Once Upon a Time...

In my last blog post I talked about TV - specifically The Voice UK - and how recently I'd fallen out of love with television. First of all, I'm still keeping up with The Voice, despite its flaws, and have grown to love certain aspects of the show (no rubbish auditions, Jessie J) but I still have a few problems with the format, all of which are mentioned in the previous post and which I don't need to go over!

So in my opinion, TV hasn't been great lately, but over the past few weeks I've started to see change on the horizon, the light at the end of the tunnel if you will! It's very rare I find a new TV series I stick with. I'll admit this is mostly due to me missing the start of a series and just never bothering to catch up (I like an early night, shows that start at 10pm take an awful lot of effort for me to watch, a genuine excuse!) and so these days I try and make the effort to catch the first episodes of shows when they air. So far Glee is the only success story from this plan, the only show I've watched that I've been there from the beginning, but last week I added Once Upon a Time to this list.

Thanks to the Internet, I'd heard a lot about this show, mainly through fansites/entertainment sites such as Digital Spy and Hypable, as well as through Twitter (I follow a lot of Americans!). It seemed to be getting good reviews, and the lead star, Jennifer Morrison, drew me in as I was a huge fan of her whilst she was in House. So, what was Once Upon a Time all about? Even through reading bits and bobs about it online, I wasn't entirely sure. It had something to do with fairy tales - I'd figured that much out, the title pretty much gives it away! - but I didn't know much about the story, and I didn't want to know.

Any fan of American shows who lives in the UK knows the lengths you have to go to to avoid spoilers (if you're like me and actually wait for the shows to debut on British TV, rather than seek them out elsewhere) and so I decided to wait for it to appear on my telly, and avoid all spoiler-ish news posts about the show itself. Eventually, a month or so ago, trailers started appearing on Channel 5, and it was reported that the show would debut in Spring. And here it is! Episode 2 aired this past Sunday, and I've managed to see both episodes as they went out - an I achievement, given my feeble record with these things.

The show grabbed me straight away. We follow two stories, present day Emma Swan, working as a private detective, who is surprised when a young boy shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her son. Alongside this, we see the story of the past, the fairytale characters who were forced to leave their world thanks to a dark witch's curse, exiled to a present day American town with no knowledge of the fairytale characters they once were. Keeping up? Holding the story together is Henry (the young boy on the doorstep), a super sweet little kid obsessed with a fairytale book he received from his teacher. His fascination with the book? The story is real, and he's the only one who knows it. As the story goes on, we see Henry try to convince Emma that the people he's introducing her to are real fairytale characters. Understandably she sceptical. It really is a great story, and wonderful for those who love fairy tales (Snow White and Prince Charming, Rumplestiltskin, Sleeping Beauty all appearing or mentioned) and for those who love a great modern day, American drama. The flashbacks to the fairytale parts of the plot are visually stunning, making the whole thing feel even more magical.

How long this show will stay on terrestrial television is anyone's guess - it wouldn't surprise me if it turned up on Sky a series or two down the line (House, Glee) but I hope the wider audience gets a chance to see it whilst they can, it's unmissable. Once Upon a Time is on Channel 5, Sunday, 8pm.

Until next time,

Sarah x