The Problem with Once Upon A Time
Jan. 23rd, 2012 10:47 amIt’s tempting to say the writing and make this a tumblr post (seriously, they have a character who's been living two separates lives and has to choose sum up his problems with "it's like I've been living two separate lives!"). But I actually have two distinct problems that go straight to the core concept of the show.
1. The CGI is shit. And I realize that they have a budget and a time table, but seriously, is there a reason they’ve decided it’s better to suggest that Regina lives in a giant chasm full of CGI instead of building a reasonably sized room out of stone? And even (gasp!) dressing it up so it can serve as other stone rooms in other episodes? I’m not sure how the budget works, but you’d think a primetime show on a major network would be able to afford a better set than, say, the dungeon in the Denna episode of Legend of the Seeker. Which was, you know, a room. That people stood in.
1a. What makes this even more frustrating is that they switch between BIG! CGI! CASTLES! And practical sets which look believable. I’m surprised no one thought to use camera tricks and editing and such to make the fairy tale world all magical or whatever, so at least it’s consistent and consistently distinct from Storybrooke. Even Smallville managed to portray the town in warm earth tones, while Metropolis was blue and sharp.
2. The dialogue. No, no I’m not talking about “Who’s to say which life is real?” or whatever. I mean that both the fairy tale dialogue and the real world dialogue is the same post-Buffy snarkfest. You’d think, for a soap opera in a world where Downton Abbey is the mother of all soap operas, the dialogue in fairy tale land would be stilted, or formal, or otherwise play up the fantasy nature of the world. Instead, we get scenes where Snow White is in hiding and asks what things are like “out in the World.” You tell me: why is a fairy tale character using slang from the Vietnam War? As it is now, when fairy tale characters talk like fairy tales characters about love being a disease and needing to cure it, it comes off as awkward. It’s not that I want everyone to talk like a Thor comic book, but… something like the Thor movie? There, all Thor and Loki’s high-faluting matched the epic quality of the story. The epic in Once Upon A Time (arranged marriages! Forbidden romances! Magical shit!) should get that treatment, while the comparatively mundane stuff in the real world (custody battles! Frowned-upon romances! Lesbianism!) is elevated by witty dialogue and pop culture references.
2a. Is there any reason every character must have two distinct names? I can understand someone with a unique name like Snow White being called Mary Margaret in the real world, but is there a reason “Ashlyn” has to be the counterpart of “Kathryn”? That’s like mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent secretly being amazing superhero… John Kim!
ETA: I have to hand it to OUAT, they really nailed the life of the writer. Putting on your best leather jacket, strapping your typewriter to your motorcycle, and riding into a town to get inspiration from the attractive women who find you oh-so mysterious and intriguing… That’s totally my process too.
1. The CGI is shit. And I realize that they have a budget and a time table, but seriously, is there a reason they’ve decided it’s better to suggest that Regina lives in a giant chasm full of CGI instead of building a reasonably sized room out of stone? And even (gasp!) dressing it up so it can serve as other stone rooms in other episodes? I’m not sure how the budget works, but you’d think a primetime show on a major network would be able to afford a better set than, say, the dungeon in the Denna episode of Legend of the Seeker. Which was, you know, a room. That people stood in.
1a. What makes this even more frustrating is that they switch between BIG! CGI! CASTLES! And practical sets which look believable. I’m surprised no one thought to use camera tricks and editing and such to make the fairy tale world all magical or whatever, so at least it’s consistent and consistently distinct from Storybrooke. Even Smallville managed to portray the town in warm earth tones, while Metropolis was blue and sharp.
2. The dialogue. No, no I’m not talking about “Who’s to say which life is real?” or whatever. I mean that both the fairy tale dialogue and the real world dialogue is the same post-Buffy snarkfest. You’d think, for a soap opera in a world where Downton Abbey is the mother of all soap operas, the dialogue in fairy tale land would be stilted, or formal, or otherwise play up the fantasy nature of the world. Instead, we get scenes where Snow White is in hiding and asks what things are like “out in the World.” You tell me: why is a fairy tale character using slang from the Vietnam War? As it is now, when fairy tale characters talk like fairy tales characters about love being a disease and needing to cure it, it comes off as awkward. It’s not that I want everyone to talk like a Thor comic book, but… something like the Thor movie? There, all Thor and Loki’s high-faluting matched the epic quality of the story. The epic in Once Upon A Time (arranged marriages! Forbidden romances! Magical shit!) should get that treatment, while the comparatively mundane stuff in the real world (custody battles! Frowned-upon romances! Lesbianism!) is elevated by witty dialogue and pop culture references.
2a. Is there any reason every character must have two distinct names? I can understand someone with a unique name like Snow White being called Mary Margaret in the real world, but is there a reason “Ashlyn” has to be the counterpart of “Kathryn”? That’s like mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent secretly being amazing superhero… John Kim!
ETA: I have to hand it to OUAT, they really nailed the life of the writer. Putting on your best leather jacket, strapping your typewriter to your motorcycle, and riding into a town to get inspiration from the attractive women who find you oh-so mysterious and intriguing… That’s totally my process too.