LAST EDITED ON 10-12-13 AT 08:41 AM (EST)For those who watched Once Upon a Time and liked it, the idea of spinning Wonderland into a new web of hookah smoke probably appealed to you, or at least convinced you to give this new show a shot. It's a spin off ... but not really because Wonderland was unaffected by the Evil Queen’s curse. However, the manly sidekick Knave of Hearts ended up in Storybook with the Mad Hatter because they both fled Wonderland and Cora, the Queen of Hearts. Because of this, the first scene involves Knave almost getting run over by Emma's VW on Main Street and passing Cinderella and Grumpy at Granny’s before being taken out of Storybrooke through the portal power of the White Rabbit. A total toss-away scene so viewers know these two unconnected shows are mildly connected.
This is followed by back story involving a father who sends his daughter off to the insane asylum because she keeps “disappearing” for long periods of time and yammering on about a love interest named Cyrus. She’s now old enough to leave, but her doctor wants to do a lobotomy so she can forget her pain, her name, and a horrible costume. Fortunately the Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit show up to rescue her and take her back to Wonderland.
Once there, more back story. The Geni from Aladdin is no Robin Williams, but the hunky true love of Alice. A Regina/Rumple style power play brews stagnates between the Red Queen and Jafar, followed by a creepy cat, an equally creepy caterpillar, a blackmailed white rabbit, a wanted outlaw knave of hearts, a flying carpet without any personality, and the quest for Alice to find her true love before Iago or the Aflak duck shows up. Oh, and to keep Jafar from getting his hands on her three wishes. At least, that appears to be the premise from the pilot.
If you watch OUAT and you have seen Hook and wondered where his hair went, it flew off of his head and landed on Jafar. But Jafar is still a great villain who knows how to act and use his snake scepter. The Red Queen, however, is a different story. If she is supposed to be threatening, intimidating, and a bad-azz, she isn't because you are too busy watching her impossibly inflated botoxed lips combine with perpetual duck face to notice. She tries to be mean, and all you can think about is how she can possibly deliver her lines through those swollen lips. You get past the lips, and you suddenly realize that she can’t ACT. And this plastic blowup doll is supposed to intimidate and keep Jafar in line? I don’t think so. It’s rather plain to see that someone knew someone who begged someone to use his girlfriend in the show. However, this being the Once universe, perhaps they can come up with a queen to rip out her heart and usurp power from duckface before they are cancelled.
I didn’t like it. I have found that I’m not alone. If they don’t figure out that special effects can’t cover up the bad acting it won’t last very long.
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Quickie sidenote; everyone seems to be able to find portals in and out of Storybrooke/the Enchanted Forest/Neverland/Wonderland etc. EXCEPT the actual citizens of the town.