Once Upon A Time

EvilSpaceAlien

Sinister Swede
ONCE UPON A TIME — "From the inventive minds of Lost executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis comes a bold new imagining of the world, where fairy tales and the modern-day are about to collide. And they all lived happily ever after - or so everyone was led to believe. Emma Swan knows how to take care of herself. She's a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who's been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything starts to change. Henry is now 10 years old and in desperate need of Emma's help. He believes that Emma actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming's missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen's curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Of course Emma doesn't believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town. Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems. It's a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close... where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don't remember who they once were. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Emma will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell. Once Upon a Time stars Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love) as Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison (House) as Emma Swan, Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting, SGU Stargate Universe) as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham, Jared Gilmore (Mad Men) as Henry, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/John Doe and Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie. Once Upon a Time was written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are also executive producers, along with Steve Pearlman (ABC's V). The pilot is directed and executive-produced by Mark Mylod (Entourage). Once Upon a Time is from ABC Studios."

http://blastr.com/2011/05/abc-unveils-fall-promises.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCDDwx1Njn0
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Oh, boy.....
 

EvilSpaceAlien

Sinister Swede
We've seen ABC's New Fairytale Show Once Upon A Time

Can a show about fairytale characters in the real world keep you wishing upon a star every week? ABC is hoping you'll want to get to know Snow White and a host of fairytale characters in Once Upon a Time.

We were lucky enough to watch the pilot of Once Upon A Time in advance, and here are our early thoughts. With absolutely no spoilers, beyond what's in ABC's trailer and official synopsis. Click your heels three times, and click through to read more!
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First of all, a caveat: As usual, what we've seen was an early not-for-air pilot, that was released to press people. There's a strong chance that the show will change drastically before it ever airs on television. And this is just our early gut reaction after watching the pilot — we'll be posting a proper review closer to the airdate, and of course we'll be recapping this show week to week.

Once Upon a Time hails from two Lost producers, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, with Lost's Damon Lindelof involved as well.
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The rap on Once Upon a Time is that it's going to be like a television version of Fables, in which fairytale characters come to "our" world and live among us. But the actual show is nothing like Bill Willingham's great comic book, at least if the pilot is anything to go by. The concept is totally different, and the execution, also, is totally unlike Willingham's approach. Here's how ABC is describing the show:
From the inventive minds of "Lost" executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis comes a bold new imagining of the world, where fairy tales and the modern-day are about to collide.
once-upon-a-time-pilot-abc-15.jpg


And they all lived happily ever after - or so everyone was led to believe. Emma Swan knows how to take care of herself. She's a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who's been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything starts to change. Henry is now 10 years old and in desperate need of Emma's help. He believes that Emma actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming's missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen's curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Of course Emma doesn't believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town. Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems. It's a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close... where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don't remember who they once were. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Emma will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell.


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"Once Upon a Time" stars Ginnifer Goodwin ("Big Love") as Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison ("House MD") as Emma Swan, Robert Carlyle ("The Full Monty," "Trainspotting," "SGU Stargate Universe") as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham, Jared Gilmore ("Mad Men") as Henry, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/John Doe and Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie. "Once Upon a Time" was written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are also executive producers, along with Steve Pearlman (ABC's "V"). The pilot is directed and executive-produced by Mark Mylod ("Entourage"). "Once Upon a Time" is from ABC Studios.​
So as you can tell from the ABC synopsis, the fairytale characters living in the town of Storybrooke have forgotten who they really are. They think that they're just ordinary people living in a curious little town, and they don't seem to notice that they're "frozen in time." So in a nutshell it's another "people trapped in a small weird town" show, not unlike The Prisoner and countless other shows. Except that Once Upon a Time is pretty fun never gets too dark or weird.

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The good news is, Jennifer Morrison is totally engaging as Emma Swan, the bail bonds collector who may be the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She has an early set piece that totally wins you over to her side, and you immediately start loving her resourcefulness and self-reliance. In fact, the cast is great in general — especially Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, who totally sells you on some scenes that could look a bit silly otherwise. And Stargate Universe's Robert Carlyle looks like he'll be fascinatingly demented.

The conceit that these fairytale characters have forgotten who they really are means that Once Upon a Time finds a way to put fairytale characters in the real world without much incongruity. And long stretches of Once Upon a Time feel like they could come from any other TV show about cute schemers and lost souls in a vaguely suburban environment. And then you switch over to the events in Fairyland, which feels a bit like a Disney pastiche at times.


Once Upon a Time seems like a fun show — it has several engaging characters, who are introduced nicely in the first episode. The overarching plot of the Evil Queen's curse is pretty compelling, and there are some good interpersonal conflicts in the "real" world that could develop in an interesting way.



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The two worries I have, after watching the pilot, are: 1) Will the cuts between a fairly realistic "real" world and the somewhat cartoony fairytale world get too jarring after a while? (And for that matter, will the fairytale scenes be just too ridiculous for people?) 2) How on Earth is this show going to sustain its fairly simple setup over the course of dozens of episodes?

But if the show can get past those two concerns — and both things depend a lot on the second, third and fourth episodes — then it could become a pretty fun show. Once Upon a Time has a strong enough cast that if they're given strong scripts to deal with, it ought to be a fun ride.


Bottom line: Once Upon a Time is fun and zippy show, with occasional jaunts into a somewhat Disneyfied-feeling fairytale world. The show airs Sundays at 8 PM on ABC this fall.
http://io9.com/5805156/weve-seen-abcs-new-fairytale-show-once-upon-a-time
 

Rac80

The Belle of the Ball
This sounds like a bit of a rip-off on an old sitcom called the Charmings that was on ABC in 1987-1988!
The opening voice-over set-up the premise:
“Once upon a time there was a vain queen who was so jealous of her beautiful stepdaughter, Snow White, that she poisoned her with an apple. But a handsome prince came along and broke the spell. Snow White and Prince Charming threw the wicked stepmother down a bottomless pit and lived happily ever after. But, it turns out the pit wasn't bottomless - just very deep. And now, the queen was very mad. With a spell so powerful even she couldn't control it, she put the Charmings asleep for a thousand years. She also got herself and one dwarf. Eventually they woke up.”
The series' plot was that fairy tale characters Snow White and Prince Charming were magically transported to a 20th century suburb in California. Each episode shows the Charmings trying to adapt to their new life while Lillian, the wicked stepmother, and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs. After the first season, Caitlin O'Heaney (who portrayed Snow White), was replaced by Carol Huston.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charmings
 

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
They might give it longer because of the Losters involved. :icon_e_wink:

possibly--but that just may give more credence to my theory of "over-hyping" new shows/movies before they premiere (I would like to find some pre-premiere commercials for LOST- I dont quite remember if there was hype or not). Over expectations not only cause high viewing in the 1st couple of eps but also lead to dramatic loss of viewer-ship if the show doesn't live up to the hype-even if it is good, just not as good as hyped.
 
G

Graybrew1

Guest
possibly--but that just may give more credence to my theory of "over-hyping" new shows/movies before they premiere (I would like to find some pre-premiere commercials for LOST- I dont quite remember if there was hype or not). Over expectations not only cause high viewing in the 1st couple of eps but also lead to dramatic loss of viewer-ship if the show doesn't live up to the hype-even if it is good, just not as good as hyped.

I remember very little hype about Lost. I decided to watch it and expected the normal average show and was getting enthralled for the whole hour. So, I can see your point, I guess we should not believe the hype and keep expectations in check and then maybe another show, who knows could be this one, will give us much more again someday. :biggrin:
 

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
I remember very little hype about Lost. I decided to watch it and expected the normal average show and was getting enthralled for the whole hour. So, I can see your point, I guess we should not believe the hype and keep expectations in check and then maybe another show, who knows could be this one, will give us much more again someday. :biggrin:

yup-perhaps we could call it "SGU syndrome"? :icon_e_wink:

hey who gave me more "green"? thanks
 
G

Graybrew1

Guest
yup-perhaps we could call it "SGU syndrome"? :icon_e_wink:

hey who gave me more "green"? thanks

LOL

Oh, no we created a monster. If you look at your settings it should tell you who gave you the green. And possibly they might have left a message.
 
B

Backstep

Guest
It's not my cup of tea. Not to sure about the NBC show Grimm this fall either, sounds like it's a ripoff of Special Unit 2.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
yaaaaaaawn.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
yaaaaaaawn.

Busy day here so I'm only able to glance at topics but had to take a moment to pause and laugh. Too funny. Is this the official GateFans review? Let's put it on the front page. :icon_lol:
 

EvilSpaceAlien

Sinister Swede
Okay I just watched it and.... I dunno, the whole thing seemed pretty bland if you ask me. Might stick with it for a while to see what happens since I'm close to giving up on Terra Nova. The highlight of the episode (IMO) was Carlyle's portrayal of Rumplestilskin. He was a great pick for playing that cackling maniac. Also, I noticed that Tony Amendola (Bra'tac) was in it, which was kinda nice to see.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
I'm not sure what it is but I just don't feel compelled to watch this show. I get the impression that it might be an interesting premiere episode but I doubt I will go out of my way to tune in every week. As it is I have a hard time tuning into Terra Nova so a fairy tale ain't gonna fair much better with me.
 

EvilSpaceAlien

Sinister Swede
I was hoping for something interesting out of this show.:(

Didn't much care for it, huh?

I'm not sure what it is but I just don't feel compelled to watch this show. I get the impression that it might be an interesting premiere episode but I doubt I will go out of my way to tune in every week. As it is I have a hard time tuning into Terra Nova so a fairy tale ain't gonna fair much better with me.

I get that. To be honest I don't care much for the concept either, but if the show ends up staying watchable (or maybe even getting better), I'll probably stick with it if I have nothing better to watch.
You having issues with Terra Nova too, eh? Honestly, I've pretty much already given up on the thing.
 

EvilSpaceAlien

Sinister Swede
Seems like the series premiere of this show did pretty well. 12,9 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the 18-49 demo. If I remember correctly, that's ABC's best series premiere since V in 2009 (though I could be wrong). I guess we'll just have to see if the ratings will hold steady or sink like a rock...
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/10/25/sunday-final-ratings-once-upon-a-time-adjusted-up-final-ratings-for-world-series-game-4-saintscolts/108354/

Oh and this thread should be moved to sci fi/fantasy series folder instead of being in the one for movies.

 
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