Once Upon A Time (2011-)

So maybe I was a bit slow on this one, but as this show is still running and episodes are still brilliant, I thought a review on this excellent TV programme was needed. Series six now, but just in case people haven’t seen any series, I will stick to series one (recently in my mind as I started to re-watch with my brother), and like I’ve promised before, nothing will be ruined.

Once Upon A Time in the human land is a place called Storybrooke. This is a place quite unlike to others surrounding, people who live there have forgotten who they truly are; Fairy Tales. Ok, if I lose you here stay with me, it’s not actually cheesy or stupid, it’s a great programme which combines these Fairy Tales we all know (don’t deny it!) into one town. All our children fantasy dreams come to life in actors and actresses playing them brilliantly, only they don’t remember who they are, and only one can bring back their memories; the saviour (yes of course there is a hero! They’re Fairy Tales!). But these Fairy Tales take a different twist to the ones we know, making them enjoyable and creative, but also they are still recognisable to the audience, the first series being a game of guess who is who (or is that just me?).

Jennifer Morrison plays Emma Swan, the one and only Saviour of Storybrooke, the one told to bring back the memories, even if she doesn’t believe a single word. I love how this is done at the beginning, because Emma doesn’t believe poor little Henry (Jared Gilmore) in his stories, the audience is brought along the storyline with her. But cleverly, the audience is more in the know, we are brought back from the human reality to the Fairy Tale world constantly. There are flashbacks for the audience to build up the background stories of the characters in Storybrooke, the parts they have forgotten. A new character is brought in and we are confused by who they are, until their story unfolds in the other dimension, where fantasy worlds come alive for the audience, whether it be the Enchanted Forest, Camelot, Oz, Netherworld, Sherwood Forest, Wonderland, and so many more!

So many of the characters interweave with each other, unlikely friends or obvious enemies, they are enjoyable for the audience and also creates so much depth into the frequent characters. So who are these? I’ve already mentioned Emma and Henry, but linking more significantly to Fairy Tales are the four main characters from series one. The beginning revolves a lot around the Fairy Tale ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ so the main characters here are Snow White and Prince Charming (who Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas play and are adorably married in real life; like it’s fate…), but also the Evil Queen, Regina (Lana Parrilla). Another very important character has to be Mr Gold, or most famously called Rumpelstiltskin, played amazingly by Robert Carlyle, seriously he plays this creepy all-knowing powerful character brilliantly, but one you should never trust. As there is so many series, so many stories have taken place, therefore many characters have been introduced, all of them should be recognised and known through this Fairy Tale world we all love (yes I said love now, everyone must love at least one Fairy Tale!). We meet characters in Fairy Tales such as, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Pinocchio’, ‘101 Dalmatians’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Frozen’ (yes, even recent ones!), ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ahh I should probably stop there, there are way too many! Because of this massive selection, everyone must at least know one! There’s loads! Some of them loved and some of them hated, a lot love to hate, or some just growing to love; trust me there’s some characters in series one you’d never think you’d love in the later series.

So there are six series of this show, it must be good! Who is going to be paying for a TV programme to run if it’s a load of crap? So obviously it isn’t, and you can probably tell I love it! It is such an addictive show, to want to know all the different stories of these well-known Fairy Tales or to just learn about who is who (this is still happens later on, not just series one). Even now watching it, they still have great storylines, it doesn’t feel overplayed or repetitive; it is done very well.

As you can tell, I would definitely recommend this programme. Probably don’t try to watch it all in one sitting, you need to give yourself some breaks, otherwise maybe you’ll start thinking you’re trapped in a world where you used to be a Fairy Tale… Maybe you are? But always remember “all magic comes with a price”.