With the inflating of television series budgets comes a more serious take on how television is made. It feels as if most shows these days are trying their hearts out to breach into a new era of realism, telling dramatic stories and triumphs. A particular problem of this is found in shows like Game of Thrones, which became massively expensive per episode and per season while turning the idea of the fantasy genre into something incredibly serious and adult. The loss of the fantasy realm came as a result as each new series wanted to carry from that popularity and propel themselves into the mainstream. Even today, with something like Rings of Power: a total 180 of the source material in attempt to turn something that was once rather grounded and simple into something far darker and serious for the sake of simply being far darker and serious. A problem in this is how it often alienates existing fans of such stories, how they shift and become unrecognisable and everything competes for some aspect of realness to it. Such fantasy themes are often dealt best when they aren't taken seriously at all, however. When the themes themselves are so farfetched that they're throwing their audiences into a completely different world, one that could hardly be compared to our reality. These stories immerse us, pull from our imaginations. They tell us stories of characters and creatures that we couldn't possibly comprehend, and that's what makes them so successful. When we turn that into something political, something similar to our world, we lose that magic.
I can't help but feel the majority of fantasy has lost its way because of this. Whenever something medieval or fantasy appears, it tends to be pulling heavily from elements of reality. Rather than using them loosely and telling unique stories. When things don't entirely make sense, that's when things are best. Because the audience doesn't want to understand how things entirely function within these realms, they just want to believe that they exist and that's enough. Ideas like magic, dragons, trolls, wizards and witches. Each of these things work in their own way if dealt in a way that they're somewhat cartoonish. Somewhat unrealistic and hard to connect with. The truth is in most cases: we don't care for the politics within these worlds. We don't care for the deep drama of love and loss at every corner. It simply isn't needed. That isn't to say there isn't a time and a place for it, but when taking into consideration stories like the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings compared to Rings of Power, the difference is how such drama is trickled down to us, compared to how much of it is instead forced in attempt to give us something to learn and discover. So when I heard of Once Upon a Time for the first time, it seemed so silly. And that's precisely what makes it so engaging.
This is a show so farfetched, so ludicrous, that it actually is quite entertaining to watch. High elements of fantasy from existing fairytale characters mixed with unique bits of drama to combine a broader narrative that still strays close to its central theme. It's such a great idea, handled in such an odd way, that it's a surprise that any of it actually works. What's more surprising is how it came out around the time that television series started getting massive budgets. And this show? It somewhat shows, sometimes. But it's also incredibly cheap in the best way.
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time takes characters from traditional fairy tale settings and bundles them all together in one world. Much like how Shrek pulled them all in one space in which they lived in various forms of harmony and terror. It's an odd comparison to compare something to the world of Shrek. I don't think I've ever done that before. But hey, it actually is the best comparison that could be made. With this, all these characters are within one land which is inevitably controlled by an evil queen. This evil queen is losing control, and with a desperate panic she creates a new world under a sketchy deal made with another character, one that can create and do anything for anyone providing a mutual agreement is made. These agreements tend to be flawed. Ones that give the person some sort of negative outcome sooner or later as a result of getting what they wished for. Typical genie type setup, in a way. By creating a new world, she remains in control, and this world is void of all magical abilities. Each character from that world is then given a new life and story to which they remember nothing of their former lives. It's similar to that of a simulation, though it's a real space that they all interact within, just their memories are wiped. A woman enters the town of Storybrooke one day to which she discovers her son which she gave up for adoption actually wants to know her. He's an eccentric kid with a lot of assumptions on what this town actually is. He's in the know, though his adoptive mother is the evil queen herself who remembers the whole thing.
I won't write more of the main narrative, but from there the woman comes to know the people of Storybrooke, to which a lot of the town's odd functioning ways present themselves. Though she never believes her child that something more sinister is afoot. It's an interesting story in how it pulls fantasy characters into a more modern setting. One where they don't have their memories or abilities. Just regular people, to which sometimes some of their true nature comes out. The show mixes a lot of the drama of the present with the moments of the past as it develops each character's story a bit more. I quite like the pacing of this, and it is fun seeing the show's own twist on established characters and stories. Somewhat altered for their own narrative. The show utilises a lot of cheaper effects for the special effects side of things, but mostly relies on real locations for much of the past segments. Often deep in the woods or countryside environments. Though it seems more reliance on generating the interiors is used when it comes to characters with darker or deeper fantasy settings. The cheapness adds to the charm, though. It's clear this is a show that doesn't really take itself all that seriously, and it makes it much more entertaining as the show turns into some sort of detective show mixed with magical environments and characters. Though none of this really takes place in the present. It may seem as if the real world side of things would be boring, but it really isn't. It shows how those characters have adapted to a modern setting, the lives they live and how they've been manipulated.
There are 22 episodes in the first season, and they're each about 40 minutes in length. Which is quite an impressive number of episodes for a relatively unknown and mid budget series. There's so much effort in it all that it's quite surprising that it was made in the first place. Such a character driven show with so many little stories to be told in unique ways, while still focusing on that main theme of a series of characters being unknowingly trapped in the present without their memories or abilities. The show teases the idea of certain people remembering or starting to remember, teasing the idea of some sort of greater prophecy as certain characters begin to clash. It's quite an engaging show. And this is precisely what I meant by fantasy needs to be somewhat unrealistic, to leave us with questions that we don't need answers to. To set the foundations to much more entertaining ideas that actually are part of a fantasy environment.
