Fairy tales seems to be the next big thing. The last few years it was all about vampires, but this year is definitely the start of the fairy tale fad. In the last year we had the Red Riding Hood movie and coming soon are TWO takes on Snow White. I’ve also read about Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. And now we have TWO new television series looking at the world of fairy tales, Once Upon a Time and Grimm. I checked out the first episode of each series this past week and they are as different as cats and dogs.
Once Upon a Time comes on the ABC network, Sunday nights at 8pm. The inhabitants of the fairy tale world are cursed by the evil queen so that they lose their happily-every-afters. The characters are trapped in the our world with amnesia and the daughter of Snow White is the chosen one meant to come back and save them all.
Grimm comes on the NBC network, Friday nights at 9pm. This television series is a cop drama with a twist. The main character is a homicide detective who discovers he descends from a line of Grimms. The Grimms are hunters who fight supernatural forces in the form of fairy tale creatures. The catch is that while the creatures look human on the surface to people, the Grimms can see their true nature.
So far, I really prefer Grimm over Once Upon a Time. I find it a lot less cheezy and the acting feels more natural. In Once Upon a Time it feels a lot more hammed up, but it might be aimed at a younger audience. Grimm is definitely a much darker take on the source material and makes it feel more like a “real” look at the darkness of fairy tales. Then again, I’m a fan of shows like Castle and House. I like the witty, wise-cracking characters and mystery solving drama. I’m going to give both shows a few more episodes before I can truly choose a favorite, though. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the shows.
I’m finding that I like Once a Upon a Time more than Grimm, actually. Once is a fresh fantasy series, with some pretty unique ideas, the flashes back to the fairy tale world are getting better over each episode, with the third episode hitting a stride.
Grimm is yet another cop show with pretty cops having adventures while people die around them. Just because the wisecracking, good at heart person on the wrong side of the law happens to be a werewolf doesn’t really make it different from White Collar. It’s really more of the same that’s on every channel. I would not doubt that we’ll get a medical show where the doctor treats magical maladies in the ER by the end of the year. It can’t take that long for a tv exec to figure out he can make money by copying Grey’s Anatomy then putting bumpy noses on actors. so he can say it’s different. Then all we need is Law N Order: Neverland. Gag.
To me, it really depends on what you’re looking for. Grimm follows in the vein of shows like Buffy and Supernatural, where the beings in question actually inspired the myths and stories that we know. Once Upon A Time is a lot more like The Tenth Kingdom or the comic series Fables, where there are parallel fairy-tale worlds and it’s not quite clear how their stories came through to ours.
While the Disney version references are a bit heavy in Once Upon A Time and the action is a bit slower, I really enjoy the parallels between the fairy-tale flashbacks and the present-day heroine. It’s more story and character grounded, while Grimm is a little more action and a lot more thrill value.
To sum up, Grimm is a nice change of pace from the stale-feeling crime dramas, while Once Upon A Time is more for people who wanted a little fantasy in place of the usual Desperate Doctors or Promiscuous Homemakers or what have you.
To me, OUaT and Grimm are very different shows, and I don’t really feel the need to compare them. Sure, they both draw inspiration from fairy tales, but they are two different genres and which one you prefer really depends more on that than anything else. So, you know, a slight case of apples and oranges.
I’m enjoying both. OUaT really has captured the mood of a fairy tale for me. Grimm is a fun take on the cop show. :)
(I would have nothing to add to this discussion, but I was visiting the in-laws this weekend and they showed us episodes of both)
I totally agree about Grimm being better than OUaT. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Dresden TV show, which is super awesome. It also gave me a good excuse to discuss fairy tales with a young Polish exchange student who is sort of my nephew-in-law. I sent him on his way to Wikipedia to read the Grimm fairy tales like a good Auntie-in-law.
After the pilots, I was leaning more towards Grimm, but now that we’ve had a few episodes of each, I think I like OuaT better. I think it’s just taste, though. OuaT was definitely WAY cheesy in the first couple episodes (yelling “HEY!” before you throw your sword at someone?!), but either the writing’s getting better or I’m getting used to it. It’s definitely fun seeing the various takes on the fairy tale characters and how that’s carried over into the “real” world. (Red Riding Hood – that is, Ruby – and her grandmother cracked me up.) Plus, Jennifer Morrison (I like to pretend that this is what Cameron is up to since leaving House XD) and Robert Carlyle hamming it up – what’s not to love?
Grimm reminds me a LOT of Supernatural (when it was first starting out). It is kind of fun having Nick have to keep things legal and professional (unlike the Winchesters) while not letting on that he sees monsters. But so far the characters haven’t grabbed me as much.. Nick’s partner is cool and the werewolf is fun, but other than that, the supporting cast doesn’t really stand out and Nick hasn’t managed to “grab” me as much as the characters from OuaT. I’m definitely going to give it a few more episodes, though. Sometimes it takes the writers a little while to get a handle on the character.
I’ve yet to see Grimm simply because I am watching something else in that timeslot (recently it’s DCC: Making the Team on CMA). I love OUoT though because I love a story with twists in it and I can see how the creators of Lost did this series. I am eager to see what other chars show up. I might check out Grimm online if they have the pilot episode.
In general, I love the idea of my fairytales coming to the foray because I grew up on them. (They inspired a few of my stories too.)
For anyone interested, both shows are on Hulu.
http://www.hulu.com/grimm
http://www.hulu.com/once-upon-a-time
Although, while I would love to check these out myself, I have way too many shows that I’m currently watching as it is.
I have to agree with Gaya. I love both the shows and look forward to watch the new episodes every week (along with Merlin, but that’s a different matter entirely). The two shows are so different that I don’t think they should be compared, even if they do both play with the fairytale theme. It depends on what you’re in the mood for. If you want dark and sinister, watch Grimm. If you want light and fluffy, watch Once Upon a Time. Both shows have great characters (I absolutely LOVE Monroe and Emma is awesome) with intriguing possibilities in the future.
Yeah see, I’m leaning toward Once. I like Grimm I just can’t get interested in the main character and it’s awkward that he has to work within the law to fight baddies. I LOVE Once although I don’t know how long they can keep it going.
I’ve kept up with both, and I have to say I prefer Grimm. My coworkers agree that Once Upon A Time may be good for a season or two, but the plot will eventually run out. It doesn’t seem like it could be in for the long haul. Grimm has a little more possibility. Plus, I prefer it cause Once, while is a darker take on Snow White, has more of a Disney feel to it. Grimm is a lot darker. I loved my Disney when I was a kid (still do), but I’m older now. I want to see more dark fairy tales. Although I do have to say I love to twists they’re adding to the Once fairy tale characters.
I actually prefer “Once”. Both have that “something magic is right beneath the surface” thing, but with Grimm what’s beneath the surface are monsters while in Once it’s characters we’ve known and loved for ages. Though I will admit too much Disney-fication can be a bad thing, I still go for hidden wonder over hidden terror.
I haven’t seen Grimm, but my wife and I enjoy Once Upon a Time so much, we started a podcast about it.
I’m so glad that you turned me on to Once Upon a Time. Grimm is too scary for me to be honest, but Robert Carlyle in Once Upon a Time….mmmm, I could watch forever!