her uptight nature and vulnerability vs. her desire to be a good parent.

Lily, Rick & Karen's confrontation outside the Sammler house is absolutely riveting.

As always, humor is seamlessly injected into the show. There is a running gag as R&L vainly try to enjoy a little lovemaking, only to be interrupted by a new problem involving squabbling Zoe & Jessie. As Jake, makes his brief appearance count when he labels Zoe & Jessie the twisted sisters.

From becky141: What's coming up on Once and Again?
Catastrophe, as the families unite. One of the kids actually gets arrested in the pilot episode. (Guesses?) Karen is furious, accuses Lily of being a bad influence and wants to remove her child from the house.

From Eli: Is it Eli?
Yes. Taking the girls to school, Eli gets in a fender bender, and the police end up searching his car, coming up with a bag of pot. It's actually his friend's, but that doesn't stop all parental units from going berserk. And speaking of beserkity (yes, I'm making up words), Grace's crush on Eli is far from over.

Return: When we last left Rick (Billy Campbell) and Lily (Sela Ward), they were finally exchanging wedding vows and preparing for a future together with their children. In tonight's season opener, their newly merged broods find that living under one roof can be more than a little stressful. For starters, a somewhat directionless Eli (Shane West) finds himself in hot water after he's arrested for marijuana possession -- a situation that leaves Karen (Susanna Thompson) fretting over Rick's parenting skills. Meanwhile, Lily copes with the news that PagesAlive has folded and that she'll need to look for another job. Christie: Jennifer Crystal Foley. -- Vickie Reichardt

The insightful third-season opener finds newlyweds Rick (Billy Campbell) and Lily (Sela Ward) coping with the angst of his beleaguered 18-year-old son Eli (Shane West), who's busted for marijuana possession.

The pot's not his, but Eli's arrest nonetheless raises a red flag for Rick's ex-wife, Karen (Susanna Thompson), who determines that the teen needs "structure in [his] life." And that means employment. Thanks to a twist of fate---and Lily's persuasiveness---Eli lands a job at a recording studio. But the prospect of a son in the music biz doesn't sit well with Karen, whose intervention sets the stage for telling confrontations.

Cast: Billy Campbell, Sela Ward, Shane West, Evan Rachel Wood, Meredith Deane, Julia Whelan, Susanna Thompson, Jeffrey Nordling, Marin Hinkle, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Kay Lenz, Adam Brody

Rating: TV-PG

Rick And Lily Adjust To Married Life And Their New Family, When The Third Season Of ABC's "Once And Again" Premieres -- And Moves To A New Night -- Friday, September 21 "Once and Again" returns for a third 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 families brought together by the second marriage of Lily Manning (Sela Ward) and Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell), who have discovered another chance at love and genuine commitment after divorce. Their relationship, however, has not been without challenge; parenting, divorce, infidelity, financial hardship and even death have pushed them to the limit, both as a couple and as individuals. Against all these forces, Rick and Lily now have their love, their family and their new commitment to sustain them. They must continue to confront their own flaws and struggles, as well as those of their children, in order for their new family to survive and to fully embrace this rare second chance at happiness. "Once and Again" premieres FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

In the season premiere episode, "Busted," Rick, Lily and their kids struggle with their new living situation, while Eli gets in trouble with the law and seeks Grace's help in dealing with his struggles.

"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 Sammlber as Samuel Blue and Ever Carradine as Tiffany Porter.

Guest starring are Jennifer Crystal Foley as Christie Parker, Adam Brody as Coop, George Tasudis as driver, James Martinez as cop no. 1, Pedro Shanahan as long hair no. 1, Jeff Russo as long hair no. 2, JF Pryor as Drummer, Kay Lenz as Stephanie and Robert Vernon Eaton as cop no. 3.

"Busted" was directed by Dan Lerner and written by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick.

"Once and Again" is executive produced and created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. The one-hour drama series, which premiered on September 21, 1999, is from The Bedford Falls Company in association with Touchstone Television.

A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.

Pictures courtesy of ABC (Click on thumbnail for bigger picture)

From Shelly: Is Jesse going to have a love interest next season?
Actually, we have been talking about that a little bit. I think she is going to go on a date with somebody. It's up in the air. We just started the next season, episode two, so we'll see!

From bently317: Evan, any hints on storylines with your "mother" Karen and yourself? You're terrific together!
I actually have no idea. I know there's going to be something that nobody's allowed to talk about. I know there's going to be a terrific storyline between Shane, Susanna and me. But it's a big secret. Everyone's all hush-hush about it.

From shully: Hey, Evan and Wanda! Evan, you are amazing on Once and Again, and your singing voice blew me away. Is there any chance we'll get to hear it again? Maybe with Eli's band?
They've been talking about it. I think we're going to shoot a scene in which both Jesse and Grace audition for the same part. So, that should be interesting.

From Wanda: Sounds a little tense.
Yes. And there's a conflict with her and Zoe sharing a room. I don't think there will be big scream-fights, but there will be bickering. Grace has never had a sister her age, so now she has someone to compete with.

From weloveusinc: What was it like acting with Ed Zwick? I thought he was great as the therapist. Do you know if we'll see him again?
It was funny, because it was his first acting job so he was really nervous. He was a lot of fun. I know Jesse is still going to have some problems with her eating, but I'm not sure if we'll see him again.

From 1bently317: Is the secret storyline a source of conflict, joy, sadness...what?
I'm not sure. They won't even tell me! It's a big secret.

From meghanstar: Maybe you can tell us, Wanda, what's up with Grace and Eli? Please tell me the writers are finding a way to get them together!
I hear: Slooow flirtation and, most likely, an unrequited love for Gracearooni.

Pages alive is gone. Something else is gone too, but I don't think I should tell.

Marshall and Ed wrote the script...directed by Dan Lerner

I've read the script, but I don't wanna say anything about it. All I will say is that it is excellent and the fans won't be let down

...filming was not in L.A [on July 25]. Sela's hair is very short. The three teens...Shane, Julia and Evan were filming together and having a great time. Evan is as tall as Julia. Julia looks great, and Shane's hair has grown back.

Yesterday [July 26] Mari and I drove to the LA because I thought it was the 27th. Wrong. They were setting up yesterday for today's shoot. Well, I drove us to the set again today. I wasn't sure what 2 think when Luthien posted that they weren't in LA today, but we drove anyway. There is an LA Studio at that location. We proceeded in and I said that I was here for Once And Again, the man gave me a sheet of paper and directed me to the parking garage.

We parked and walked toward the people, Right away I saw Sela, Julia and Evan in the Explorer. It's navy blue not black. Anyhoo, We kept walking looking for a place 2 blend in. We stopped and I looked over my shoulder and Billy was there.

Shane, Susanna, Billy, Sela, Julia and Evan are in a scene together, we watched them rehearse several times. I walked up 2 Billy and introduced myself, I told him that I had met him once before, he asked "where", i told him at the set last year, He said: Nice 2 meet you again... I'll let Mari tell you about the rest..

As Jennifer stated - we just got back from L.A. Studios and what a wonderful time we had. When we first arrived we walked over to where Billy was sitting. They were shooting a scene of Lily taking both Gracie and Jesse in the car right outside of a parking garage. Jenni and I went to talk to Billy while he was reading a book...and he was such a sweetie (very down to earth). To all you Rickateers out there -- ooh...what a hottie! I kept looking at his gorgeous blue eyes. Wow! :)

We asked him if it would be alright to take a picture with him. With a big smile he said "sure." Therefore, I took a picture of him and Jennifer, placing her arm around his neck -- and Jen took one of us (same pose). Then he had to go change his clothing where the trailers were. There was a guy there who looked like Billy. I told Jennifer that he would be good for the Rick's brother's role. We didn't ask Billy if the guy was his brother, but I'm assuming it was because they looked so much alike.

We watched the one scene with Lily, Karen, Rick Eli, Julia, and Jesse about 10 -15 times!! LOL I'm sure they were very tired. Lily was driving out with the two girls and Rick is waving goodbye. Sela drove in circles in the parking garage with the girls. We didn't see Zoe. In this scene, Sela is wearing an orange/brown sweater with a white t-shirt underneath (purple design in the front), some cute jeans and sandals. She looked very pretty and yes her hair is short, but long enough to be pulled back into a small pony tail.

In the same scene -- Karen and Eli were walking away from Lily's car, back to their Toyota van inside the parking garage. I will not say anything about their lines -- the only thing I will say is that Karen was very disappointed at Eli. Hmm...

During their lunch hour Jennifer and I went to talk to Sela. Okay guys -- you think Sela is pretty on television? She is even prettier in person. She is the sweetest person (all smiles) and happy to take a picture with each of us individually.

Jen and I are so HAPPY we had the opportunity to meet both Billy and Sela. :)

The next scene they filmed was when Eli and Karen were walking to her van. Shane is very cute. He kept looking in our direction -- probably wondering who the heck we were. lol We were going to talk to him, also -- to let him know that we had met his parents the other day, but Jen and I decided to leave before they finished shooting that scene.

Suzanna is also very pretty in person. It took many takes for this scene, also. Jen and I were just standing with the make-up artists. Everyone on the set was pretty cool.

They are still filming at the moment and are supposed to be there until late tonight ( I think 10pm). So, yes -- they were in L.A.

I knew everyone here would be interested, therefore, we decided to share. We had a wonderful time on the set of Once and Again.

. . . I believe it was the first episode. They started filming a couple of days ago in the city of San Pedro. I think one of the locations was at a HS and the others were close to a Plaza. i.e. hotels and restaurants. . . [Sela] truly is beautiful and Billy, well you know he's a hottie, and he is always reading books...

[Lily, Rick, Karen, Eli, Grace & Jessie] are in the same scene, but not exactly all in the conversation.

Rick says that he is going to go and get his car. He was wearing slacks and a shirt.

Didn't notice if [Rick and Lily] were wearing rings.

D.B. Sweeney was there because he may be directing an episode later in the season...he was hanging out with the director.

darkentry2001: can you tell us anything about Jessie in the upcoming season or is it top secret?

Evan Rachel Wood: Well, I don't really know that much... But i've seen the first episode and I sort of have an idea of what is going to happen. I know that there are going to be some problems with Jessie and Zoe sharing the room. There are going to be some fights there. And Grace and Jessie may have some problems. Jessie might get popular and Grace won't know how to take it -- she will be competing with her step-sister in a way. And with Jessie entering this new world of popularity, I don't think that she will handle it well. It kind of scares her a little. With the families combined, there will be a lot of friction and a lot of good storylines. I think that this coming season is going to be really good, I have a really good feeling about it.