Thrice Upon A Time
So the TV season is starting to wind down (not that TV seasons mean anything any more). I sampled a lot of new network shows, but no longer watch The River, Pan Am, Revenge, Whitney, Up All Night, Smash, New Girl, Alcatraz, Napoleon Dynamite, 2 Broke Girls or Person Of Interest. So what do I still watch? Once Upon A Time. (I guess I also watch Suburgatory, but that's mostly because it comes before Modern Family.)
I guess I like the premise. A town with a huge, intriguing secret that only a few people know, and cracks around the edges. I guess this shows something important--no matter how much they put into a show, unless the basic situation grabs you, nothing else makes any difference. But if you've got something that intrigues people, they'll forgive quite a bit. (But I won't forgive anything. If the plot doesn't start moving soon, I may not come back for season 2.)
posted by LAGuy @ 12:11 AM
4 Comments:
Agree completely. It's almost like the writers know they have a five-season contract and they're going to make us wait until season three before they reveal anything.
I'm still hanging in there with Alcatraz, although so far it's exactly what I thought it would be (a new "63" each week) and they are criminally underusing Parminder Nagra.
I think Grimm has possibilities and, inexplicably, I'm still watching Ringer, although I don't have a clue why.
I'm much more sangine on Once Upon a Time than either of you.
That might be because my primary focus is on the flashback stories. We still don't know why the Queen hated Snow White and her father; they have dropped hints -- somehow SW betrayed a secret, and this led to the Queen's chance at love being dashed -- but it's totally unclear how this happened. My sister had a theory that the Queen had a lover, and th SW told her father who had the lover executed. But then the genie story pretty much eliminated that option.
(By contrast, when I watched Lost I nearly always found the island story more interesting than the backstories.)
I do see some serious weaknesses in the show that could become serious in the future. The obvious one is that this show ought to last approximately two seasons and that the writers will probably drag it out; but two seasons seems sufficient not only for the main story, but also for the complete fleshing-out of the backstories. Another is this: Each episode of Lost focused its flashbacks on one character, but the island story always had all the characters, since it was an ensemble show. OUAT, on the other hand, is not an ensemble show: the minor characters (Cinderella, the cricket psychologist [the only character I can't stand], H & G) don't even appear in most episodes. So when they do appear their stories seem irrelevant to the plot.
The show is created by Lost alums and follows the Lost format, but the biggest difference, I suppose, is the Once Upon A Time flashbacks allegedly make up part of a single story and single world (even if side characters seem irrelevant), so each new one fills in more information. Also, in Lost the magic was on the Island while the flashbacks were more often straight drama. So I can imagine many OUAT viewers prefer the fairybacks while the Island story in Lost was more intriguing.
Nevertheless, Lost was such a superior show that even their flashbacks were better than anything on OUAT.
I'm in the same boat - still inexplicably watching OUAT. You are right about the premise - it kept me watching Heroes into season 3. But OUAT is not as good as the first season of Heroes.
Grimm, on the other hand, is growing on me - I like it more an more (which probably means it will be canceled).
I have watched 2 Alkatraz episodes, and have the rest stored. It just hasn't clicked for me, though I can't point to any particular flaw. I am loath to watch a show that simply introduces a new "63er" every episode.
Person of Interest is still my favorite new show. They multiple back stories that are intersecting in fascinating ways. They also have recurring villains and competing evil organizations. If you haven't followed it - I highly recommend it.
Anyone looking forward to "Awake" this week? I am, I like altered reality stories.
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