Tale as old as time: when some cable network has a certain genre show, another has to have one better (although they usually are just two terrible versions of each other). We see this with the new shows Grimm and Once Upon a Time. Grimm airs Friday, Oct. 28 on NBC, and Once Upon a Time aired Sunday, Oct. 23 on ABC.
I sometimes think I’m a disgrace to my gender when I say I hate, no -- loathe, tales of happy endings, princes and princesses. Therefore, it is no surprise that I agreed with writer Sarah from Hypable.com who said, “I know this is supposed to be about fairytales, but when it opened with a glass coffin in the woods, seven dwarves and Prince Charming, I literally rolled my eyes at the screen.” I hate to beat a dead horse, but I expected so much more from the writers of Lost. For the pilot of Once Upon a Time, I give it a C. It wasn’t terribly bad, but it had potential, and definitely did not live up to it.
What you can expect from Once Upon a Time:
“The idea is that, yes, we’re going to go back and forth between worlds, but exploring these characters and the mysteries of what makes them who they are is where the show will go. At its heart, it will be a character show, and the mysteries will be characters mysteries. That said, we can’t resist the temptation to put in little Easter eggs and big pictures stuff, but it’s really about who these characters are, where they’re going to go, how they’re going to grow, and how they’re going to figure out the situation they’re in,” said writer Adam Horowitz.
On the other hand, Grimm, inspired by the classic Grimm’s Fairy Tale, revolves around Detective Nick Burkhardt who discovers he is descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as “Grimms,” who keep balance between humans and mythical creatures. My opinion of Grimm fared much better. I’m a sucker for any intro with Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” and a shock that makes you jump out your seat. Unlike Once Upon a Time, Grimm had me hooked start to finish. It has a somewhat original concept and believable acting (whereas Once Upon a Time was terrible acting—I was in awe with how awful it was). Want to judge for yourself? Watch the special preview here. The actual premiere will be this Friday, Oct. 28.
What do you think of this fairy-tale trend? Email me your reactions and comments to mlkelle3@asu.edu!
