Actually, Bill Willingham ripped off Hallmark

[meganbmoore]

This post is purely to explain why, if it weren't for the Network rejecting the Fables pilot, it would never cross my mind to compare Once Upon A Time to Fables, aside from the obvious "fairy tale mashup" aspect. Back in the late 90s/early 2000s, there was a serious trend of fantasy/adventure TV miniseries based on mythology and fairy tales, most

Comments

[koalathebear]

I loved the 10th Kingdom, too. It's a gorgeous little mini-series which had a set up for a sequel which never actually happened ...

[meganbmoore]

I think the second miniseries was supposed to switch the focus to Red Riding Hood as the thematic narrative? my understanding is that they expected the second series when they wrote the ending, instead of writing it hoping they'd get a second series.

[ambergold]

oh my goodness what a great 10K MV! Thanks for posting!!

I don't like Once Upon a Time, to be honest, and am puzzled by the fan reaction to it - it seems unimaginative (not in premise but in execution), poorly acted and often just plain cheesy, particularly in dialogue. And I am somehow who has loved almost every sci fi and fantasy show/miniseries I've ever seen, so my standards are not extreme.

Have you seen Alice? It's a lovely 3-part (I think?) Brit miniseries loosely based on Alice in Wonderland that is clever and beautifully filmed and has good romance that reminds me of 10K.

[meganbmoore]

I don't think I notice cheese much if I think it's deliberate? But I think Once is very much as show that works for you or doesn't, with little in between.

Do you mean the 2-part SyFy mini with Caterina Scorsone (I misspelled that...) as Alice? If so, yes. There were parts I liked (large parts, actually) but the second half with it's "everything will be OK if we just put the men in charge!" attitude annoyed me.

[ambergold]

I think Once is very much as show that works for you or doesn't, with little in between I would agree

and yes! that's the one - I remembered it as being British for some reason, probably because the male lead is British. It did have its flaws (I thought the first half was a bit draggy) but overall I really enjoyed it.

Have you seen the film Snow White A Tale of Terror? Really dark but again I enjoyed the romance. MV here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22GQR71quR4

[meganbmoore]

I preferred the first half, actually. It was only the slow side, but I liked the gothic feel and it was more focused on Alice, and didn't have the "everything was better when men were in charge and it'll all be good wwhen the men are in charge again" feel a lot of the second half did. I do agree that Alice/Haater have a similar vibe as Virginia/Wolf though.

That's actually one of the Snow White movies I dug out yesterday to watch soon.

[nutmeg3]

I saw the first Merlin (I've adored Sam Neill ever since My Brilliant Career) but somehow missed The Tenth Kingdom, which soulds completely like something I'd enjoy. I'll have to remedy this at some point.

[meganbmoore]

It is very fun! Uhm...if you liked the others at the time, you should like it? It's my favorite of them.

[sarahtales]

Oh I own the VHS set! (Yes, a terrible mistake...) I loooooved it.

[meganbmoore]

I originally had 10K on VHS, but I have both these series on DVD now.

[salimbol]

Ah, Tenth Kingdom! That's a perennial favourite in our household; we break it out over every New Year (that's when we first saw it). So, like you, that's what I'm also comparing these newer fairy tales retellings to. It sets a pretty high standard...