Post by trashcanman on Nov 7, 2011 0:06:17 GMT 2
Alright, so the fall tv season has begun with two identically-themed shows that are trying to update classic fairytales with a modern, gritty, adult sensibility. But as any fantasy/sci-fi fan knows, there can be only one!
First up at bat is Grimm. The premise is that the Brother Grimm wrote their classic stories not as metaphor, but as a basis on reality. The Grimm line is a line of monster hunters tasked with making sure that all of the big bad wolves and the like stay in line. Basically, it's Supernatural. Now, inviting comparisons to the most consistently great show of the last decade is a double-edged sword. A lot to live up to to begin with and following an act that's done damn near everything. But good writing conquers all. The first episode, based on Little Red Riding hood, was average to say the least. But given that Buffy didn't hit it's full stride until the second season, I'm giving it room to grow. The second episode was substantially better with it's tale of a thrill-seeking couple breaking into a cabin to find it belongs to three werebears. The second ep also featured a werewolf ripping a man's arm off onscreen. Now that's my kind of fairytale.
Next up is Once Upon a Time, which lacks the triteness of Grimm's premise, but makes up for it in melodrama. This one splits time in the present where the likes of Snow White, Pinocchio, and Rumplestiltskin live in a suburb having forgotten who they are, and the past where the classic fairytale characters all lived together in a magic land until the Evil Queen cursed them all. There is a little boy living amongst them in the present day whose biological mother is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and he holds a book that collects the story. The child, who was adopted by the Evil Queen in the present day seeks out his mother and is trying to convince her that it is her destiny to defeat the curse return them all back home. A pretty unique premise, but so far it's a little bit cheesy. Needs more sex and violence.
After the first ep, it was looking better than Grimm, but Grimm's episodic nature means it moves a lot faster whereas Once Upon a Time seems intent on lollygagging, which often spells doom for any new fantasy/sci-fi series. So far, this one's winning the ratings war with good buzz, but I'll be interested to see which, if either, gets renewed.
Either way it goes, somebody (preferably HBO) needs to pull the trigger and adapt Fables, which frankly seems like the inspiration for both of these shows. That is one killer comic, but it'd take a big budget and a serious dose of sex and violence to make it work. But who wouldn't want to see Cinderella as a secret agent, the Big Bad Wolf as a noirish antihero, Prince Charming as a brokeass man-slut living off his women, and Goldilocks as a revolutionary terrorist defender of cross-species romance? Bad. Fucking. Ass.
So, anyone else feeling these reimaginings of classic stories?
First up at bat is Grimm. The premise is that the Brother Grimm wrote their classic stories not as metaphor, but as a basis on reality. The Grimm line is a line of monster hunters tasked with making sure that all of the big bad wolves and the like stay in line. Basically, it's Supernatural. Now, inviting comparisons to the most consistently great show of the last decade is a double-edged sword. A lot to live up to to begin with and following an act that's done damn near everything. But good writing conquers all. The first episode, based on Little Red Riding hood, was average to say the least. But given that Buffy didn't hit it's full stride until the second season, I'm giving it room to grow. The second episode was substantially better with it's tale of a thrill-seeking couple breaking into a cabin to find it belongs to three werebears. The second ep also featured a werewolf ripping a man's arm off onscreen. Now that's my kind of fairytale.
Next up is Once Upon a Time, which lacks the triteness of Grimm's premise, but makes up for it in melodrama. This one splits time in the present where the likes of Snow White, Pinocchio, and Rumplestiltskin live in a suburb having forgotten who they are, and the past where the classic fairytale characters all lived together in a magic land until the Evil Queen cursed them all. There is a little boy living amongst them in the present day whose biological mother is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and he holds a book that collects the story. The child, who was adopted by the Evil Queen in the present day seeks out his mother and is trying to convince her that it is her destiny to defeat the curse return them all back home. A pretty unique premise, but so far it's a little bit cheesy. Needs more sex and violence.
After the first ep, it was looking better than Grimm, but Grimm's episodic nature means it moves a lot faster whereas Once Upon a Time seems intent on lollygagging, which often spells doom for any new fantasy/sci-fi series. So far, this one's winning the ratings war with good buzz, but I'll be interested to see which, if either, gets renewed.
Either way it goes, somebody (preferably HBO) needs to pull the trigger and adapt Fables, which frankly seems like the inspiration for both of these shows. That is one killer comic, but it'd take a big budget and a serious dose of sex and violence to make it work. But who wouldn't want to see Cinderella as a secret agent, the Big Bad Wolf as a noirish antihero, Prince Charming as a brokeass man-slut living off his women, and Goldilocks as a revolutionary terrorist defender of cross-species romance? Bad. Fucking. Ass.
So, anyone else feeling these reimaginings of classic stories?
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