Now and Again
"Deep In My Heart Is A Song"

Airdate: February 18, 2000

Right before an important meeting that will determine the funding status of... well... him, Michael is found in a catatonic -- and naked -- state in the shower. Flashbacks indicate that this is not the first time he's suffered from this type of malady, but without Michael conscious to direct them, Dr. Morris and the other physicians involved have no idea what is wrong.

Michael recalls his former life.

John Goodman makes an appearance in a series of scenes that not only shed light on Michael's medical condition, but also highlight the closeness of the family he so desperately yearns for. This seems important as the only pre-subway interactions we were previously given didn't exactly paint his relationships with his wife and daughter as perfect. After "Deep In My Heart Is A Song", it is much easier to understand Michael's longing for his former life.

I'll admit that when the series began, I felt that Eric Close's job was to come across as John Goodman in a different body. However, this episode made it clear that this was not the case at all. Goodman's Michael Wiseman is surely based upon Close's portrayal of the character. Whereas before I would occasionally hear Goodman's voice in my head reciting Close's lines, in this episode I heard and sometimes saw Close on the screen during Goodman's scenes.

I loved that.

It meant that the characterization was seamless and for two such widely different looking actors to convey what amounts to the same man.... Well, I was very impressed.

And yet, as wonderful as that might be, it was something else entirely that blew me away.

Rarely have I seen a combination of musical score and visuals come together so stunningly as when Dr. Morris, snow falling gently all around him, faces the recently recovered Michael while his arms are still raised in surrender. Having been born and raised in a very warm climate I am anti-cold and therefore anti-snow, but the beauty it imparted upon that one image was worth a bit of mental frostbite.

Dr. Morris performs test after test, but still can't determine what's wrong with Michael.

I also tend to think that visual was staged for more than a single interpretation. At the time Theo was surrendering to the government forces, of course, but his smile, his joy at seeing Michael alive and well, also made me consider the idea that perhaps he was overcome with relief and like a worried parent who lays eyes upon their child after a particularly harrowing experience, his first instinct was to give the other man a hug. He needed physical contact to prove to himself that indeed his eyes were not deceiving him. Of course he had to settle for a handshake and pat on the back, but for a moment, I think he considered it.

I suppose the idea was planted when earlier in the episode the general mused on how Dr. Morris was the image of a proud father. And just like any good father, his concern for his child overwhelms him when the child is put in jeopardy. Any parent in that situation would go to great lengths to protect their child. Theo goes to great lengths and then some. So for all of you who secretly -- or not so secretly -- cursed Theo for being cruel to Michael all I can say is, "I told you so!"

A very relieved Dr. Morris greets a recovered Michael.

The depths of his emotions for Michael can never be questioned again after he absconds with what one of the project goons calls "government property" and returns him to the Wiseman home for he knows that even if Michael can't voice it, he would want to see home one more time before his second death. Despite his patriotism, despite knowing that the project can go on with another brain, Dr. Morris' strongest loyalty and affection are for Michael the man, not Michael the science fair project.

The cast was simply superb in this episode, with Margaret Colin and Heather Matarrazzo imparting a genuine warmth to their scenes with Goodman. And while his scenes were often just himself and an unresponsive Close, Dennis Haysbert proves that he is indeed The Man. Whether he is growling at an underling for too quickly giving up hope on Michael, or, in a voice brimming with guilt and desperation, trying to tell Lisa that her Mr. Newman was in fact her husband Michael Wiseman, Haysbert's Theo was pulsating with life.

I friggin' love this show.

-- Linda M. Najera

Now and Again airs at 9pm EST, Fridays on CBS.

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