Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Not only is this (admittedly) spin-off series cleverly written, plus a cast that doesn't look Hollywood mannequin-esque, but is wonderful to listen to and look at, and it manages, as few old-school networks do, to make more quality-driven T.V. as is now being delivered on cable channels! Thank goodness that a mainstream, non-cable network has the proverbial balls to air such an engaging new series!!!! The lead, Alice, is refreshingly cast and portrayed by a skilled actress who, physiologically, does NOT (thankfully) look like just another robotic or plastic model, This series has major promise in terms of quality, client writing and performance, which leads me to believe based on extensive experience with decades of mainline 3-network TV. that this series might not survive!

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.

I heard of this show after watching Once Upon A Time (as I assume most people have). There is no comparison - Once Upon A Time has a much more intricate and better-developed storyline, as well as generally much better actors. I have a great respect for actors, but at the same time I feel it is equally important to offer an audience critique, especially for more popular shows.

I watched 8 episodes (over quite a long period of time) because it was a genre I enjoy, even though the story and actors were fairly mediocre. The actor rating is an average - I think Emma Rigby is excellent as the Queen, and Sophie Lowe does wonderfully too. Peter Gadiot is attractive but not quite sincere as Cyrus. There is something missing in his delivery - it feels less like he is delivering his loving speeches towards Alice than an audience.

Surprisingly enough, and unfortunately for the show, Episode 9 is where things really pick up. They introduce a brilliant actress for the Jabberwocky - I'd never heard of her before but seeing her in action, this unique villain had me captivated. She introduces a much more unpredictable aspect to the storyline which improves the show greatly.

Then all of a sudden the story actually starts to tie in with the show Once Upon A Time. This should have happened MUCH earlier in this series for people to keep watching.

As I have expressed before, this show is nowhere near the quality of Once Upon A Time, but it is certainly improving as of the end of Season 1 - worth a look at the very least. With the introduction of an actual tie between the series in late season 1, it may have a future.

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.