Thursday , March 28 2024
Once Upon a Time there was a battle between good and evil. It has come to life in ABC's new fantasy-mystery series.

Once Upon a Time: Good, Meet Evil

Ah, the fairy tales of our youth! Fond images of handsome princes and beautiful princesses, fairy godmothers and enchanted forests spring immediately to mind in innocent recollection of animated tellings rendered in spectacular Technicolor. But, of course those fairy tales are anything but innocent. Evil queens, witches that serve up children right along with the gingerbread, wicked stepsisters, and menacing wizards are the rest of the story, of course.

Far from mere child’s play, fairy tales are commentary on often very adult themes—horror stories more appropriate for Halloween than a Saturday play-date matinee. So, it’s not surprising that the new ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time has its share of bad guys along with Prince Charming and Snow White.

The series premise begins, appropriately enough, with a curse. The beautiful, but vain and evil Queen (You know, of “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” fame?) from the Snow White story (Lana Parilla) cast a spell on the residents of the Enchanted Forest. Cursed to live in the modern New England town of Storybrooke, the characters have forgotten the magic, and cannot remember who they (really) are—or where they come from. Vowing to destroy the happiness of Snow White and Prince Charming, she is just as manipulative as Storybrooke’s mayor as she is evil as the Queen.

And then there’s Rumpelstiltskin, or if you prefer, Mr. Gold. The name makes quite a bit of sense (or “cents” if you prefer). You may recall that Rumpelstiltskin (from the Grimm fairy tale) has the ability to spin straw into gold, which saved a certain miller’s daughter some embarrassment (and the miller, his head); however, there was a price to pay. In Storybrooke, Rumpelstiltskin’s alter ego Mr. Gold is an ordinary enough looking guy (and played by the wonderful Scots actor Robert Carlyle), but beneath the surface, he’s a creepy (and perhaps somewhat deranged) character.

Ultimately a story of the battle between good and evil, Once Upon a Time still embodies all you might want in a classic fairy tale, says Ginnifer Goodwin who plays Snow White (turned into an insecure young teacher Sister Mary Margaret). In a promotional interview for the series, Goodwin noted that the series has “hope, love, fantasy, adventure, and mystery.”

Tune in every Sunday evening on ABC beginning October 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 CT. Here’s a sneak peek to tide you over until next Sunday:

(Photos courtesy ABC)

About Barbara Barnett

A Jewish mother and (young 🙃) grandmother, Barbara Barnett is an author and professional Hazzan (Cantor). A member of the Conservative Movement's Cantors Assembly and the Jewish Renewal movement's clergy association OHALAH, the clergy association of the Jewish Renewal movement. In her other life, she is a critically acclaimed fantasy/science fiction author as well as the author of a non-fiction exploration of the TV series House, M.D. and contributor to the book Spiritual Pregnancy. She Publisher/Executive Editor of Blogcritics, (blogcritics.org).

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