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218 - (BOE)     Best of Enemies     04/04/01
Karen becomes distraught when Jessie's eating disorder takes a turn for the worse, and Judy shocks Lily with a surprising confession.

WRITER: Emily Whitesell     DIRECTOR: Barnet Kellman
 Brooks-Manning Lily    Grace    Zoe
 Sammler Rick    Eli    Jessie
 Ex's Jake    Karen
 Other Family Judy   
 Business  
 Significant Regulars  
Others
Dr. Rosenfeld - Edward Zwick
Kimberly - Kristina Anapau

PLACES:
Lily's house
Karen's house
Booklovers Karen's car
Upton Sinclair
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Unnamed Restaurant -
Dr Rosenfeld's office -

LITERARY REFERENCES:
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers

Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart & Rekindle the Spirit - Jack Canfield (Editor), Mark Victor Hansen (Editor)

INTERVIEWS:
Rick - "She is so out there ... "
Judy - "He's so contained ..."
Jessie - "The first time I learned skiing ..."
Karen - "Rick's parenting has always been so casual ..."
Rick - "Karen approaches parenting like it's a trial ..."
Jessie - "The inside room adn the outside room ..."
Jessie - "She could be in a house full of people ..."

MUSIC:
W.G. Snuffy Walden Production/incidental music
Rickie Lee Jones - "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963"

EVENTS:
Episode Timeline

You never cook during the week
Lily makes lasagna for dinner during the week because Judy is coming over and it's the first time she's joining them for dinner since Rick moved in. Apparently, Lily barely cooks during the week and so this is a surprise to everyone, including Rick.

I'm off dairy
Judy announces that she no longer eats dairy - after Lily tells her that they're having lasagna for dinner. There follows an odd conversation between Rick and Judy during which Judy goes on and on about the evils of dairy and that "we feed this to our children - they're humans, not cows!"

The Faint
While getting dressed for soccer practice, Jessie appears somewhat ill and distracted while Grace is talking to her. Then, after Grace leaves, Jessie passes out for a moment and quickly recovers. Her friend Megan, asks if she should call a teacher, but Jessie stops her.

The Call
After Judy finds out from Grace that Jessie passed out briefly at school, she (Judy) decided to call Karen and let her know. This proves awkward from two perspectives. First, Judy is not that comfortable with Karen during the conversation itself, then second, this becomes a source of anger for Lily who sees Judy as completely ignoring her relationship with Rick and preferring to deal with his ex-wife instead.

Confessions
Judy tells Jessie privately that she was bulemic in high school. This is also when Judy recommends the book "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter". She comments that the book saved her life.

Time for a Change
After determining that the current approach doesn't work, Karen, Rick, and Dr Rosenfeld come up with an alternate approach - making Jessie's recovery like a job - rewarding work well done, and having consequences for work not done. Work in this case is eating.

Smothering
We see Karen be the overwhelming presence in Jessie's daily life - smothering her to the point that Jessie argues back, even telling her to "please get out of my room". This causes Karen to visit Dr Rosenfeld alone to apparently discuss her need to be in control.

The Ski Trip
The underlying event through all this is the need to go on the ski trip. Every other even triggers off this subtle need. In the earlier b/w Jessie tells of her first time skiing - a family trip where Rick put his skis outside hers and they went down the mountain together. This could be a reference to Season 1's TBD where Jessie mourns the break-up of the family and the way things used to be. The ski trip is the embodyment of the healing process. Where it once was the memory of the great family moment, it now is the moment of breaking free - this will be her first trip away from Karen, her first trip alone. This will be the symbol of real trust of her by both her parents.


EPISODE TIMELINE:
by LaChefski@go.com

The "other" upcoming event (besides a certain wedding) is the school ski trip. This would be a Spring-break getaway, right Midwesterners? That is, going skiing late March-ish?

Lily is cooking during the week(!!), and I think this may be a Wednesday. She references the wedding being five weeks away. Thursday afternoon, in the girls locker room, Grace asks Jessie if she can help at the book fair next Monday and Wednesday, and J agrees. Jessie blacks out momentarily.

Judy calls Karen that night, about Jessie; Rick and Karen go to see Rosenfeld on Friday. The towel-folding (Lily and Judy) could be that night, or the next... Grace and Jake are shopping, and I'm not sure why Lily should be concerned about Grace being late on a weekend, but.......

MONDAY -- Set up at the book fair; that night, Jessie has phone privileges revoked.

TUESDAY -- Lily lunches with Judy at BL and says Zoe would be "heartbroken" if she and Rick eloped. Lily asks Judy again if she, Judy, can go chapel-hunting Thursday. Next, Jess buying shoes with Rick, followed by appointment with Rosenfeld.

WEDNESDAY -- Book fair begins; Judy reveals her high school eating disorder to Jessie.

THURSDAY -- Judy is late to meet Lily the chapel. Rick brings Jessie home from a game, and urges Karen to let their daughter to on the trip. Fight scene between Jessie and Karen in J's room.

FRIDAY -- Rick visits Judy at BL; Karen visits Rosenfeld solo; Lily/Judy reunion at BL.

SATURDAY -- Ski trip departure -- Manning goodbyes to Grace, and Sammler goodbyes to Jessie.


TRIVIA:

Original Scheduling
This episode was originally scheduled as 217.

No Intro
Other than the series pilot, this is the first episode without a "canned" introduction with theme music.

What's in a number
Jessie's soccer jersey is #3

Ski
Jessie first learned to ski on a family trip to Devil's Head in Wisconsin. She was 6.

Petite Pear
Rick puts "petite pear" tomatoes in the salad, which Judy promptly picks out.


NIT PICKERS:

 
 


Original episode spoilers
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Gist Tunneldiver's Teasers ClickTV David Bianculli TV Now Tooncer Click TV TV Guide.com ABC

From Gist:
A Best Bet
http://www.gist.com/tv/pickstory.jsp?date=040401&genre=drama&number=3&do=1
Once and Again: "Best of Enemies"
Wednesday, April 4
ABC, 10 to 11 p.m. ET

Judy (Marin Hinkle) rains on Lily's (Sela Ward) wedding plans and points out that Jessie's (Evan Rachel Wood) recent fainting spellsare probably anorexia-induced. Meanwhile, Karen (Susanna Thompson) begins to realize that she may be smothering Jessie with too much attention, which might push her daughter even further away than she already is. Later, Lily decides to go ahead with her wedding plans without Judy's blessing.

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From Tunneldiver's Teasers:
http://boards.go.com/cgi/abc/request.dll?MESSAGE&room=a_Once_and_Again&id=69069

Food nazi's, attack of the mucous membranes and allergies everywhere!!
Literary reference: Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"

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From ClickTV:
A Best Bet
http://www.clicktv.com/
Once and Again
Best of Enemies

Karen and Jessie (Susanna Thompson, Evan Rachel Wood) reach one of those make-or-break mother-daughter moments in "Best of Enemies." Karen finally realizes she has to back off or risk driving Jessie away. Speaking of make-or-break moments, Lily (Sela Ward) vows to forge ahead with the wedding plans without waiting for Judy (Marin Hinkle) to come around. Billy Campbell and Julia Whelan also star.

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From David Bianculli:
http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-04-04/New_York_Now/Television/a-105912.asp

10:00 (ABC) "Once and Again." Edward Zwick, the co-creator of this series, reprises his role as Rosenfeld, the psychiatrist who is helping young Jessie through her eating disorder. His performance is so good, so natural and tender, that if I were one of his cast members, I'd be a little intimidated that the boss could turn in such a strong performance as sort of a sideline lark.

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From TV Now:
http://boards.go.com/cgi/abc/request.dll?MESSAGE&room=a_Once_and_Again&id=67379
Best of Enemies

60 minutes- (CC), N, In Stereo starring Sela Ward, Billy Campbell, Julia Whelan Shane West, Meredith Deane, Evan Rachel Wood Karen (Susanna Thompson) realizes the harder she tries to hold on to Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood), the more she risks losing her; Lily (Sela Ward) continues with her wedding plans despite her sister's objections

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From Tooncer at the ABC Message Board:
http://boards.go.com/cgi/abc/request.dll?MESSAGE&room=a_Once_and_Again&id=67121

Best of Enemies: guess what certain anorexic member of the family bonds with...what's this? another anorexic in the family!!! Or I should say "former" anorexic.

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From Click TV:
http://www.clicktv.com/
Once and Again - Best of Enemies

Karen (Susanna Thompson) realizes the harder she tries to hold on to Jessie (Evan Rachel Wood), the more she risks losing her; Lily (Sela Ward) continues with her wedding plans despite her sister's objections. (In Stereo)

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

TV-PG
Wed 4/4/01

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From TV Guide.com:
Once and Again
Best of Enemies

Conflict is kindled by Judy, who irks Lily over her feelings toward Rick and spills the beans about Jessie's anorexia-induced fainting. Dr. Rosenfeld: Edward Zwick (series co-creator). Kimberly: Kristina Anapau. Judy: Marin Hinkle. Rick: Billy Campbell. Jessie: Evan Rachel Wood.

Cast: Billy Campbell, Sela Ward, Shane West, Evan Rachel Wood, Meredith Deane, Julia Whelan, Susanna Thompson, Marin Hinkle, Edward Zwick, Kristina Anapau

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From ABC:
Karen Feels Helpless When Jessie's Eating Disorder Takes A Turn For The Worse, On ABC's "Once And Again"

"Best of Enemies" - A concerned Karen realizes that, if she holds on to Jessie any tighter, she might slip right through her mother's fingers. Meanwhile, Lily decides to make wedding plans with or without her sister's blessing, on "Once and Again," WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

"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, David Clennon as Miles Drentell and Jennifer Crystal-Foley as Christie Parker.

Guest starring are Edward Zwick as Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld, Kristina Anapau as Kimberly, Ashley Tisdale as Marni, Granger Green as Sue and Brandon Davis as Gregg.

"Best of Enemies" was written by Emily Whitesell and directed by Barnet Kellman.

This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

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