New fall tv: Once Upon a Time and Grimm

[amanuensis1]

So I've watched all the episodes of Once Upon a Time, and two episodes of Grimm.

I love Once Upon a Time. I love fairy tales and fantasy settings and True Love's Kiss and happy endings and a touch of bittersweet is just fine too, and the balance between the fairy tale setting and the mundane world in this show is done ever so precisely. If there were any less of the fairy tale setting I'd be chafing for more, but I would dare to say the balance is just right, like Goldilocks's porridge. Did you like The 10th Kingdom? If so definitely check this out; it has quite a similar feel. And I just read an article in Entertainment Weekly that says it's "TV's highest-rated new drama among adults." Lot of qualifiers there but I hope that means the ratings will keep it going. Yay!

Grimm, on the other hand, is well-done but I don't love it. I'll watch it a little more of it but it's, well, grim, so you can't complain it misrepresents itself. It's clever and manages to go places I didn't expect but it's horror, not so much fantasy. (It gives me the same vibes I used to have when the Datlow/Windling anthology of The Year's Best Fantasy was first published and half the stories were horror and I was jumping out of my skin every other story, yelling, "This is Fantasy?" at the thing. Some years later it renamed itself The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and I said, "Thank you, cripes!") Y'got your police procedural, y'got your serial killers...nothing wrong with that if you like that kind of thing, but I could go for a little more True Love's Kiss sweetness. Those of you who like Supernatural should give this a look. (And the horror element is exactly why I bailed on Supernatural, too.)

Comments

[eibbil-libbie.livejournal.com]

I'm the same. Started watching both and after a few weeks - I POUNCE on the Once Upon a Time episode the first chance I get, yet I still have two Grimm episodes waiting to be watched. I like them both but one just has me giddy.

Maybe we just connect with Bad Ass Emma more =)

ITA with the 10th Kingdom feel - and I love that miniseries so hard it's been ripped to my hard drive so I can watch it more often.

(Can you sense a pattern of my husband's tolerance for fairy taie oriented things?)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I had saved all the episodes and didn't get into any of them until this weekend, and I ended up watching all of the Once Upon a Time ones in a row, I was so pulled in!

(The moment that really got me was at the end of the first episode--was it the first? I think it was--when we realized that...that particular character...was still around. I was SO HAPPY 'cos that would have been really really sad otherwise.)

(I have always assumed that "ITA" means "I too agree" but I don't think that's exactly right. What is it?)

[eibbil-libbie.livejournal.com]

I think I know which character...and yeah, I was thrilled, too!!

Probably the former Valley girl in me, but I've always used it as "I totally agree." =)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, that makes much more grammatical sense in netspeak! :D

[daigranon.livejournal.com]

I was actually going to start watching Once Upon a Time, but schoolwork kicked in and I never got around to it. It's good to know you liked it- so maybe I'll try to find the time!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

If it's your sort of thing it will probably click fast. (I have no patience with "Y'gotta give it a few seasons, then it gets good" endurance--it has to be within a few episodes, and preferably within the first few minutes, really!)

[violet_quill]

IAWT.

Though for me the problem with Grimm isn't the horror so much as the fact that I'm not that invested in the characters. The protagonist is so far completely one dimensional and uninteresting to me, though I'm hoping that might change...

This is why I don't tend to like procedurals that much anyway though. :-\ Too plot rather than character driven for my taste.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I definitely feel nothing for the protag's girlfriend in Grimm.

What you say about plot vs. character is significant; if I tune into Law and Order I'm not there for character development. Ditto a horror film. For the most part I do prefer character-driven fiction.

[slumber.livejournal.com]

Haha, I'm actually more interested in Grimm right now, although only marginally so. I like that it's a procedural, the wolf-type partner is amusing me so much, and even if the lead is as bland as they come I'm interested in knowing more about the plot.

Once Upon a Time kind of. Confuses me a bit. I can't connect with the characters at all, which I think is what people love about it. And when I say people, I mean everyone on my flist who's had anything to say about it has loved it. I'm watching it, I am, and I'm staying on so long as there isn't much else on Sunday night, but fandom, what am I missing!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I'm having a great time with OUAT just watching them retell fairy tales, watching them weave them into each other. That's plenty appealing for me. I mean, just hearing Snow White's mundane name is "Miss Blanchard" is enough to give me delighted squees.

I do like the wolf partner in Grimm! He kept my attention when it was starting to wane.

[ella-bane.livejournal.com]

(It gives me the same vibes I used to have when the Datlow/Windling anthology of The Year's Best Fantasy was first published and half the stories were horror and I was jumping out of my skin every other story, yelling, "This is Fantasy?" at the thing. Some years later it renamed itself The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and I said, "Thank you, cripes!")

Ahahahahaha, me too! *high-fives*

I gave up on Once Upon a Time after 2 episodes--I couldn't stand the actress playing the mayor. Does she get better? I loved Emma, and Robert Carlyle remains one of my fave actors of all time.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I actually really like the actress playing the mayor; she's supposed to be a villain and I think she's doing a great job being a villain of the mundane world, not chewing the scenery.

I am shocked at how sexy I find Robert Carlyle in this role. Shocked, I tell you.

[aquila1nz.livejournal.com]

I adore the mayor, I think she got what she wanted, and she's been bored and lonely as a result, and she'll never admit it. And I'm shipping her with Emma something fierce. They look exactly how I picture my favourite couple in the twitter series I love, right down to the little boy bringing them together. Henry needs two Mommies.

I know why I love Once, it's the female characters, front and centre and not bound into being supporting characters in male adventures. And I do love fairytale reimaginings from way back - I blame imprinting on Robin McKinley books. I'm interested to see if their fairytale of the week structure holds up as season arcs unfold.

[fluffyllama.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried Once Upon a Time yet because I'm the opposite - an element of horror is more naturally appealing to me than fantasy. Supernatural hits all my buttons though, while Grimm is killing me slowly with boredom. I haven't managed to get to the end of the second episode and I think I'm going to delete the unwatched ones and give up.

Maybe I'll give OUAT a try next *g*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get the impression both of these shows have to be taken with a dose of "Is this your thing?"

I liked where they went with the second ep of Grimm but I'm just not in love with it. We'll see.

[the_con_cept.livejournal.com]

I watched part of one episode of Grimm but couldn't get into it--it seemed awfully cheesy, the bit I did see. I may try it again though. Our schedules just haven't meshed yet.

I'm really enjoying Once Upon a Time! But I'm a little bit the opposite--I like the non fairy tale bits more--for the MOST part. But the fairy tales themselves are starting to grow on me. It's really a fun concept and I hope it continues to do well.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Hee, I feel almost embarrassed for liking OUAT so well precisely because I think many people would find it cheesy. But I find it lovely and endearing!

[ariadneelda.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched either of these but I'll keep them in mind to maybe check out at some point. In theory I'm a fan of fantasy and no fan of horror, but in practice it sometimes works the other way. Or if it's a nice mix of both. I'm never sure what will click with me, I guess it depends on a lot of things. :)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I will give most things a full episode to convince me, but sometimes I won't even give it that. I was looking for a new anime series to entice me the other week and for some of them I couldn't make it past five minutes. Not that they were awful, but I just feel a show should show me its best in the first five minutes, and if it can't be bothered, why should I give it any more of my attention? Anyway, give each of these an episode and see!

[ariadneelda.livejournal.com]

I will! Once it's certain there'll be at least one season. (I hear sometimes shows get cancelled even after just a few episodes.)

Heh, seems I'm more lenient than you. I can be patient for half a season or even more if I know from others the show gets better as it goes on. I probably wouldn't have watched most shows that I have if I weren't - usually it takes me some time to really get into a story and the characters anyway. :)