Once Upon a Time - Early review of Pilot Episode

So as you can tell from the ABC synopsis, the fairytale characters living in the town of Storybrooke have forgotten who they really are. They think that they're just ordinary people living in a curious little town, and they don't seem to notice that they're "frozen in time." So in a nutshell it's another "people trapped in a small weird town" show, not unlike The Prisoner and countless other shows. Except that Once Upon a Time is pretty fun never gets too dark or weird.

The good news is, Jennifer Morrison is totally engaging as Emma Swan, the bail bonds collector who may be the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She has an early set piece that totally wins you over to her side, and you immediately start loving her resourcefulness and self-reliance. In fact, the cast is great in general — especially Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, who totally sells you on some scenes that could look a bit silly otherwise. And Stargate Universe's Robert Carlyle looks like he'll be fascinatingly demented.

The conceit that these fairytale characters have forgotten who they really are means that Once Upon a Time finds a way to put fairytale characters in the real world without much incongruity. And long stretches of Once Upon a Time feel like they could come from any other TV show about cute schemers and lost souls in a vaguely suburban environment. And then you switch over to the events in Fairyland, which feels a bit like a Disney pastiche at times.

Source: Read the Full Review @ IO9