ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

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Now and Again was a sci~fi television series which ran on the CBS Network from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 for a total of 22-episodes.

It was created and produced by Glen Gordon Caron (Moonlighting: 1985~1989, Medium: 2005~2011).

Synopsis: Michael Wiseman (John Goodman) lives in suburban New York with his wife Lisa (Margret Colin) and daughter Heather.

One day he is accidentally knocked off of a subway train platform.

He awakens to see a Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert) looking over him. Morris is the head of a top secret government project dedicated to artificially engineer the perfect human body.

This body will posses superhuman strength, stamina, reflexes, and highly developed senses.

Morris was unable to create the human brain from scratch and has transplanted Mike's brain into the superior genetic body (Eric Close, Dark Skies: 1996~1997).

Mike must now work for the government, going on dangerous missions selected for his special talents.

Furthermore, Mike cannot contact his family or friends revealing that he is not dead and now has an entirely new body.

If he does inform his family or friends about his brand new existence, he will place both himself and any of them under the penalty of death.

Despite these threats, Mike does find ways to see his wife and daughter without letting them know who he really is.

This was a very entertaining series. We have Mike's espionage assignments for the action-adventure elements, and we have his longing to see his wife and daughter to help them any way he can, which gives a poignancy and human element to it all.

Sadly, the show only lasted one season but certainly deserved more in order to explore the potential stories.

[Krel]

Great show that ended on a cliffhanger. There was an attempt to get CBS to at least provide an ending for the show, but it obviously didn't happen.

Some of the funniest scenes were the horrible things they did to him to test his super body.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks, Mike! I'd never heard of this series, and I found all 22 episodes on YouTube, so I watched a few minutes of the pilot.

Intriguing is the word I'd use to describe it. I was surprised to see John Goodman as the guy who dies/comes back/gets a super-body!

The scene of him being killed by the subway train is eye-popping. It isn't a gory blood-splash, it's a slow-motion scene with special effects that are classy and imaginative!

The scene that follows deals with a slick, fast-talking, cheerful government agent who tells John Goodman — who isn't seen, just heard — (a) that he's dead, (b) his brain is hooked up to devices which allow him to see and hear and talk, and (c) his recent funeral was well attended and very nice.

He also informs John that he must agree to work for the government or his brain will be disconnected from life support and tossed into a dumpster.

Easy choice, eh?

As Krel implied above, this is a black comedy which blends drama with subtle elements that are not to be taken too seriously.

Here's a link that includes all 22 episodes and a video called "special features". Be sure to thank Pow for starting this thread for a series that was not part of All Sci-Fi!

___________________ Now and Again (1999)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)