Once Upon a Time

As of late, I have been really enjoying a show by the ABC (American Broadcasting Company).  As you can tell from the title of this post, the show is called Once Upon a Time.  Once Upon a Time has been a favorite T.V. show of mine for a long time now.  It's the kind of show that you easily grow fond of.  I came to know of it because I had seen the trailer for it when the show had just begun, and was instantly captivated by its enchanting atmosphere.  Being a fan of folklore, I was easily drawn in, and I was not disappointed when one day I decided to give it a try.  After seeing the first episode I knew I would love this show, and I have loved it ever since.  Usually I watch quite a few episodes before deciding whether or not I like a show, but with Once Upon a Time, I didn't have to.  And that's always a good sign, when you know you like a show just from watching the first episode.    

This is one of the trailers from when Once Upon a Time was first being introduced. 

I love how they have their own take on the original stories and twist them so that they somehow connect with each other.  It's very cleverly done.  I like what they did with the character of Rumpelstiltskin, for example.  It's extremely interesting to watch the twists and turns in the story unfold.  Part of the fun for me, when I first began watching this series, was guessing who was which fairy tale character.  For instance, when I saw a man walking down the streets of Storybrooke with an umbrella, I immediately guessed that he was Jimeny Cricket, and sure enough, later in that same scene he mentions listening to one's conscience during an exchange with one of the other characters.  This is an example of how Once Upon a Time leaves clues in places for the viewer to pick up, when guessing which fairy tale character a character was in their past.  

It's true that the fairy tales in this show are inspired by Disney's versions of the stories, ABC being owned by Disney, but since I grew up with Disney and love many Disney films to this day (particularly the classics and those that were made during the 90's, otherwise known as the Disney Renaissance), this isn't an issue for me.

One element that I find fault with in this show is the special effects.  Let's just say the special effects could....well....you know, be improved.  Because of their poor quality, the suspension of disbelief in this show suffers whenever special effects are being displayed on the screen.  Another fault may be that from time to time this show is slightly cheesy, just slightly, but I find that this contributes to the personality of the show.  It makes Once Upon a Time endearing.  Because of this, the occasional cheesiness is not a flaw in my eyes.    

I mentioned before that I become annoyed when villains are given tragic backstories in order to make them appear sympathetic. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time does this a lot with their characters, as in the cases of Captain Hook, Rumpelstiltskin, and the evil queen from the story of Snow White, to name a few.  Surprisingly, the various tragic backstories don't bother me too much, and overall I think they are done well.  The backstories all seem to follow the same pattern.  Every character in Once Upon a Time, good or evil, has someone in their past that they cared about or lost.  Relationships seem to be a major theme in Once Upon a Time - relationships the characters have with the people in their lives, relationships with magic, relationships with the past, the relationship with themselves as an individual (their past self when they were a part of the fairy tale world vs. their present modern-day self), and many more.  This is something interesting that I have noticed.

Once Upon a Time does an excellent job of having their viewers constantly guessing who is who and what will happen next.  The premise is interesting and has so much potential, which has been proven true.  This is because of the talent of the creative writers, who continue to impress me with each new episode.  Once Upon a Time just seems to get better and better the more it progresses. 

I look forward to the next episode with anticipation!

P. S.  If I were asked which character is my favorite, I would choose Snow White.  I love all of the characters (each character is so well developed, after all) but Snow White has always been my favorite fairy tale character, and I like how she is portrayed in Once Upon a Time.