Since I haven't posted in a while, I've had some time to watch a new show. Yes, another one. It's fast becoming one of my favorites. The fact that it's a little corny can be overlooked by the fact that it's about fairy tales. Yup. It's called "Once Upon A Time" and it's putting a twist on all the fairy tales that we know and love.
I wasn't going to start watching the show. Some shows are/seem too cheesy even for me to watch. What made me change my mind, you ask? Ginnifer Goodwin. My guilty pleasure movie is "He's Just Not That Into You" and a huge part of the reason is Miss. Goodwin. She's just a likeable person! I mean, have you seen her in "Ramona and Beezus"? But anyway, she's one of my favorite actresses and aside from "Something Borrowed," I've loved her in everything I've seen her in. I decided to take a chance on "Once Upon a Time." Ginnifer didn't let me down. Check out the trailer:
The show starts off at one of the happy endings we are familiar with and love. Prince Charming, played by a definitely charming Josh Dallas, awakens Snow White (Goodwin) from a deep sleep in her glass coffin with a simple "true love's kiss." Aw. Sigh. Etc. Cut to their wedding where the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) makes a comeback and promises them that they will be cursed and no one will have a happy ending. I'd call her a bad name right now, but I'll restrain myself.
A lot of things happen, but basically, Snow and Charming have a baby and in a desperate attempt to save their daughter, Charming puts her in a magical wardrobe...to Narnia! No, just kidding. I wish. But the wardrobe does protect baby Emma until her 28th birthday when she is prophesied to return and save everyone else from the curse.
Speaking of the curse, it was created by Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and cast by the queen. The gist of it is, it transports all of the fairytale characters to our world, where we all know: fairytale endings don't exist. Sorry, that's my cynical side coming out. Anyway, all of these characters live in Storybrook, Maine where they're trapped, time is frozen, and no one remembers their past or that they are fairytales.
Meanwhile, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), on her 28th birthday (!!) is accosted by a ten year old boy, Henry (Jared Gilmore), who is claiming to be the son she gave up for adoption. He is able to convince her to return with him to Storybrook and attempts to explain to her the situation going on in his town. How does he know this? He has a book of fairytales that tells the whole story and he put two and two together. Good job, kid.
Well, that's the general idea of the goings-on in the show. There is a lot more to the storyline, but it's filled with so many unanswered questions, clues, details, etc. that I don't know where to begin. Here's a quick list of some of the fairytales mentioned and the roles they play in our world:
Snow White - Mary Margaret Blanchard - Henry's school teacher/grandmother, nun-like but not a nun, beautiful, kind, searching for and failing to find true love.
Prince Charming - John Doe - Coma patient in the hospital due to being stabbed in fairytale land when trying to protect his daughter right before the curse was cast.
Evil Queen - Regina/Madam Mayor - mayor of Storybrook, Henry's adopted mother, still evil and conniving. She hates Emma. We hate her.
Jiminy Cricket - Archie Hopper (Raphael Sbarge) - Henry's therapist, "conscience" if you will. Has a dalmatian named Pongo. Ha.
Other notable characters mentioned and their counterparts: the huntsman (I believe he is Sheriff Graham), Little Red Riding Hood (Ruby) and her grandmother, Gepetto, Cinderella and her Prince Charming, and more.
Maybe this sounds corny. Maybe way too unrealistic for you to be interested enough to start watching. But start! My two best friends make fun of me all the time for the shows I watch and the fact that I seem to live in my own fairytale world. Well, they're hooked on this show now too, so if that doesn't say something, I'm not sure what does.
Here's the story:
Recently I took a weekend trip to New Jersey to visit a friend, and while we were there we went to a horse race track at Monmouth Park. This was the first time I've ever been to a race track and I fell in love with the atmosphere. I love horses and everything that has to do with horses, and the whole experience reminded me of one of my favorite television shows from a few years back called "Wildfire". It ran from 2005 to 2008 for a total of four seasons and I still think it ended too soon. These thoughts led me to a new idea for a blog post. I decided to post a few shows that are cancelled now, but worth remembering because of how good they were. Now, this is only my opinion. People may disagree or have different opinions, and that's fine, but these are just a few that I would love to see come back.
A show about a girl and a horse. Simple as that, yet it took hold of my heart and wouldn't let go. It still hasn't. I find myself randomly thinking about it at times and feeling the urge to watch it again. The show centered around a girl named Kris Furillo (played by Genevieve Cortese, now known as Genevieve Padalecki since she married Supernatural's Jared Padalecki) who spent time in a juvenile detention center and learned how to ride horses there. She made a special connection with one horse in particular - Wildfire. Go figure. When she was released, she was told she had to work at Raintree Farm, a ranch that breeds race horses. After stealing Wildfire to save him from being auctioned off, she spends some more time in the detention center and is then released back to the ranch where she slowly becomes closer and closer to the Ritter family (the owners of the ranch) and the son of the rivaling ranch next door. The show follows her journey as she becomes a famous jockey and Wildfire becomes a famous race horse. While I have to admit, I was always hooked on the relationship between Kris and Junior Davis from the rival ranch (how could I not be?), it wasn't just the human characters that made me want to watch. It was the horses. I love horses and especially the horses that no one expects will succeed. I mean come on. Secretariat? Seabiscuit? Those stories just make my heart want to explode with happiness. During Wildfire's final comeback race in the series, I got chills.
While they don't have the actual race, here's a clip of them preparing Wildfire after his retirement.
It may just be a TV show, but I can't help it. I'm a sucker for the happy endings...and horses. So happy endings with horses? Yeah...
Another one of my favorite shows of all time. It aired in 2004 and ended in 2008, quite abruptly I might add and way before I was ready for it to end. It begins with a girl who is a social outcast in her school and town -- Veronica Mars (played by Kristen Bell, also the voice of Gossip Girl). Her father blamed the wrong person for the murder of Veronica's best friend Lily (Amanda Seyfried), and became a social pariah in their fictional town of Neptune, California. The show follows the day-to-day life of Veronica Mars and her side business of being a teenage private detective. I suppose you can consider her "Nancy Drew with attitude".
If there's one show any teenage girl should watch, it's this one. Veronica Mars, despite her fall from popularity, is the epitome of a strong woman. She sticks up for herself, she doesn't let others bring her down, and she stays completely true to herself no matter what. I was about 14 when the show first aired and I wanted to be just like her. I mean, for the most part she's a good role model for teenage girls who might be influenced by popularity and the other kids in school. The show is just entertaining. You find yourself hooked from the first episode and craving more. In fact, I might have to go back and watch it again...it's been a while.
