So, for the uninitiated, Once Upon a Time (ABC) and Grimm (NBC) are both TV shows that premiered this fall (two weeks ago, so you haven't missed much and could catch up on Hulu easily), and both have fairy tales as their background.
I have seen the first two episodes of both series so far. Before they premiered, the word around the interwebs was that Once Upon a Time (OUT, from now on) is better than Grimm, so that affected my expectations. Having watched them, I think that – although they have similar inspiration/source material – they are completely different shows.
OUT is from some of the writers who did Lost. So it’s dealing with parallel universes (the fairy tale universe, and our world to which those fairy tale characters have been banished). Some people know that there are different worlds, and some people don’t, and we’re not sure who is good and who is bad. Just like Lost, I assume the show will be about characters trying to get back. And, just like Lost, it seems like they’ll spend the first few episodes (after the pilot) developing one character at a time. There are a lot of flashbacks. And it’s not really re-telling fairy tales at all. It just has fairy tale folk as its characters. Grimm, on the other hand, is from the writers of Buffy and Angel. So the themes are similar – a global fight of good v evil, which has gone on since the beginning of time. Just like Buffy, there’s a person with a calling/destiny/power that they just found out about. And, just like Buffy (especially early Buffy), it has set itself up to be very serial: a different baddie every week, all of which help the main character discover their legacy. OUT is more family friendly. Grimm is darker.
In OUT, it seems like the “real world” and the “fairy tale world” are completely separate. They don’t overlap at all. The “real world” is a fairy tale prison, a world without happy endings. In Grimm, the two worlds exist together, overlap, intertwine, etc. In fact, the fairy tale world has been a part of our world all along and we didn’t know it. This is more appealing to me.
OUT has a more discernible overarching plot, but I’m not sure how it will go past a season. It seems to me that once the characters get out of the real world and back to fairy tale land, that’s it. So they will either drag that out past a season, which is unsatisfying, or have to reinvent the wheel for season two. But it has amazing casting! (Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Raphael Sbarge, Robert Carlyle) Grimm hasn’t found its groove yet, I don’t think, but has more potential to go on long term, since there are endless baddies. It seems to be truer to the original theme/tone of the Grimm Fairy Tales – fairy tales were metaphors for the real world, meant to warn children about real problems, and both of the first episodes have done that. So that’s very Buffy – telling an exaggerated, supernatural version of a real story – which means I like it.
And the obligatory feminist criticism: OUT has two female protagonists, and a female antagonist. The women are running the show. But the characters are almost all white. Grimm is all male. The protagonist, his cop partner, his “big bad wolf” partner, the leader of The Reapers (the organization that will be this season’s big bad): all male. And beyond that, there are no interesting females in supporting roles. So far, women have just needed to be rescued. And the main character’s girlfriend’s screen time has served only to ask him questions that lead to character development. But at least his partner is black?
So I think I like Grimm more. But I’m more stressed out when I watch it, because I want it to be so good, and I’m afraid it won’t be given enough time, especially at the cursed Friday-night timeslot. OUT is pretty, and fun, and has already been given a whole season. I don’t think it’ll ever change my world, but I enjoy watching it.
PS - I know it's not a Tuesday, and I tagged this as "TV Tuesday" - I didn't want to wait two days to post it.
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