Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

I've only watched half the first episode so far, but this features an Alice who really does things. A lot of the asylum scenes seem reminiscent of American McGee's Alice, and she's just the sort of dish -- erm, girl -- to spice up a story to perfection. Not like the weak Alice of Tim Burton's film, this is a girl who's willing to muck in and fight, to take charge of her own life, to be more than just a damsel in distress (or a damsel in dis dress, although she does wear some pretty ones).

CGI in anything relating to Wonderland is of course going to be critical. I've seen the full gamut - openly cheesy, nice try but the tech's just not there, fairly good but flawed - and this is far from terrible. I wouldn't expect perfection, partly because everyone's idea of perfect is different. It's easily adequate.

I wasn't sure what to think when I saw that there was a spin off of "Once Upon a Time". I was initially skeptical of that show, but it grew on me. Maybe Disney just can't resist the tie-in to all those potential money-making cartoons of theirs already out there.

It's not bad, although the initial scenes of Alice in the asylum reminded me very strongly of the beginning of "Return to Oz". The brief scene in Storybrooke at the start was a bit useless, but I found the actors to all be quite likable, oh yay, more actors from Lost, and wow, doesn't that Red Queen have some lips! It will be interesting as time goes by (provided Disney/ABC doesn't cancel it after 3 episodes like they do most everything else) to see what characters may crossover between the shows.

I was really looking forward to hearing Paul Reubens take on the white rabbit, but maybe it will come out later.

To begin I'd like to point out that the trailer is definitely more exciting than the series is. It's a nice idea, the crossover kind of works. But it also does not for several reasons. Some actors are either really bad, or their characters are unintentionally very annoying. Like Alice for example. Throughout the storyline she is just too perky, too determined and too optimistic. Her fighting skills also are not well staged. The red queen has too much botox and a whiny voice. But her character becomes more likable throughout the story line. The truth of the matter is that the flashbacks are more interesting than the actual story. The show becomes better when it progresses and has some surprisingly interesting ideas. The genie story seems to work out slightly better than the wonderland story. But in the genie story, the characters are unrealistic in the sense that mother and sons seem to have an age difference of less than 10 years and some of them look more European-Arabic, which slightly annoyed me. The show does have some very good scenes, some great actors and very nicely placed characters like the white rabbit and the jabberwocky. The actors have chemistry and the show flows nicely with some scenes better than the others. Which makes it worth watching.

While the timeline is confusing and I am having a hard time lining it up in my head with the current Once Upon a Time and the story of Jafar, I wanted to point out that the Red Queen (blonde lady) is different than Regina's mom. Regina's mom is the Queen of Hearts. They are different characters in the Wonderland books as well. Timeline aside, I am enjoying this show. I like the different characters and the unique names of places and things within Wonderland. It brings Wonderland to life in a whole new light and it is really interesting to go back and remember Alice in Wonderland and think about this version of Wonderland. It's a fun show and I will continue to watch it.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is the story of Alice, but later on in her life. This is nothing like the Tim Burton interpretation. This is the spirited, little girl that we loved as Alice in books but all grown up. She's now a clever, young woman with determination.

Wonderland takes on a life of it's own, incorporating parts of the original story like the mock turtle and chess game, but serving them up in a whole new way.

There are references to Once Upon a Time, there's no need to watch this before Wonderland. Wonderland stands on its own as an interesting tale.

It's VERY creative and the story begins quickly. I suggest watching through to at least the 3rd episode then deciding if you want to stick with it. The 3rd, 4th and 5th episode are all great character studies, while the 1st and 2nd set the stage.

Strong female AND male characters lead characters are a nice touch. It's very balanced.

The story isn't spoon-fed to the watcher either which adds to the unpredictability. Anything that seems out of place (like the phony Queen and the presence of Jafer) are there for a reason is all I have to say.

It's great to see an extremely creative, fantasy show on TV. Being a fan of shows like Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, White Dwarf (I wish that made it past the pilot), and others, I really hope this show's given a chance.

A lot of sci-fi or vampire shows seem to make into several seasons, but fantasy seems to have more of a challenge.

This is definitely one of the better ones, but I fear it may suffer a similar fate to Stargate Universe (which starred Robert Carlyle AKA Rumplestilskin), where viewers expect it to be like the previous incarnation.

It's wonderful to see Michael Socha (The Knave of Hearts) play the underdog who struggles to do the right thing. (He was also in the ill- fated fantasy/horror "Being Human" UK version which ended too soon).

Wonderland is focused on just a couple stories, instead of several like Once Upon a Time. It's more of a quest and journey focusing mainly on Alice, but with VERY interesting characters surrounding her.