Once Upon A Time

No spoilers (or at least...I'll try really, really hard to avoid them).

But I must gush.

I started watching Once Upon A Time because back when it started, I'd wanted to see it and Grimm but never had the chance.  Lo and behold, Netflix obliged by putting the entire first season on Instant View.

However -- Once Upon A Time did not pull me in until about the fifth or sixth episode.  I was dragging myself through the first few, telling myself, "Just one more".  I did think Stu would like it so I pestered him into watching it with me and...

Then we had a three day marathon.

I kid you not.  We watched six episodes the first day, twelve the next day, and four the last day.  O.o  Stu was hooked INSTANTLY.  We raved about it, discussed it, tried to guess episodes/plot twists and have become infatuated.

Going back to watch the first episodes while knowing what was coming helped me get more involved in the first part of the story.  The foreshadowing is subtle and if you're not looking for it, you'll miss it.

The only things that irk me now are the princess and fairy costumes (prom dresses) and the CG work (some of it is good but a lot of it is lacking).  HOWEVER, the acting more than makes up for it.

Especially Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin.

I know.

Every time.

I always fall for the bad guy-maybe-possibly-good-guy-who-knows-who-cares guy.  He's incredibly creepy, powerful, and mesmerizing, yet somehow the show keeps him sympathetic.  His entire storyline is just...awesome.

R.C. was in Stargate Universe (the best Stargate show, unfortunately canceled after one season) but I didn't realize where I'd seen him before until Stu pointed it out.  Other goodies?  Lee Arenberg (one of the funny pirate duo from Pirates of the Caribbean) and "Toby" from West Wing.  Also Ginnifer Goodwin.

Anyway.

Rumpelstiltskin = the reason I watch the show.  Seriously.  He's incredible.  The more involved you get with the story, the deeper you are pulled into it, the feeling of "This is going to be SO BAD" attacks and won't let you go.  We gasped, cried, laughed, booed and cheered through the season.  Mostly for Rumpelstiltskin.

Although the main character, Emma, is my second favorite because a) she's an unexpected badass, b) she has some awesome one-liners and c) you don't often find a strong, badass girl MC on TV today who feels real.  This might have something to do with the fact that Jane Espenson (Buffy writer!) is a part of this show (the episodes she writes are my FAVORITES).

The show re-invents and combines several fairytales and while Stu and I are usually good at puzzling out what's happening, we were blown away by some of the twists and turns (he would say, "It's going to be this!" and I would say, "I think it'll actually be this!" and Once Upon a Time would have a third option...!).  Luckily Season 2 just started and is available for free on Hulu.

I think the things I like best about the show are that they aren't afraid to raise the stakes (tremendously), they have great male and female characters who kick ass and have amazing dialogue, and they're playing with the stories in a way that no one's done before.  (It does help that ABC is owned by Disney and can homage while re-inventing the material)

It has taught me a lot about story -- specifically, how to set a main character against all odds and still have them triumph just when you thought all hope was lost (Also how to keep anti-heroes and villains sympathetic, how to include foreshadowing and how to turn the expected on its ear).  It has been a great preparation for NaNoWriMo as I plot my urban fantasy.

If you get the chance, check it out.  It rocks.

And now it's time for some fan art.  *starts scribbling*