Having grown tired of everyone in her fairy tale land living happily ever after, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) decides to interrupt the wedding of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince “Charming” James (Josh Dallas) and casts a spell that traps herself and her kind in the quaint, 21st century town of Storybrooke, Maine. Everyone in this slightly odd town, from the Mayor (the Evil Queen) to the Sheriff (the Huntsman) to the psychiatrist (Pinnochio), and pawnshop owner (Rumplestilskin) is a classic fairytale character frozen in time. However, other than the Queen/ Mayor none of them have any clue as to their true identities.
But alas, in the season finale, we learn that Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming was the only person not affected by the Queen’s spell. She grew up in our world, moving from foster home to foster home, she gave up a baby for adoption as a teen and later became a bounty hunter. On her 28th birthday, Emma is visited by Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), the boy she gave up for adoption, begging her to save his town; to release the fairytale characters from their prison.
After bringing Henry home and meeting his mother (the Mayor/Evil Queen), she ends up staying in Storybrooke hoping to find out the truth about this strange town. This is a town where people suddenly turn up missing, scandals are rampant, there’s a love triangle involving a coma patient and more. Emma now finds herself at the center of it all, terrified to confront the woman who adopted her child on a daily basis.
Once Upon a Time unfolds in a very nonlinear fashion. From the distant past (where we learn about various characters backgrounds, piece by piece) to the events surrounding when the Evil Queen cast her devastating spell, the narrative jumps around to stay interesting. From one episode to the next, I was never sure what was going to happen. Forget what you think you know about these familiar characters, because the writers are determined to create their own storylines.
While the series’ massive cast can be a bit of a detrement in terms of really getting to know the individual characters, it’s impossible to deny that Once Upon A Time is a really unique idea. The creators/writers have forced the audience to put aside everything they’ve known about fairytales since they were children and except some new realities. There’s something really cool about that idea.
Broadcast on ABC in 720p, these 1080p 1.78:1 transfers look much sharper than the network broadcasts. The lush, dark atmosphere is captured very well, with instances of bright colors standing right out. Flesh tones look natural and the Storybrooke scenes look sharp. Contrast does occasionally vary from scene to scene, but it’s a minor quibble.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is a sophisticated one for network television. Dialogue is well recorded an comes through the center channel. Mark Isham’s music can be heard through the surrounds on each episode. The LFE is more active here than you expect with most television series.
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai subtitles are included.
The following special features are available:
- Audio Commentaries: Five commentaries in total: “Pilot” with co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz; “7:15 A.M.” with actors Jennifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas; “Skin Deep” with actor Robert Carlyle and writer Jane Espenson; “The Stable Boy” with Kitsis, Horowitz and actor Lana Parrilla; and “A Land Without Magic” with Kitsis, Horowitz and actor Jennifer Morrison.
- Once Upon a Time: Origins (HD): Explore the classic tales and materializations of “Snow White,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Rumpelstiltskin” in this Maximum Movie Mode-esque history of the fairy tale experience.
- Fairy Tales in the Modern World (HD, 20 minutes): Kitsis and Horowitz discuss the influences that led to the development of the series, followed by interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage, a analysis of the show’s story, characters, adaptations of beloved fairy tales and its twists and turns.
- Building Character (HD, 7 minutes): Kitsis and Horowitz detail their approach to creating new, interesting versions of familiar fairy tale characters and dropping them into a modern setting.
- The Story I Remember… Snow White (HD, 4 minutes): There have been many different versions of “Snow White,” and this is how the cast remembers it.
- Welcome to Storybrooke (HD, 7 minutes): The town at the heart of Once Upon a Time.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 13 minutes): “Meet Rumplestiltskin,” “Cradle,” “Regina’s Sheriff,” “Motherly Love,” “Responsibility,” “Blood is Thick,” “Waste of Time,” “Bull’s-Eye” and “I’m Your Friend Too.”
- Fairest Bloopers of Them All (HD, 2 minutes): A brief outtake reel.
- Once Upon a Time Orchestral Suite (HD, 4 minutes): A selection from the series’ score.
