Once Upon a Time (ABC TV Series)

[DisneyFan97]

Why in heavens name is Nurse Ratched from the book, play and movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ??

I see no way that Ratched can be classified as a fairy tale character !!

She isnät from any myology either , she is from relatively recent work of fiction one which has defined author and is not a folk tale ! Or anything like that ??

How can Disney do this, Is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest really in the public domain, I am really confused ! Can someone please explain !

How does Nurse Ratched fit along side figures lie Jiminy Cricket , The Huntsman , Rumplestiltskin , Pinocchio, Belle Red Riding Hood , Captain Hook and Rapunzel ??

[blackcauldron85]

'Once Upon a Time' Creators Return to ABC With 'Epic' Fairy Tale Anthology
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live- ... -anthology

[Disney's Divinity]

I read about that in the Epic thread. I do wonder how good it'll be... I'm skeptical since the last season of OUAT didn't look any good once they removed the actors / characters I had been attached to from the early seasons. I guess it'll really depend on the cast they can get.

[blackcauldron85]

Aaah, I was just going to delete my post since I see Sotiris posted it its own thread but I can't now. Oopsy, so sorry!!!

[Farerb]

I started rewatching the show and I forgot how good the first season was with the exception of few minor issues I had like how Mary Margaret was slut shamed while David faced no repercussions, and there's that thing with Mary Margaret being framed for Kathryn's murder even though Mary Margaret was with Emma at the same time Kathryn disappeared, so she basically has an alibi.

I got to the episode of Wonderland and it's baffling how they introduced Graham, August and Jefferson, all of them are better characters than either Neal or Hook (and better actors IMO) and it never occurred to them that one of them has the potential to become a long term love interest for Emma (or maybe they did but the actors had better things to do, I think I read somewhere that they had a plan for August to be that one). Oh well... I always thought having Emma be so focused on love or guys was a mistake and that the real focus should remain her relationship with Henry, later seasons pretty much ignore it, but that's what happens when you write in order to appease your audience who has tendencies to ship everyone with everyone. It's a shame cause the story lose all meaning. Honestly it really feels like different people were in charge of season 1. I wonder what the reaction would have been if the Frozen writers had done the same with all the Helsa, Elsanna or whatever... (Which reminds me that there's a Frozen season later on which was crap, though I didn't plan to continue that far but maybe I will just for the fun of it).

Hard to believe that it was nearly 10 years ago since the show started.

[DC Fan]

I´m also rewatching the show and I have to say several things:

-The FX, of course they could (and should have been) much better than they were but as they are they started to remind me of the FX of the Hercules and Xena shows that were very charming in their own way.

-I´m glad the show started and ended when it did. Don´t know about you but for me they show came in a perfect time in my life when I needed this kind of content. I can now rewatch it whenever and get the same memories but I don´t think it would have worked today and/or the same way.

-While I´m glad Disneyu finally decided to do something with Aurora, with the exception of the first Season, there was no need for a Season story arc. Other shows can manage those filler episodes but not so much ONCE. Especially because they didn´t use (most of the time) those filler episodes to tell stories of recurring and/or important characters. Those based in the Disney movies specifically. I mean, why have the giant story? (Even though, yes, he´s technically a Disney character too) or why have the Dr. Frankenstein episode (or the character/world in general)? One thing would have been to acknowledge that there were other worlds/books (as they did) and another is to integrate them into the Disney universe.

-Wizard of Oz. Same thing as before. I don´t mind to focus or introduce characters that weren´t in the Disney movies as long as they had minor roles (Little Red Riding Hood) and other was to introduce a whole world/characters to explore. More so, when they finished and they were still movies they didn´t do.

...another reason why, from S2 on they should have focused on 2 story arcs for each Season.

-Why have Mulan being lesbian and later on when they did the same with Robin? But le me focus on Mulan. I didn´t like it because, first off, the character wasn´t originally that way (yes, even though these aren specifically the same ones). Why not introduce another character that could have been lesbian or gay? But more so, because I´m SO tired of stereotypes or clichés. The same way most of the media still portrays or mainly shows effeminate men as gay or tomboy women as lesbians. They should know that there are very feminine women that are lesbians (glad they at least made Ruby bi) and masculine men are gay.

-The entire final Season. At first I was glad the show wasn´t going to end. But if they weren´t going to tell a better story and/or coninue with characters/movies that weren´t done then they shouldn´t have.

-The waste of character that was Ursula.

-The whole idea of the different versions of the same story. Let me repeat myself: there were movies/characters you didn´t do and while true that´s up to debate. One thing is that there are variations of the story but the core is the same. More so, what did they do with it? Let´s have a Latina Cinderella just cause and also because we messed up in doing something with the original. Same with Rapunzel.

-Ah, and again, tied up with that last one. Did we really needed to introduce another version of Hook...because? So many characters yet to explore.

PS

And no, I didn´t like they race bent the original Rapunzel. Why? There was no need. For instance, they could have had Tiana there. Gave us a glimpe of Kida (for a future Atlantis story). Choose another character...let´s say, The Princess and the Pea. Or, if they wanted to, do so with Eilonwy. The movie is basically non existant to Disney. At least we could have had that.

[Farerb]

I´m also rewatching the show and I have to say several things:

-The FX, of course they could (and should have been) much better than they were but as they are they started to remind me of the FX of the Hercules and Xena shows that were very charming in their own way.

I like that the visual effects were like that because it added to the whimsicality of the fairytale world, though I do admit that it had gotten worse in later seasons.

-I´m glad the show started and ended when it did. Don´t know about you but for me they show came in a perfect time in my life when I needed this kind of content. I can now rewatch it whenever and get the same memories but I don´t think it would have worked today and/or the same way.

I'm glad for you that the show could provide it for you. For me it was comforting to watch it for two and a half years, then it sort of became dumb for another season and a half, but still enjoyable, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it in its later seasons, I didn't even bother watching the final season.
I don't think it would have worked today mainly because Disney has oversaturated the market with their live action interpretations and I think people are already sick of it, but back then the show started a year after Tangled and people started being nostalgic about fairytales again.

-While I´m glad Disneyu finally decided to do something with Aurora, with the exception of the first Season, there was no need for a Season story arc. Other shows can manage those filler episodes but not so much ONCE. Especially because they didn´t use (most of the time) those filler episodes to tell stories of recurring and/or important characters. Those based in the Disney movies specifically. I mean, why have the giant story? (Even though, yes, he´s technically a Disney character too) or why have the Dr. Frankenstein episode (or the character/world in general)? One thing would have been to acknowledge that there were other worlds/books (as they did) and another is to integrate them into the Disney universe.

I know I'm in a minority about it, but I hated when the show became a Disney AU fanfic (among other things). I think what worked in the earlier seasons is that they did their own thing, like Snow White is their version of Snow White, not Disney's (and I know she sings With a Smile and a Song, but that's just a small nice reference), I honestly thought it was ridiculous that Elsa was going around a modern town with people around her wearing normal clothes and she's basically in a Halloween costume for the entire time, like it's kind of disgusting if you really think about that... and Hades with his flaming hair...
I actually think the Elsa thing was probably forced by Disney. I also think they wanted her to be more villainous and Disney probably vetoed it.

-Wizard of Oz. Same thing as before. I don´t mind to focus or introduce characters that weren´t in the Disney movies as long as they had minor roles (Little Red Riding Hood) and other was to introduce a whole world/characters to explore. More so, when they finished and they were still movies they didn´t do.

I didn't care about the second half of season 3 and I hate Zelena, but I didn't have an issue with adding The Wizard of Oz, but like I said I didn't mind that this show did original things, though I wouldn't say it was original since Oz the Great and Powerful came out prior and they wanted to capitalize on it.

...another reason why, from S2 on they should have focused on 2 story arcs for each Season.

I actually think season 2 was much more stronger than later seasons and at least the characters acted like themselves and their arcs weren't repetitive. My issue is that they didn't commit to Cora till the end of the season and were impatient to go on do the new thing, a trademark of them of later seasons. I actually think that the 2 story arcs for one season was a mistake considering they had a lot of characters, and they kept on with the flashbacks so they barely had any time to invest in anything, turning each season to a big mess and more plot heavy instead of characters driven, so the characters sort of became puppets going through the same thing over and over. I didn't care for it and it grew old really fast.

-Why have Mulan being lesbian and later on when they did the same with Robin? But le me focus on Mulan. I didn´t like it because, first off, the character wasn´t originally that way (yes, even though these aren specifically the same ones). Why not introduce another character that could have been lesbian or gay? But more so, because I´m SO tired of stereotypes or clichés. The same way most of the media still portrays or mainly shows effeminate men as gay or tomboy women as lesbians. They should know that there are very feminine women that are lesbians (glad they at least made Ruby bi) and masculine men are gay.

I think I heard that they wanted to do this with Mulan, but Disney didn't allow it (homophobic parents won't buy merchandise anymore), so they changed it to two characters who weren't Disney Princesses. I actually think that they lied on twitter (they liked to do that often) and said that Mulan was never intended to be a lesbian/bi and she actually meant to confess about her feelings to Philip.

-The entire final Season. At first I was glad the show wasn´t going to end. But if they weren´t going to tell a better story and/or coninue with characters/movies that weren´t done then they shouldn´t have.

I never bothered with the final season and tbh I barely remember what happened in season 6 besides that awful musical episode.

-The waste of character that was Ursula.

I actually liked Regina as Ursula so it didn't bother me. Don't know what more they could do with her. Yes I know people like Ursula, but considering she's a sea witch and the show would have never had the kind of budget that would have allowed them to do an under the sea world, the only way they could have her is a villain on land and then that's not really Ursula.

-The whole idea of the different versions of the same story. Let me repeat myself: there were movies/characters you didn´t do and while true that´s up to debate. One thing is that there are variations of the story but the core is the same. More so, what did they do with it? Let´s have a Latina Cinderella just cause and also because we messed up in doing something with the original. Same with Rapunzel.

-Ah, and again, tied up with that last one. Did we really needed to introduce another version of Hook...because? So many characters yet to explore.

I remember something about it vaguely. Don't really know what to think about two versions of the same character, they could have found other fairytales I guess.

PS

And no, I didn´t like they race bent the original Rapunzel. Why? There was no need. For instance, they could have had Tiana there. Gave us a glimpe of Kida (for a future Atlantis story). Choose another character...let´s say, The Princess and the Pea. Or, if they wanted to, do so with Eilonwy. The movie is basically non existant to Disney. At least we could have had that.

Like I said, I never had an issue with not doing the Disney fanfic, so I didn't have a problem with Rapunzel looking differently. I actually think this show suffered from poor POC representation and did some offensive things if I remember correctly, like making the black genie a slave, killing off characters recklessly like Marian or Merlin. I'm sure there were more that I don't remember... Guinevere being mind controlled or whatever and they pretty much forgot about her and that's how her status remained.

[DC Fan]

Regarding your last thought. Diversity for the sake of forcing diversity doesn't work. The original characters were white. As said, if they wanted to go that route then choose the characters that are already diverse and have them be part of the story.

Another point that people should know in case they didn't or forgot. Regina was Puerto Rican. And Ariel was half Cuban half Spanish.

I'm Puerto Rican. I'm white (and my mother and her family are white and my father and his family black) yet I'm white. Not mixed. We do exist.

For instance, that's why I HATE the casting of the live action of Little Mermaid. Again, if they wanted to diversify do so with Ursula. In fact, the original fan casting of Queen Latifah would have been perfect. Or, Eric for that matter. But not the main character for diversity sake. Besides, I hate when people bring up the fact "Well, the Disney version takes place in the Caribbean?". Again, so what? We white Caribbean people exist. More so, the actress is just American. Yes, so much for respecting culture.

[Disney's Divinity]

I always thought Tamara was going to be Ursula early on until audiences really hated that plot with her and the writers ended it ASAP; there was some image that showed her real form was an older woman, and her glomping onto Neal made me think of Vanessa. The way they depicted that storyline was a mess though, but anyways I think the idea of Ursula having been banished to the real world prior to Storybrooke’s existence would have been interesting. The real world was used as a curse for the fairy tale characters, likewise it would’ve suited as one for Ursula, too. When Ursula finally did appear on the show, it had similarities to the Tamara story, with Ursula (and Cruella) having been sucked into the real world in the past, too, although they never gave Ursula much attention, unfortunately. I always felt the show should’ve ended by exploring gods / mythology a little more, tying it into the Dark One and Arthurian stuff as well. The first true mention of Ursula on the show was that she was thought of as some kind of goddess. I think they could’ve done both plots at the same time. Perhaps Ursula had been banished by Poseidon or Zeus or whatever for X crimes, and that’s why she came to Storybrooke to look for a way back to regain her lost power. Perhaps she was an evil goddess that the darkness derived from (or she was originally good, explaining why she was treated as good by the villagers, and the darkness took over her), and for taking her out the other gods may have rewarded the characters by restoring the Enchanted Forest as it was or something.

I know early on there was a fan theory that the nurse in charge of Regina’s asylum might’ve been Ursula. I thought that was a neat idea, too, since it was similar to Ursula and her garden of poor souls. She could’ve been one of those combo characters—a banished witch and Nurse Ratched, lol. That storyline they started season 6 with (and honestly, I wish it had continued over what we got instead), the Jekyll-Hyde science world, a combo type of the character could’ve been there along with Hyde.

I honestly haven't seen the series in a long while. S6 was a trainwreck just like 4B and 2B were. I only own the first five seasons; I would only buy S6 for the finale and the musical episode.

[Disney Duster]

...I honestly thought it was ridiculous that Elsa was going around a modern town with people around her wearing normal clothes and she's basically in a Halloween costume for the entire time, like it's kind of disgusting if you really think about that...

Why was that disgusting? Why did you use that word?

I think I heard that they wanted to do this with Mulan, but Disney didn't allow it (homophobic parents won't buy merchandise anymore), so they changed it to two characters who weren't Disney Princesses. I actually think that they lied on twitter (they liked to do that often) and said that Mulan was never intended to be a lesbian/bi and she actually meant to confess about her feelings to Philip.

That's interesting, because Mulan actually drops hints she liked Phillip before the scene where everyone but those paying attention thought she was gonna confess her love for Aurora. I am not trying to be mean with my "paying attention" comment, I am just saying I remember Mulan was hinting she liked Phillip. I can't remember exactly what it was she said, I just remember she did it.

I actually liked Regina as Ursula so it didn't bother me. Don't know what more they could do with her. Yes I know people like Ursula, but considering she's a sea witch and the show would have never had the kind of budget that would have allowed them to do an under the sea world, the only way they could have her is a villain on land and then that's not really Ursula.

But they had the real Ursula on the show later. Her story sucked but they still had the character.

[Farerb]

Why was that disgusting? Why did you use that word?

I don't know. How would you describe not washing your clothes and constantly wearing them for weeks?

But they had the real Ursula on the show later. Her story sucked but they still had the character.

I know, but they gave her Ariel's story, so to me she wasn't really Ursula, but only had the same name. The way they did it with Regina was better, and honestly by that point (second half of the fourth season), I was already tired from the show.

[Farerb]

I honestly haven't seen the series in a long while. S6 was a trainwreck just like 4B and 2B were. I only own the first five seasons; I would only buy S6 for the finale and the musical episode.

I honestly can't remember what they did in season 6. I remember hating season 5. Wasn't a fan of 4B as well, at that point it was pretty much evident to me that they didn't write according to any plan and just wrote as they went.
Season 2 after episode 16 was a mess for sure, but I also feel the characters were still strong at that point so it didn't bother me as much as later seasons.

I only own seasons 1-4 and honestly I only bought season 4 because of Frozen, but I don't really know how I feel about it now, especially since Frozen II pretty much nullified everything from that season.

[Disney's Divinity]

I loved season 5 personally, other than the PIXAR / Brave stuff. I enjoyed everything with Arthur, Merlin, Dark Swan, and Hades / Zelena--although I still wish we'd got something with Morgan le Fay. "Our Decay" is still one of my favorite episodes of the series. Sometimes I put on individual episodes like that one, but I haven't sat down and watched the series straight through in a while. It's been some time since I've re-watched Desperate Housewives, too. I buy a bunch of things on Blu-ray/DVD because my moods are really random. One day, I'll just suddenly get the urge to see something or other, which is why I like to have them on hand like that. I've been watching MHA and Supernatural on loops for the past year for the most part, with occasional interruptions.

[Disney Duster]

I don't know. How would you describe not washing your clothes and constantly wearing them for weeks?

Elsa magically created that dress so she could easily create the same dress over and over each day.

I know, but they gave her Ariel's story, so to me she wasn't really Ursula, but only had the same name. The way they did it with Regina was better, and honestly by that point (second half of the fourth season), I was already tired from the show.

Oh. Well I still consider her Ursula, but I get why you don't.

[Patricier21]

Now that Prince Philip lis dead, who is going to wake up Aurora now if she falls asleep? Maybe Mulan will get her chance now……

[unprincess]

groooaan too soon! too soon!

August was my boy, I was indifferent on the whole Wooden Swan ship, I thought it would have been cute if they hooked him up with Ruby(the shipping wars for this show got really crazy huh?)I just wish they had kept him as a regular and not have him disappear for whole seasons. I hated the redemption reset child crap they pulled on him but at least they ended up correcting it at the end and didn't kill him off, he got to ride off into the sunset in his harley.

there was some spot on casting in this show, the actresses playing Ariel and Merida and the main Frozen cast were great, I liked Maleficent just b/c she was Pam from True Blood. Also got a big lol when I found out adult Henry was played by the same actor who was psycho hipster cannibal Jared from Walking Dead.

[Farerb]

I finished watching 3A yesterday and on the one hand there's something that makes me want to continue, on the other I think that was the perfect ending and knowing what nonsense they're going to do next, maybe it's for the best, though maybe now that I know what happens, it wouldn't bother me as much as it did back then.

I remember I was really invested in it during those years because I thought there was some sort of meaning to this whole thing and I think that 3B was the first time I realized that that's not the case, that there isn't some plan they're following (there were cracks and red flags in season 2, but season 3B is really when they dropped the ball). Many inconsistencies, like that Cora episode, and the obvious pandering to shippers just made the whole show seem like a bad fanfic. It didn't help that they brought Frozen in later, just made it feel more fanfic-y tbh. To make things worse, they were always full of crap on twitter and those QA they did, they really belittled the fans and their intelligence that it was very insulting (and really the reason why I don't want to watch anything made by them anymore).

During my rewatch I realized that I really missed Regina and (pre Hook) Emma. Shipping wasn't my thing but their romances just felt contrived and forced. Emma/aromanticism will always be my preference of choice for her. Apart from that, I really don’t believe in making pairings as much of a focal point as a lot of people do. A well-written love story can be great but it shouldn’t come at the expense of a good all around plot, something that neither the writers nor the fandom seemed to understand.

[Farerb]

I watched few episodes from 3B and I wasn't bothered by it like I used too, but I was reminded by all the stupid decision they made like how heroes killed flying monkeys even though they were actually innocent people

I guess if anything it was more boring. Zelena is not really well written, her motivation is pretty weak and she seems more whiny than threatening, especially compared to Peter Pan, who hurt them psychologically and played mind games. I don't think she does anything remotely evil other than turning people into monkeys and killing Marian (unfortunate implication from that horrible twist is that Emma allowed for this situation to happen by knocking Marian out and leaving her defenseless). Anyway this entire half season just felt ani-climactic, but that's basically the show after 3A because they always kept a status quo that they went back to after each season so basically nothing changes, there are no consequences and everything is repeated again and again...

Why is Emma constantly irritated by Hook everytime they interact? Am I supposed to believe that she's in love with him?

Anyway, started season 4, I'm halfway through the first episode and I'm already bored (I didn't remember the show was boring back then, only dumb but at least somewhat enjoyable ), but for some reason I found this to be extremely funny:

[Disney's Divinity]

there was some spot on casting in this show, the actresses playing Ariel and Merida and the main Frozen cast were great

I agree, even Merida was perfectly cast even if she didn't fit on the show to me. Victoria Smurfit as Cruella was another perfect cast, imo. I would've liked a movie of her over whatever we're getting with the Emma Stone mess.

[Sotiris]

Once Upon a Time is trending on Twitter on account of the show's 10th year anniversary since the pilot premiered. It's interesting how popular the show still is and how fondly it's remembered. That wasn't always the case when the series was still airing. Since copycat shows like Epic and Book of Enchantment failed to materialize, maybe Disney should just reboot OUAT. It would be successful based on brand recognition alone.

Once Upon a Time Anniversary Quiz: How Well Do You Remember the Pilot?
https://tvline.com/2021/10/23/once-upon ... pilot-abc/