27 Years Ago, This Sci-Fi Spy Series Delivered a Near-Per...

27 Years Ago, This Sci-Fi Spy Series Delivered a Near-Perfect Single Season

Margaret Colin standing with Eric Close in Now and AgainImage via Eric Liebowitz / ©CBS / Courtesy Everett Collection

By Lloyd Farley Published Feb 15, 2026, 9:47 PM EST Lloyd 'Happy Trails' Farley: the man, the myth, the legend. What can be said about this amazing - and humble - man that hasn't been said before? Or, more accurately, what can be said in public? Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Lloyd is a master of puns and a humorist, who has authored one pun book to date - Pun and Grimeish Mint - and is working on a second. His time with Collider has allowed Lloyd's passion for writing to explode, with nearly 1,000 articles to his name that have been published on the site, with his favorite articles being the ones that allow for his sense of humor to shine. Lloyd also holds fast to the belief that all of life's problems can be answered by The Simpsons, Star Wars, and/or The Lion King. You can read more about Lloyd on his website, or follow his Facebook page and join the Llama Llegion. Happy trails! Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The Six Million Dollar Man featured Lee Majors as Colonel Steve Austin, who is seriously injured in a NASA test flight gone wrong and then reconstructed with bionic implants that give him superhuman strength, speed, and vision, at the (now) bargain-basement price of six million dollars. The story of Frankenstein rarely varies across multiple adaptations, where a mad doctor places a human brain in a body crafted with stitched-together parts from corpses. Captain America sees Steve Rogers get injected with an experimental "super-soldier-serum" that augments his abilities exponentially. 27 years ago, Now and Again mixed them all together in a perfect sci-fi comedy-drama procedural with an overarching conspiracy, and it got cancelled far too soon.

John Goodman's Brain Enters a Super New Body in 'Now and Again'

Now and Again starts with Michael Wiseman's (John Goodman) workday routine, following him as he gets up, says goodbye to his wife, Lisa (Margaret Colin), and his daughter Heather (Heather Matarazzo) and goes to work. He's an executive at an insurance company, and finds out he's been passed over for a promotion due to his unwillingness to fight claims made by victims of a bridge collapse, costing the company thousands. Disappointed, he and his friend Roger (Gerrit Graham) head out for a drink following work, after which he makes his way to the subway to go home. Unfortunately, a random sequence of events leads to Michael being knocked off the platform and into the path of an oncoming train.

Dead? Well, you'd think, but when he wakes up, he is met by Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert), sitting in a chair at the end of his hospital bed. He's talking, but what he's saying doesn't make sense, telling Michael that his funeral was really beautiful. "But," Michael asks, "how can I be in a hospital if I've already had a funeral?" Dr. Morris answers the question in a grandiose, roundabout fashion, talking about how billions of dollars (well more than Steve Austin's measly six million) went into researching and working with biochemicals and bio-engineering to build a synthetic man. A real American man, one who can do the things mortal men can not, with the speed of Michael Jordan, the strength of Superman, and the grace of Fred Astaire.

The one thing they can't build is a brain, which is where Michael fits in. They managed to rescue Michael's brain, and placed it inside their creation (sound familiar?). Michael's literally been given a second chance, in a state-of-the-art body fully financed by the American government. All they want in return is for him to stay dead. It's the proverbial deal with the devil, with his new lease on life only valid if he doesn't contact anyone from his past life. Ever. If he does, he's guaranteed his own death, and the death of those he's contacted. But it doesn't sink in for Michael until he looks into the mirror. There, looking back, is a younger, thinner man: the new Michael Wiseman (Eric Close).

'Now and Again' Completely Nails Its Strange Sci-Fi Premise

Michael is in awe of his new physique, watched by Dr. Morris and a gaggle of scientists from the other side of the one-way mirror (leading to the first laugh-out-loud moment in the pilot, with Dr. Morris calling the moment Michael checks out his "package," to thunderous applause when he's right). He seemingly can do anything except fly, with Dr. Morris sarcastically apologizing that, in throwing billions of dollars and research into his body, they "forgot to shove a rocket up his ass." It's only when he's alone in his new settings that the true weight of what's being asked of him hits hard.

It's the perpetual struggle between the yearning for his past life and the obligation to take on the missions the secret branch of the government tasks him with that drives Now and Again. He has little choice, but clandestinely, and sometimes recklessly, reaches out to Lisa, Heather, and Roger, leading them to question if what they've been told about Michael's death is true. And it's not, with Dr. Morris and the government withholding the truth not only from Michael's family, but from Michael himself. Complicating matters is the Eggman (Kim Chan), an elderly terrorist who uses eggs containing a quick-acting, deadly poisonous gas, who has already killed dozens in Tokyo and Paris, and now threatens their city.

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Now and Again is smart, funny, and intense, nailing its strange premise perfectly. One great example is when Lisa turns to social assistance, with the insurance company refusing to pay out Michael's life insurance policy. She doesn't qualify, and is told she needs a job, but the only ones available are minimum wage jobs, which don't pay enough for Lisa to keep the family home or even feed themselves. It's such a clever dig at the ridiculousness of bureaucracy, and one of many throughout the series.

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The cast is excellent, with both Close and Haysbert leading the pack. Haysbert lends Dr. Morris depth: he's not a villain, nor is he a hero, but rather a man torn by the duty of toeing the line while watching another man whose life is literally in his hands. Close is flat-out perfect, balancing the humor, action, and emotional journey the role requires with an innate charm and roguishness. Yet Now and Again, which sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, was cancelled after one season, ending on a huge cliffhanger. It stands as one of many series cancelled way too soon, which does happen, now and again.