Once Upon a Time Preview

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this particular post, I need to speak to a couple things about this. First, this is a PREVIEW as opposed to a REVIEW. That little 'P' makes a world of difference, as this is my thoughts about this series based on two things: a press release/synopsis of the particular series and then a "First Look" video, which is basically what amounts to a trailer. This is NOT a review, as I've not seen so much as a single entire episode yet.  Second, I was sent the opportunity to discuss this via Technorati-Media's Blogger Outreach program. I was actually sent two series to do this for, the other of which held exactly 0 interest for me.

Now, for the nuts and bolts of what's happening in this series. To start, I'll just provide the press release I was given:

ONCE UPON A TIME

• http://abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time
• http://www.Facebook.com/OnceUponATimeABC
• http://www.twitter.com/OnceABC

Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Tron: Legacy) invite you to a bold new vision of the world where fairytales and the modern day are about to collide.

Anna [sic] Swan (Jennifer Morrison) knows how to take care of herself.  She's a 28-year old bail bonds collector who's been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby.  But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything will change.  Henry (Jared Gilmore) is 10 years old now and in desperate need of Anna's help.  Henry believes that Anna actually comes from an alternate world... and is Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow White's (Ginnifer Goodwin) missing daughter.  According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen's (Lana Parilla) curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time.  Of course Anna doesn't believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town.  Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems.  It's a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close... where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don't remember who they once were--including the Evil Queen who is now Henry's foster mother.  The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Anna will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell.

Brace yourself for a modern fable with thrilling twists and hints of darkness.  Brimming with wonder, and filled with the magic of our most beloved fairytales, Once Upon A Time is a fitting follow up to Lost from two master storytellers.

 

SHORT:

Welcome to a world where fairytales are real.  Anna Swan is like any other 28 year old, until she discovers she's a lost princess destined to save her world from darkness.  Experience the passion project of executive producers/creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Tron).  Once Upon A Time is a thrilling twist of our most beloved stories.

CAST

• Robert Carlyle – Rumplestiltskin
• Josh Dallas - Prince Charming/John Doe
• James Dornan - Sheriff Graham
• Jared Gilmore – Henry
• Ginnifer Goodwin - Snow White/Sister Mary Margret Blanchard
• Jennifer Morrison - Emma Swan
• Lana Parilla - Evil Queen/Regina
• Raphael Sbarge - Archie/Jiminy Cricket

CREDITS

• Production Company - ABC Studios
• Executive Producer - Edward Kitsis
• Executive Producer - Adam Horowitz
• Executive Producer - Steve Pearlman
• Executive Producer/Director - Mark Mylod

There. That's out of the way.

Now, my first, instinctual reaction is: BOOYAH! I CAN'T WAIT!

I mean, I am a dedicated geek in regards to all things SF/F related. It's part an parcel of who I am. And this show plucks at a lot of those particular points of interest for me.  I'm excited about this television show.

Which, honestly is something that scares me. Let's consider the other TV shows that I've been excited over for the past few years:

• V
• No Ordinary Family
• Stargate Universe
• BSG: Caprica
• The Middle Man
• Dollhouse
• Harper's Island

Yes, notice something interesting about that list. It's all of genre TV shows, and then Harper's Island. Notice something else about said list: they were all cancelled; again, with the exception of Harper's Island. Of course, Harper's Island really doesn't count since it was a murder-mystery with a pre-defined plot, and static length for the series. One KNEW before starting, how long it was going on, which made it more along the lines of a season of an anime from Japan than a standard American series.

That's what makes me scared, because I'm not sure that I can trust ABC to do the series justice. As that would require a few things: 1) give it at least a season to gain steam before tinkering with timeslots and/or cancelling and 2) actually end it when the story is wrapped up.

Now, with that digression aside, let's look at this intellectually and with a dab of some pseudo-post-modernism.

Once Upon a Time is, at its fundamental, both a standard good-v-evil fairy tale, as well as a sequel of sorts to Snow White. We're being provided a glimpse of what happened after Snow White's wedding night, as seen through the a mash-up of the comic-book series Fables and Disney's Enchanted.

That said, this looks like it will be a fun ride with the skeptical Emma Swan having to come to terms with who she is in this series' mythology—and what that will mean for her life. Part of me hopes that the press releases haven't given up all the secrets for this series. I'm hoping for some set-backs in regards to Emma Swan's status as a fairy tale princess, at the least.

All that said, this series will definitely get added to my DVR—and I may actually take the time to watch it in real-time.