Possibly this season's most anticipated new drama series, ABC's Once Upon A Time is magically captivating and breaks new grounds in storytelling by taking the familiar and breathing new life into it.
Lost creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis is the creative force behind the show, featuring a phenomenal cast which includes Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Jared Gilmore as Henry, Joshua Dallas as Prince Charming, Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen and Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan.
The series follows Emma Swan(Morrison), a bail bonds collector who on her 28th birthday is reunited with the son that she gave up 10 years ago. Her son, Henry(Gilmore) has escaped to Boston in hopes to convince Emma to return to a town called Storybrooke, claiming that she is the daughter of iconic fairy tale characters Snow White(Goodwin) and Prince Charming(Dallas). Henry also reveals through a storybook that he has titled "Once Upon A Time" that the Evil Queen(Parrilla) placed an evil curse in the fairy tale world, thus trapping all the characters in a timeless world with no recollection of their identities.
The pilot episode jumps back and forth from the fantasy world to modern day society, slowly revealing to audiences how all the fairy tale characters have ended up in their current state. Switching between the two worlds made the narrative of the episode engaging, as it left you wanting more from both of the plots that were being played out in the two different worlds. The first episode also leaves lots of questions left unanswered, making the story all the more interesting as to where it will go next.
Jennifer Morrison is perfect as Emma Swan. However, the standouts in the cast are Lana Parrilla's Evil Queen, in which the actress portrays with such villainous fervor that you can't help but hate her, and Jared Gilmore's young Henry, who captures the childhood innocence of believing in fairy tales perfectly. Joshua Dallas gathers up enough to serve his purpose as the handsome Prince charming. Ginnifer Goodwin's acting is a bit stiff and stale, though less noticeable when she is portraying her character's modern counterpart, Sister Mary Margaret Blanchard. The cast also features Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin, a sheer manipulatively evil delight, and Jamie Dornan as Storybrooke's sheriff.
Once Upon A Time, fairy tales were spellbinding and enchanting, but then Hollywood's endless remakes and modern adaptations destroyed the beauty of it all. However, ABC's new show has brought back what was once felt by many about this genre. Once Upon A Time is a show that is not to be missed, as it is not only entertaining and addictive, but truly spellbinding.
Once Upon A Time premieres Sunday, October 23 at 8/7c on ABC.
Review written by Kyle, you can follow him on Twitter here.
Thanks for the review Kyle. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeletepersonally i hated it and stopped watching 20 minutes in
ReplyDeleteYeah I made it to about the same spot when I went to the bathroom without pausing it and then decided to laundry instead of keep watching. XD
ReplyDeleteJust the first few scenes were bad enough, but I tried to give it more of a chance. I certainly know if a kid shows up at my doorstep and said I was their mommy or daddy I would go home with them. Suuuuuuuuuure. The argument about calling the police is so paper thin it would be laughable if not for it being so sad.
I watched the pilot and really enjoyed it myself. Good performance from the actress playing the Evil Queen/Mayor imho. I'll rewatch it again on Sunday to catch it in HD.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteEven if I don't agree with everything you said I like how you said it. XD
The only point I would make is that fairy tales were not supposed to be about beauty so much as object lessons of a cruel world if you back to their origins. They were anecdotal in nature, but meant for an adult audience. Most were violent and dark and not based in some colorful and fluffy alternate reality. So Hollywood did not ruin their original magic.... it reverted them back to what they were originally were - Disney ruined them.
That said, I thought the VFX were pretty good for a TV series, good production value to the sets and the cinematography was good too. Even if I don't enjoy it....I can see it being a solid series - if not a breakout hit.
Well he knew she put a baby for adoption, didn't he? That was what made here decide to go.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but didn't he tell her after she already went with him?
ReplyDeleteI could be getting my scenes mixed up since I watched it in 2 parts on 2 different days... I watched the first half last night and the rest this morning just so I could be sure how I felt about it in its entirety.
I am pretty sure he told her in that apartment he is her son, and as a sort of proof added that he knows about her giving away a child. I think that got her wondering, because how could a stranger, moreover a little boy (about 10 years old, none the least), know she did that, since records are sealed, as we later learned. Also, she wished she wasn't alone just before he showed at the door (she told that to boy's mother). I think these two things make a decent (not rock solid, but decent) motive for taking him home.
ReplyDeleteYou are SO annoying and nit-picky. How can you stand your own self? Jesus. I'm not even trolling, but why can't you just try to sit and enjoy what you're watching? Some of your points are very valid and poignant, but it's getting too much. I've been a lurker for a while and I had to say this. No offense, but you seriously have a problem.
ReplyDeleteNo offense taken. I live with myself quite easily and accept my faults quite easily.
ReplyDeleteI've often say the key to life is not finding things or people you cannot find fault with, but finding things or people whose faults you can accept and deal with. Everything and everyone has faults and to pretend otherwise is just silly to me.I often ask myself the same question about people that do NOT notice those things. To me it's first nature to notice the small strokes not to ignore them.... Many artists can paint the broad strokes, but it's the fine strokes that create masterpieces.
I wouldn't say Disney ruined fairy tales. As a child I read both dark versions, Grimm versions, some heartbreaking Hans C. Andersen's tales (the girl with matches, for example), exotic fairy tales of Maya and Aztecs, as well as some peculiar ones like Ukrainian, Thibetan, etc. At the same age I also watched every single thing Disney made. I was receptive of all of it. Each version has something to offer, and in so far as kids can actually learn from Disney's versions, these are good too. We cynical adults are not the target audience anyway. So if a message adult-oriented traditional fairy tales had to offer can be also brought to kids, it is a valiant and commendable effort. It doesn't mean kids shouldn't be read myths, legends and fairy tales of different cultures. Whether they will also do that does not really depend on Disney. If you ask me, Harry Potter did much more to ruin the reception and interest in classic tales than all of the Disney films combined, by introducing something vaguely similar, yet vastly more inferior in both style, imagination and substance (not counting what was rehashed from existing old stories).
ReplyDeleteRuined was probably too strong a word for me to use. Maybe I should have said Disney Altered them first?
ReplyDeleteOn a personal level I never really liked the Disney-fied fairy tales when I was young or as an adult.... but Disney definitely widened the audience.
As someone once said, Opinions are opinions are opinions... Darque has them, you have them.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I would guess you love the sims 3, whilst I am more a fan of the original :P
Thanks for the review! I have watched the episode and I also enjoyed it although I was a huge skeptic at first.
ReplyDeleteGreat review,i hope i like it!
ReplyDeleteGreat review....this show has everything to be a great one, I can't wait to see the next ep!! Loved how the evil queen was played by Lana Parrilla!! I'll definitly keep watching!!
ReplyDelete