Once Upon a Time: Season 1 [Blu-ray]

Season one is amazing. Twist and turns, high tension, suspicion, and intrigue in a small town with literally ALL the secrets AND a strong element of epic fantasy. It's quite an addictive show, but, with the latest seasons, I will say that there are very few moments that rival the avalanche on powerful moments and engrossing curiosity that the first season brings in full force.The story is both simple and complex: the Evil Queen of Snow White fame has cast a curse that sends all of the inhabitants of their fairy tale world to a town in Maine where things just seem to have always been a certain way: time, in a manner of speaking, has stopped (think PG Stephen King setting without the exploration of small-town bigotries). Before I go on, I should mention that the creators and writers rely STRONGLY on the premise that Disney versions of certain fairy tales are peerless interpretations and take a huge amount of liberty with the intellectual property that Disney has given them to play with. The Disney-synergy element becomes far more transparent from the second season and doesn't let up, but the first season has some subtlety to it and proves to be a lot of fun.The continue where I left off, our introduction to this story begins with a young boy from the town finding a seemingly random woman--who works as a bail bondsperson--who he believes is the key to breaking the Queen's curse. When she (Emma, played by Jennifer Morrison [House]) returns the boy (Henry) to the town, Storybrooke, she finds that he is her biological son and that his adoptive mother is the Mayor of the town, Regina Mills, who also happens to be the Evil Queen. Things don't feel right with Emma, especially where Regina is concerned, so she stays and things start to change in interesting ways. The first season has the splendid novelty of trying to figure out "who is who" and "who knows what." Henry knows all of this because of a magical storybook that chronicles everything that happened in The Enchanted Forest, which we get to see in the form of flashbacks, before the curse was cast.Fair warning: The writers don't have a sense of foresight and throw a lot of things to the wall just to see what will stick. Many times, they'll introduce a seemingly relevant plot point that won't be explained for seasons (and typically is shoe-horned in to provide damage control for their massive amount of retroactive continuity). What's great about the first season is that there seems to at least be a element of creation concision. What really saves the show is the approach that most of the actors tend to use: they take the major points seriously but are aware that some of the demands of the story may call for moments of levity to avoid being absurd, though camp elements do prove effective in this and many other seasons. It is interesting to see how certain fairy tales are turned on their heads.The two people to watch are Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle. Parrilla plays Regina Mills (The Evil Queen), and no one takes their role more seriously than she does. Of all the actors, she probably has the hardest job: running the gamut from playing a younger, more naive version of her queenly self to a regal dark sorceress to a quasi-sociopathic mayor to a very devout mother. She gets some of the best lines, especially the larger portion of the delightfully sardonic dialogue. Parrilla largely carries the show for the rest of its run: she continues to be an endearing part, if not the most endearing, of every episode in the current seasons.Robert Carlyle, genius actor that he is, has almost as many roles to play with his character as Lana, but his most magnificent contribution to the show is when we get the privilege of seeing him as the deranged Rumplestiltskin (one of the most critical characters) in the fantasy realm. This version of the impish character is far more imposing but also so unique in every way that he steals the show whenever he's on screen. In the fantasy world, he's like a Mephistopheles-type deal maker with a warped mind that makes him delightfully droll, fantastical, clever, and in many ways terrifying. His real-world curse form is that of the town loan shark and pawn broker Mr. Gold, who bears Carlyle's signature sparkling blend of charm and totally ominous menace.Carlyle, like Parrilla, carries the show in this season and for the many seasons to come. In this season, however [possible SPOILER ahead], both are more ostensibly evil than they may be in future and undeniably the "big bads" of the show, so enjoy that because both of them do evil so so well!Despite an ending that seems very rushed, I still contend that this is the strongest of all the seasons. The other major actors are given other chances to show what they can do, though it's almost always the ladies who shine (which is great). Again, Carlyle's experience and professionalism (that he has literally brought to every project he's ever worked on [a truly brilliant actor who needs to be known by more]) and Parrilla's strength and dedication really make the show a delight. Final warning: you will more than likely experience frustration with future seasons.

I am not a big "TV watcher," but like most, I have my favorite shows that I try very hard not to miss. However, as these shows move from season to season the plots and characters become stale...same old, same old. Then in early October 10, 2013, something wonderful happened to make me want to watch at least one TV program, besides: CNN, "Downton Abbey," "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," etc. "Once Upon a Time," a sort of American fairy tale, premiered. I was hooked about a half hour into the pilot.The show is based on the theory that there is an alternate universe where every classic fairy tale character exists—a world that has a connection to our world.In Storybrooke, a small town in Maine, beloved fairy tale characters we've known of since our parents read to us about them, are trapped in our world by a curse cast by an Evil Queen. Everything changes when a boy named Henry Mills, (beautifully played by Jared Gilmore), an adopted child, learns the "truth" through a "special" book. He finds out who his birth mother is and goes looking for her...heading toward Boston with his school teacher's credit card - desperate times call for desperate measures...right? Maybe not......The action moves between the two worlds - one where the fairytale characters are themselves and living in their own parallel universe, and the present, in modern day Storybrooke, where they are trapped by their own curse-induced amnesia. The pilot seamlessly sets up the connections between these two worlds and makes it clear that the Storybrooke characters' stunted emotional lives could well be explained by the curse that Henry so fiercely believes in.The Pilot opens with a period Prince Charming, (Josh Dallas), racing into a snowy forest in search of Snow White, (Ginnifer Goodwin). He finds her in an open coffin, seemingly dead, and surrounded by seven rather gnarly looking dwarfs. But as in the timeless tale, his kiss awakens her and in the next scene they're being married. Suddenly, a sexy, snarly, Evil Queen, dressed in black-leather (Lana Parrilla - who is fantastically BAD), busts in to the celebration to inform everyone that "I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do." What a GREAT Gift!!!!Meanwhile, back in modern day Storybrooke, Emma Swan, (Jennifer Morrison), a bounty hunter and bails-bond collector from Boston, is on the track of a fleeing defendant. As she drives toward Storybrooke, searching for her "missing person," she sees a boy walking alone, along the dark nighttime roadside. Dangerous! She stops the car and asks him where he is going and if she can help him. The boy is Henry Mills.Emma had given a baby boy up for adoption 10 years before and now discovers that the infant is 10 year-old Henry. Although he has not yet reached the town's limits, he has traveled quite a distance. He is running away from home, looking for her....trying to find her because, as he tells Emma, "No one can ever leave or enter Storybrooke." This is Emma's 28th birthday and she wants, more than almost anything, to not spend it alone. As it were, she does get to spend at least part of it with her son. In any case, a disbelieving Emma drives the boy back home to the mother who raised him. So, Emma, innocent of her role in Storybrooke, enters the town, (probably the first person to do so), and into the story, as the prospective heroine.As mentioned above, Henry has in his possession a special volume of fairy tales from long ago - certainly not your mother's book of fairy tales. The boy is convinced that Emma, his birth mother, is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. The royal couple sent her away so she would be protected from the deadly curse. They placed her in a magic wardrobe made from a block of wood by Mister Geppetto and his son Pinocchio. The infant was transported from the Enchanted Forest, within the fairy tale world, as a babe before she could be cursed. As such, she is the only person who can break the curse and restore the characters' lost memories.The town is indeed populated by fairy-tale characters such as the above mentioned Snow White and Prince Charming, only they have no idea of their true identities. The only two who do know are the Evil Queen, a.k.a. Regina Mills who is also the town's powerful mayor and Henry's adoptive mother, and the villainous Rumplestiltskin, (Robert Carlyle). a.k.a. Mr. Gold, the enigmatic owner of the local pawn shop, as well as the town itself. Jiminy Cricket, Geppetto, Pinocchio, Captain Hook, Red Riding Hood, the Seven Dwarves, Hansel and Gretel, Belle and the Beast, etc., are all characters in both worlds.I love the concept of the program, but then I always loved fairy tales. And, even this late in my life, I do believe there are at least a few happy endings. "Once Upon A Time" is very different from what what's on television at the moment, ("Grimm" cannot even begin to compare with the quality and talent of OYAT). The cast does a fantastic job! And the clothing, scenery and decorations in fantasy land are sumptuous. I can not wait to continue watching the show and see how the storyline develops in Season 2. Very highly recommended!JANA

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I have to hand it to the writers and actors of this series, they have worked so hard to make this a truly stunning and memorable show that has taken real imagination and talent to produce, two factors that are often missing in tv these days. Rarely do I feel so compelled to write a review about a show particularly after only the first season but I absolutely loved it and in fact feel a little sad that I've reached the end of the first season as I'll never watch the start completely afresh again. The premise of the show is that fairy tale characters are trapped in an illusory world (i.e our 'real' world!) due to a curse and as a result they don't remember who they really are...that is, apart from one little boy who has to try to convince the more skeptical adults around him. The show flits backwards and forwards between their real, fairy tale land, and our world, with some interesting revelations about characters. If you are spiritually minded you will appreciate the subtle spiritual themes running throughout the season (such as not remembering your true self, real home being elsewhere, etc) but you certainly don't have to be spiritually minded to appreciate the show. Anyone who likes a bit of magic, mystery and adventure and/or has a love of fairy tales will really love this. The visual beauty of many of the episodes are memorable too. Buy/rent this - you won't be disappointed!

A tale that is told between the land of 'Fairy-Tale' and what isbelieved to be reality.The cast from the story-book, have, because of the 'Witch's' spellhave been placed into todays world living in a town called 'Storybrook'without any knowledge of who they really are.Only a 10-year old boy 'Henry' who carries a story-book with the taleof 'Snow White' told within, with him, is, beginning to work out whothe people of the town really are.'Henry' enlists the help of 'Emma Swan' who had 10-years ago given upher new-born son for adoption......her mother from that time is.........you probably know the answer without being told...???Something like this shouldn't really work, however. does.....this isan enjoyable story that combines the story from the story book withtodays world.A series that ''Kids'' of all ages will surely enjoy......the secondseries will be available to buy very soon.Good sound and 'HD' picture quality contained within the 4-disc 'U.S'22 episode TV-series.....coupled with a bucket-load of additional featureswhich includes ....'Fairy Tales in the modern world' --'Building Characters'--'Welcome to Storybrooks' --'The Story I Remember....Snow White' --'FairestBloopers of them all' --'Once Upon a time origins' --'Audio commentaries' andof course 'Deleted Scenes' .....enough to fill any spare time you may have.

This is a unusual take on the usual fairy tale stories. It takes a fair bit of mental effort, working out who's the story book character and who it is in "real" life. The shunting backwards and forwards in the fairy tale adds to the complexity. The tales are nothing like the conventional fairy tales and this really is for adults. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 1st series, but am unsure whether I could manage further seasons - now they are up to 6. But the intrigue has certainly whetted my appetite. Highly recommended. UPDATE - on second watching de-rated from 5 star (excellent) to 4 star (good)

Pure theatrical piece of camp! I don't want to give too much away and spoil it but Season One takes you past all those "and they all lived happily ever after!" endings we hated as kids. "Yeah, that's great but what happened next...?" Here's where you find out! These are the many extra stories about the Evil Queen, Snow White, Prince Charming, the 7 Dwarves, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumplestiltskin and all the rest plus some lovely leaps of faith and plot twists to keep you guessing.Sets and scenery - full Marks. Loads of theatrical costumes to die for [especially those for the Evil Queen], Prince Charming and Snow White.Attention to detail is superb. Excellent scripting and special effects are faultless.You get a number of extras on the DVD as well.

For those of you who love fairy tales and the characters in them, this series is for you. Each episode plays back and forth between the fairy tale storyline and the modern day happenings for the characters. It is skillfully done. I like the interweaving of the various tales and how they impact each other.The casting is well done. I love all the main characters and how they are portrayed, especially Robert Carlyle. He is particularly strong as the quirky Rumpelstiltskin.The green screen is relied upon too much, thus the reduction of a star from 5 to 4, but perhaps that will change should the show do well and get a larger budget in future.I recommend it. A great, fun escape!