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?)

[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!

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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*

[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.

[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. :)