Once Upon a Time (season 1)

{5/5} “True love isn’t easy but it must be fought for because once you find it, it can never be replaced.”

Once Upon a Time season 1, aired in 2011-12

All of the fairy tales that you’ve ever heard are true — Cinderella, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland. They all took place in the same land. The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) of that land has placed a curse on everyone — sending them into our world. They all live in the same town, and they’ve forgotten who they used to be. Except for the Queen, of course, who now goes by Regina and is the mayor of the town.

The show goes back and forth between the current time, where the characters are in our world, and the past, where the backstory of the characters is explored — when they were in the fairy tale land. The scenes in the fairy tale world are delightful — the story is just a bit different than the one we know. I particularly liked the scenes in which Snow White and the man she calls Prince Charming meet for the first time.

The ongoing story is a big part of this show, so it’s best to watch the episodes in order. The story builds to a dramatic season finale. This is the show whose next season I will be most impatient for.

Any episode that Ginnifer Goodwin (Mona Lisa Smile) is in is a great episode — and she’s in all of them. She is mesmerizing, both as Snow White and as Mary Margaret. Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) also gives an enthralling performance as Rumpelstiltskin / Mr. Gold.

Other main characters include Emma (Jennifer Morrison), a newcomer to town — she’s actually Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter but doesn’t know it. Henry (Jared Gilmore), who is biologically Emma’s son but is being raised by Regina. And David (Josh Dallas), who was in a coma and is really Prince Charming.

The series was created by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis (both writers on Lost among other things).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Reviews of TV shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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