Tv Review: Grimm or Once Upon a Time

This coming week two different shows based on fairy tales will come out on tv.  While I will probably check both out I feel like I should hang my hat with one. But first lets talk about the differences and general plot of both.

What is with the lace one the queen's head?

Once Upon a Time features the fairy tales in their more Disney-esch world. They lived there until the evil queen cast a spell that sent all of them to our world. Cameron from House plays Emma Swan who I am putting my money down for the swan princess. Jennifer Goodwin is Snow White. The fairy tale world has magical lighting and some very standard writing. The evil queen seems to float when she marches into the main hall. Most of the promotions keep saying "from the writers of Lost" but I don't know if its the whole writing team or what. I mean are they trying to tease me with the possibilities of twists?

So far it seems pretty straight forward, they have to remember who they are and figure out how to get back to the fairy tale world. I don't know if I will be able to be interested in a story that has given me practically the first season's outline in the trailers. That isn't to say that this should couldn't pull something out of the hat. But as of now it is some where between Gilmore Girls  complexity and the Disney movies it is based on. We know from the second episode who people are going to end up with, but they are going to make us wait seven seasons to see it.

The show stands in a kind of limbo as to what kind of show it is going to be right now. It does not seem to be mystery or a suspense. But at the same time to say that it is a light hearted show would be false as well because many of the characters seem to be depressed. It has elements meant for children but all of the characters are very much adults. I am concerned about the atmosphere of the show in general. There seems to be this whimsical sense one minutes and a depressed rainy town the next. The clips I have seen online show a disjointed lighting and tone from scene to scene.

Grimm alternately is going full on adult audience. In Grimm a police officer learns that he is the last surviving descendant of the Brothers Grimm. With his blood line comes the ability to see the monsters from the fairy tales hiding in plain sight. He uses his new ability to catch these monsters and stop them from hurting people. The preview and the ads also hint that he will have a wolf as a helpful side kick.

This show does not have any actors that you are really going to recognize from anything important. This show is going for a more predictable standard of a procedural. Yet I am captivated by the show so much more. Tone alone is so universal that it has a haunting kind of theme. Even when the main character is not in the middle of hunting a monster you get this feeling a a doom hanging over him and those he knows and loves.

Yes they do give away the entire first episode in the trailer but really I am so captivated by this concept that I don't care at all. The idea of fairy tales as warning is great because it is much closer to what they were when they first came into being.

I feel like by now you can tell which direction I am swinging. I would also like to take this moment to say that Grimm knowing it has an air date after Once Upon a Time has released code for their twitter followers to watch the first episode, and put a preview on Hulu. So if you are still debating you can get a sneak peak.

Again with the waiting

Why you make me wait?

I mean really Hulu! Are all the shows I like now on HuluPlus for a week before I can get them for free? I mean seriously you are that annoying about getting more subscribers. You know the whole point of not getting cable and watching things online was to save money. I was counting on you and Netflix to keep me entertained for less than cable. But by doing this you are making cable and Torrent download look better.

I find all of these pay changes to services I used to get for less to be utter bull. I would rather the shows be free and I have to watch one or two more commercials. I am fine with that, but if you try to make me pay to see something on time its just a dick move.

In fact I am now watching Kitchen Nightmares the U.K. version and at least the first episode is crazy boring compared to the U.S. version. He is way less scary in this version and everything has less production.

The only thing I really love about this episode is the market. I wish I lived in a place where I could go to a market and not pay through the nose. I know people like farmers markets but they are crazy expensive. I want to go to Europe and go to the markets. I miss Europe.

This post is going sideways.

This is what happens when I have to work on Sunday. My student had her field hockey match changed so I have to come in and cover the phones for five hours and the only people to call have been one wrong number and some on trying to find the student center.

Bah!

Also the music at the commercial breaks make me smile. Its a horror show commercial noise. Its hysterical. They are taking the Nightmare part of the show serious.

Some one come save me! I am trapped in an empty college building and my brain is melting. I have the heating pad on my butt, because yeah.

Basically I blame Hulu and Netflix for my current situation.

Screw You Hulu

Thanks for being stupid about shows and now trying to get me to pay to see them in a timely manner. You know what, you and Netflix have increased my UTorrent use by ten fold. I hope you are happy now! This is why my generation doesn't pay for anything, because we can download it. I was trying to be nice but no you had to go and do this.