In a Land Far, Far Away

Once Upon a Time

Season 1, Episode 1- “Pilot”  

Greetings gentle blog reader and welcome to this review style tale, much like so many others except they’re from America where this show has already aired. On one enchanted Tuesday on a Channel named 7 a story much promised by many an advertisement was played and what a treat it was. There was evil witches, dashing princes, magic curses, CGI crickets, handsome Irish law enforcement, hair extensions and an ancient yellow VW bug all playing a part as we followed a young boy in his epic quest to find his bio mum. A bio mum who may just be the saviour of all things fairy tale and literary creatures; it’s safe to say that film and TV studios have an invested interest in finding this fair maiden too.

I going to have to come clean right now and say that after this one episode I am a very big fan of this show so if I start gushing, it’s probably because I am.

Some time ago upon an occasion, in a land I shall call Fairytale Land as I was given no other name, Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) have monumentally ticked off the Evil Queen/Witch (Lana Parrilla.) After the Prince saves the Princess Snow from her slumber, the Queen announces on their wedding day that she has developed a green smoke monster curse (the head writers are from “Lost” I’d be concerned if there wasn’t a smoke monster) that would transport all the world’s inhabitants to somewhere horrible aka Storybrooke, Maine. Fearful of what the Queen has promised Snow White seeks out the counsel of another fabled villain, an imprisoned Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) who informs her in a spectacularly creepy manner that the child she is carrying, Emma, will after 28 years of being frozen in time return to save them.

One magic tree and 28 years later, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison,) a bad guy fighting Bails bond person is celebrating her birthday all alone when the son, Henry (Jared Gilmore,) who she gave up 10 years earlier shows up at her door. She takes this incredibly well considering the circumstances, even after he starts on the ‘Fairy Tales are real’ stuff. Not enough to believe him but enough to stay in Storybrooke for a week after seeing his adopted mum, the town’s Mayor Regina (aka the Evil Queen) acting well, evil. It’s a small commitment but it’s enough it seems to get time moving in Maine.

It’s a very fine line that the writers have had to balance in the creation of this show, as these are not original characters, but new versions of well-known, beloved ones. They are the champions whose happy endings you hope and cheered for and the villains whose downfall you were excited about.  In that sense Snow White and Prince Charming are the perfect introductory protagonists to lead us into this world. You know that they get their happy ending but there is now the next part after the magical kiss. In their few moments on screen you can see their epic love story and the heartbreak over what they lost. If you did not have some sort of an emotional response as Snow White broke down after she gave her new born daughter away for her best chance, I’m sorry but you might just have pricked your finger on an enchanted spindle and been asleep for a hundred years (don’t panic I hear Princes are easy to come by.)

 There is a smorgasbord of creatures and characters here at the writer’s use and seeing them in their Fairytale glory and their watered-down Storybrooke version is going to be fun.

There were great moments throughout the pilot from Emma the friendless orphan meeting her birth mother who is unknowingly her grandson’s teacher, to Henry’s castle, Prince Charming’s opening heroic dash, the Evil Queen’s wardrobe that scares and fascinates me and all the other allusions sprinkled like fairy dust throughout from the red apples on the mayors coffee table to Storybrooke’s version of Jiminy Cricket (Raphael Sbarge) walking a Dalmatian through the streets.  There is plenty to love in Once Upon a Time’s introductory hour but there are also plenty of exciting questions raised (does the Queens know who she is?, what is Mr Gold’s deal?) that will hopefully be answered over the rest of the season and I for one can’t wait (to be king, sorry I have no self-control.)

 Extra Fables:

  - Is it hilarious or telling that the most horrible place in the world with no happy endings is ours?
      

-   Did you have the same moment I had with my sister when the Irish hipster Sheriff appeared on screen and you demanded that he stay forever?

- What fairy tale or story book character would you like to see?   

(At the request of the talking mice all comments must be Disney approved, sorry it’s not me it’s Walt.)