Wishing On A Star: What We Want To Happen

[angelwoody]

I was amusing myself by trying to decide who I would've liked to see write Once and what it would look like in their hands.  I considered George R.R. Martin since he loves world building, but he would probably just show a lot of boobs and kill everyone.  Aaron Sorkin would certainly work a lot of real-world topics into the show, but all of the characters would constantly be walking and talking really fast.  Joss Whedon would probably do a good job with Emma, that is, until he ultimately left to do a new show and then Marti Noxon would take over and have Emma and Rumpel have sad, creepy dumpster sex...  I think that JK Rowling would be able to work wonders for the depth and consistency of the mythology, world building, establishing and following the laws of the world of the show, but I don't know how she'd do with the romance... 

[Crimson Belle]

Pair Joss Whedon and the ghost of JRR Tolkien, and you might have something.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Crimson Belle

[FurryFury]

Whedon would probably do a good job with Emma, that is, until he ultimately left to do a new show and then Marti Noxon would take over and have Emma and Rumpel have sad, creepy dumpster sex...

We already have Rumbelle, due to Espenson's obsession with dysfunctional good girl/bag boy relationships. But I could see Noxon making Charming leave Snow because a vision told him so... Oh wait, we already saw the same with Neal and Emma, only it was Pinocchio instead. Edited September 19, 2014 by FurryFury

[Dani-Ellie]

Aaron Sorkin would certainly work a lot of real-world topics into the show, but all of the characters would constantly be walking and talking really fast.

 

Or he'd have Emma decide that Hook hasn't dated enough since Milah and he should date other people first. (I'm sorry. It's been a bazillion years since Sports Night and I still think the Dana Whitaker Dating Plan is one of the most needless relationship angst things I've ever seen. [/Casey/Dana shipper])

[Souris]

I would love Vince Gilligan to do Once, because I would love Vince Gilligan to do most shows. Yes, Breaking Bad was WAY too hard-core for the Once brand, but he also did the absolute best Mulder/Scully dynamics in his X-Files eps. And the movies he wrote were off-kilter romances.

[Curio]

I would love Vince Gilligan to do Once, because I would love Vince Gilligan to do most shows.

If anything, he could at least fix the awful continuity on this show. He'd also have the balls to go back and address some Season 1 and Season 2 details that should have already been dealt with. Imagine: there would actually be awesome character-driven episodes about Emma discovering Regina murdered Graham, or Henry finding out that Rumple wanted to kill him at one point, or Belle realizing Hook was telling the truth about Rumple murdering his wife. (I still hold out hope those issues can be addressed on this show, but I'm not holding my breath. Which is why this post is in the wishes thread, I guess.)

Edited September 19, 2014 by Curio

[ShadowFacts]

If anything, he could at least fix the awful continuity on this show. He'd also have the balls to go back and address some Season 1 and Season 2 details that should have already been dealt with. Imagine: there would actually be awesome character-driven episodes about Emma discovering Regina murdered Graham, or Henry finding out that Rumple wanted to kill him at one point, or Belle realizing Hook was telling the truth about Rumple murdering his wife. (I still hold out hope those issues can be addressed on this show, but I'm not holding my breath. Which is why this post is in the wishes thread, I guess.)

I second.   Breaking Bad didn't have an unnecessary scene.  The character development and redemption or non-redemption were so carefully constructed.  Albuquerque was a character in itself, so imagine what he would have done with Storybrooke.  The photographic angles.  I could go on.

[FurryFury]

Hate to be the voice of dissent, but from what I know about BB, it was very, very male-driven. Wasn't the only major female character pretty much hated by the fandom? One of the things I really like about Once is how many female characters it has, and how their relationships with each other and with guys define and drive the show. There aren't many shows like that, even among soap opera-ish stuff. So I'm not sure it would be such a good fit.

Edited September 19, 2014 by FurryFury

[Curio]

Hate to be the voice of dissent, but from what I know about BB, it was very, very male-driven. Wasn't the only major female character pretty much hated by the fandom?

 

Breaking Bad being a primarily male-driven show doesn't take away from the fact that the story was constructed beautifully. And I don't care what people say, Skyler was kick ass. The fans not liking her has more to do with the strange online culture that doesn't like it when a woman stands up to a man or end up hating her when she has to play the role of the bitch to get what she wants in order to survive.

 

But I think the main point is that Vince Gilligan knew how to pay attention to story details. Small things like a pair of pants that were lost in the first episode ended up making a re-appearance in the very last episode. The writers on BB would take this primarily female-driven show and just make the story so much tighter, and there wouldn't be pointless flashback episodes to characters who end up dying 5 episodes later anyways.   

[FurryFury]

What I meant was that were they to have a similar idea, I'm not sure if we'd get so many female characters in the center of the action.

[Rumsy4]

When Anna Gunn posted her article on the hatred of Skyler White, Mo Ryan wrote one in response that brings up some of the issues as to why she might have been so hated by the fandom--because she was not properly fleshed-out initially. Both are well-worth reading, IMO. 

I understand the appeal of BB, but it wasn't for me. Nor was Mad Men, or Dexter, or Hannibal. I don't find their male lead protagonists sympathetic. I won't say that all the female characters in ONCE are well-written, but at least we have several, and they are not all cut from the same cloth. 

[ShadowFacts]

Comparing Once with the contemporary gritty dramas or Mad Men is really apples and oranges, but just in response to angelwoody's musing about what Once would look like if written by different people, I think Vince Gilligan's overall care and craft and attention to detail and planning ahead and sucking the viewer into a world that is pretty repulsive would make Once a hell of a lot more interesting.  He is just a superior writer and producer to Once's staff. 

[Camera One]

It's hard to think of a good showrunner to have on this show, because most series get pretty bad by the last few seasons, and/or the original showrunner gets bored and pursue/focus on something else and hand it off to others, and that's usually not great for a show either.  

 

For example, JJ Abrams is generally good for the first two seasons and then he throws in some annoying "twist" and/or leaves.  The producers of "Lost" did a great 5.5 seasons and then went full-out plot plot plot in the last 1.5.  The producer of "Everwood" had a wonderful season and a half, and then the triangle stuff went up the wazoo.  Showrunners tend to be either trigger happy (another shocking death this week!) or love triangle heavy (here's yet ANOTHER way to break the main couple up), all in the name of keeping up the tension, raising the stakes, etc.

 

So I don't know who I would "wish" for to take over "Once".  

 

As for "grittier" series, I tend to feel that they are generally easier to write for.  Graphic violence, sex and morally questionable scenes generally shock and awe the audience into being emotionally affected and suddenly, it's regarded as deep, daring or profound.  For example, showrunners love to pat themselves in the back for killing off a major character, but to me, it's the easy way out.  You get automatic emotions and it's so much easier to make that dramatic, and it raises new plotlines and provides a jumpstart for new storylines.  

Edited September 20, 2014 by Camera One

[stealinghome]

I don't know that I would want them to out-and-out take over the series, but I've always wished the writers of Once and The Good Wife could meld minds. The writers of Once have much better Big Ideas, but in terms of script quality, continuity, and general writing tightness, The Good Wife has them so beat it should be illegal. If we could bring that level of narrative and writing tightness to Once, it would be a 300% better show.

[Dani-Ellie]

Y'know, who did The 4400? Because I liked that show a lot. They had the Big Ideas (because, c'mon, 4400 missing people all get plunked back down in a ball of light and all of them have some kind of crazy supernatural ability??) but they had the script tightness, too. I remember being super-impressed when a line at the end of the second-season premiere came to fruition in the second-season finale. (It also needs to be said here that for me, this was coming off the heels of Charmed, which wasn't exactly known for the tightness of its scripts, either, heh.)

 

And I really liked that they subverted a lot of expectations, like how the abductors of all these people weren't aliens or how Tom and Diana were allowed to remain a male/female partner team without the cliche UST stuff (and when they did do the rare UST nod, it was played for laughs). I still mourn the loss of that show. *sigh*

Edited September 20, 2014 by Dani-Ellie

[Shanna Marie]

Is the Farscape team doing anything these days? They managed a lot of plot with some big arcs, a lot of wonderful character moments, a nice mix of drama and humor, and one of the best TV romantic relationships ever, a nice slow build between people who started out as enemies and gradually grew together as their walls came down (sound familiar?).

[Souris]

Ooh, nice thought, Shanna Marie! Rockne O'Bannon of Farscape came onto Revolution as a producer last season, but that got canceled. I don't know if he's up to anything new. Farscape really was done right. Apart from a few of the eps that they wrote on LSD or magic mushrooms. Lots of strong characters.

[FurryFury]

For example, JJ Abrams is generally good for the first two seasons and then he throws in some annoying "twist" and/or leaves.

 

Actually, Alias was the last show Abrams actually showran, AFAIK. He's more of a person who helps with plotting/producing the first season now, and to be honest, he's very hit or miss. His style of very, very slow development (see: Fringe, Person of Interest) of season one really annoys me - both shows really took off only in seasons 2 and 3.

 

Is the Farscape team doing anything these days?

 

O'Bannon has done a lot of stuff since then, and basically everything was trash. V, Revolution, stuff like that.

[KingOfHearts]

 

I want Scar. In lion form, thank you very much.

 

Probably not in lion form, but I'd love to see Scar too. He'd be a perfect villain for the show, or even as a love interest for Regina. He can have the same scar on his face and same nickname. The Lion King is actually based on Hamlet, so fusing its source material together with the adaptation would be cool. Scar is a greedy throne usurper who would fit right in with all the other twisted royals of the Enchanted Forest.

 

I'd also love to see Dracula or the Headless Horseman living in the Land Without Color.

Edited September 20, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[FurryFury]

I actually think that some of Shakespeare's more fantastical plays could fit Once pretty well. And while I've never seen Lion King, from what I've heard of Scar, he certainly sounds way more fitting for Regina (not to mention, simply more interesting) than Robin Hood.

[stealinghome]

The fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream were mentioned on the town bulletin board in 2x01....

 

I would love Once to bring some Shakespeare in, but I also think there's no way I wouldn't look at what Once does, look at what Gargoyles does, and then just start rolling my eyes at Once. Gargoyles just set the bar in terms of bringing Shakespeare into a fantasy show in a serious way. With our luck, Adam and Eddie will look at Richard III and say "He's just a poor misunderstood woobie! Let's make him the hero!" Blech.

 

Actually, there's a thought. Get the people behind Gargoyles to come work on Once--that show was really well-written for most of its run. (It declined in its last season but I think the original showrunner and a lot of the original writers had been kind of pushed out by that point?)

[Camera One]

Of the 1990's animated films, which ones have the writers not brought in the title character?

- Aladdin (though the genie stuff has been done)

- The Lion King

- Pocahontas (I can see this as a one-time episode, or just a brief cameo)

- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (same as Pocahontas.  Probably a cameo or a one-off)

- Hercules (maybe done along with Greek Myths?  They did do Medusa but didn't create a new world for it)

- Tarzan (this one doesn't really have a megavillain, so maybe just a cameo)

 

Of those, I can only see a possible half-season arc for "The Lion King" and maybe "Aladdin".  The problem with "Aladdin" is that they have already partly done it on "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" and as much as I like the actor, I did not enjoy his portrayal of Jafar at all.

 

Unfortunately, I don't see the writers being interested in Shakespeare, except maybe a quip about Romeo and Juliet (sort of like how they Mr. Darcy in "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland") or a one-off like Beowulf, also in "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Camera One

[stealinghome]

They could always decide to bring Mulan back and do a half-season involving her stuff--they're certainly doing the same for

Aurora.

[MaiLuna]

I wish there was a scene in the future that is the opposite of the thinking tree scene in "Saving Henry" where Regina actually regrets everything evil she's done. And then gives a sincere, big apology to Snow. If that ever happens I will literally throw a party.

[KingOfHearts]

 

I wish there was a scene in the future that is the opposite of the thinking tree scene in "Saving Henry" where Regina actually regrets everything evil she's done. And then gives a sincere, big apology to Snow. If that ever happens I will literally throw a party.

I just noticed that Regina being tied up to things and going over the awful acts she's done has happened on the show more than once. In the nightmare sequence of An Apple Red as Blood, she felt like a martyr who "wanted to win for once". In the Cricket Game when she's tied up to a pole for her execution, she says her only regret was that she wasn't able to cause more pain for Snow. Then in Save Henry for the Regrets Tree, she admits to having no remorse at all. It seems to be a running theme with her. Maybe next time she's tied up she'll actually say something redeeming.

Edited September 21, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[MaiLuna]

I just noticed that Regina being tied up to things and going over the awful acts she's done has happened on the show more than once. In the nightmare sequence of An Apple Red as Blood, she felt like a martyr who "wanted to win for once". In the Cricket Game when she's tied up to a pole for her execution, she says her only regret was that she wasn't able to cause more pain for Snow. Then in Save Henry for the Regrets Tree, she admits to having no remorse at all. It seems to be a running theme with her. Maybe next time she's tied up she'll actually say something redeeming.

Interesting catch! She was also tied up and tortured for killing Owen's father in 2.21 and didn't regret it either.

[Shanna Marie]

And when Regina was telling Zelena why her quest to kill Snow was wrong, the reason she gave was that if she had killed Snow, she wouldn't have Henry now. Not, you know, that killing Snow was actually wrong or that Snow didn't deserve to be killed.

 

I want that apology/heart return booth at the next town carnival.

[Shanna Marie]

Joss Whedon would probably do a good job with Emma, that is, until he ultimately left to do a new show and then Marti Noxon would take over and have Emma and Rumpel have sad, creepy dumpster sex

I got started thinking about this (and I don't recommend you do this as you start falling asleep unless you want weird dreams that lead to massive 3 a.m. insomnia attacks), and as much as I love a lot of Joss's work and Firefly remains one of my favorite things ever, I think he would do some really screwy things with this show. On the positive side, the big twists would be built up to in a reasonably organic way and would have lingering consequences. On the negative side, he has this weird love=pain/death attitude in which no one is allowed to be in a happy relationship, and even external conflicts of the "we have to beat the villain to have time to be together" or "I have to cross worlds to make my way back to you" don't count.

 

So if he'd been running this show, Marian would have arrived in Storybrooke from the past just in time to find Regina crying on Main Street over Robin's dead body after he was killed by a stray bolt from Little John's stolen crossbow -- because we need to be reminded that no one is safe and that death isn't always bold and heroic but sometimes is utterly pointless.

 

Meanwhile, the moment Emma kissed Hook, he'd suddenly revert to his evil pirate self -- or worse -- and would go on a rampage, tormenting her and her family and friends. She'd eventually have to push him through a portal to save the town. Then she'd learn that this was something Past Rumple did to her before he let her go through the time portal so that her kiss would turn him evil because he couldn't cope with the idea that he'd ever make a truce with Hook and wanted to give his future self an excuse to kill him. Just when she was starting to move on and explore the idea of a relationship with someone else, she'd be on some adventure in another world and run across a back to his good self Hook, who either remembers nothing of what happened after that kiss and doesn't understand why she isn't overjoyed to see him or who remembers it all and has been driven nearly mad with guilt. Then she has to decide whether to bring him back and whether to go on with the reasonably normal relationship she's got starting or whether to be with her true love that she can never really be with. She might try being with him, but the temptation to kiss him is too strong, so they can't really be together but can't really be with anyone else. When they realize they've written themselves into a corner, they'd give him a spinoff in which he moves to New York or Boston to try to cope with the modern world and Regina goes with him to be his new sidekick. She's still got her old snark and doesn't let him get away with anything but has gained a bit of empathy and compassion. That works pretty well until some idiot decides to make her a love interest, and then they turn her into Emma Lite, giving her some supernatural give that makes her a Savior too, and she even goes blond. Then that sends the show so horribly off the rails that they have to kill her character offscreen and reboot the series.

 

Also, the usual cast of favorites would make guest appearances (basically, everyone who was in Much Ado About Nothing -- hey, they have a start with Amy Acker already). And if you think the current cast is bloated, every guest actor he became friends with or whose character he liked would get added to the regular cast and shoehorned in, regardless of whether or not the character really fits. The list of regular cast members would last until the first commercial break.

[SilverShadow]

My top pick for an AU showrunner would be Greg Weisman. He works in animation mostly, but he's vastly underrated. He created and ran the series Gargoyles, was in charge of the second season of W.I.T.C.H., co-developed and ran Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice, and is currently working on Star Wars: Rebels. He's a continuity fiend and not just in terms of what happened when but characters and their personalities and motivations. Heroes have flaws but are still good people, and villains can be sympathetic and eventually turn around, but they have to EARN it. He's also the king of seeding plot threads and reveals and paying them off later in ways that feel satisfying and not cheap or contrived.

[Rumsy4]

The showrunners of Eureka would be PERFECT for ONCE. Eureka was a Sci-Fi show that never took itself seriously. There was a lot of plot! plot! plot! rush, especially in the early seasons, but they also did a great job with their characters. At one point in the Show, some of the characters are put under a virtual simulation with an alternate reality of events. Only a couple of months has elapsed in real time, but those in the simulation think they've been away for three years, and that their loved ones have moved on. When the characters wake up, the repercussions of the brainwash are dealt with in the narrative. For example, one half of the main couple was fed the illusion that her fiance got into a relationship with his assistant in those fake three years of her absence. When she is rescued from the Virtual Reality, she still struggles with trusting her fiance and his assistant, even though she knows what she had experienced was only an illusion. It had felt so real to her, she had to work hard to trust those people again.

 

In ONCE, realistically, the fake memories people had would have and should have caused a lot of conflict. For example, David and Abigail lived as a married couple. Some random couple was bringing up Jefferson's daughter as their own. And yet, we don't know how any of these characters felt about their cursed lives. Does it still feel real to them? How do the people who parented Grace for 28 years feel about their loss? What do Abigail and Frederick feel about her having been intimate with David while Cursed? By rushing from plot to plot, and refusing to give any kitchen sink moments, ONCE has ended up with extremely shallow writing. 

Edited September 23, 2014 by Rumsy4

[KingOfHearts]

 

How do the people who parented Grace for 28 years feel about their loss?

That brings up a question I've had - do the cursed folks feel as though it's been 28 years? Their memories seemed to have reset themselves for the most part every day, except for their interactions with Regina and non-cursed people. Then when time became unfrozen, they began to remember each new day. So, did it feel a like just a few months to them, or do they "feel" the whole 28 years? I wish the show would answer these kinds of questions.

Edited September 23, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

I was so curious about all that when Season 1 ended.  Those are the character stories which could have been told.  So many shows, including "Once, just ignore the people in the background, the minor characters and the "redshirts".

 

There are so many examples of this, even in Season 3.  In terms of minor characters, there was the Flying Monkeys issue.  These are their friends, their people, turned into Monkeys, and the "heroes" were shooting them with guns and running them through with swords?  When earlier in the episode, we got a flashback of Aurora and Philip being turned into Flying Monkeys.  This point was raised immediately on the message boards, but the writers didn't even *think* about that problem.  Yes, those are just minor characters, but they trumpet their return cameos, yet they don't bother showing the main characters have any real human concerns about them?

 

They had Zelena going after Snow's baby, but they said nothing about how Zelena was affecting the populace.  If Zelena wasn't hurting anyone else, then it makes Snow and Charming selfish in displacing the entire world, just to save their baby.  I get that the writers have zero interest in showing Snow and Charming ruling and managing the return to the Enchanted Forest after all these years, even though there are so many good stories there to tell. The writers don't care about the ordinary people in the realm, so in turn, it reflects poorly on Snow and Charming, who are *supposed* to be beloved, good rulers (based on the fact that no one revolts and people seem to respect them) but because of the writing, they look like they are selfish, incompetent, horrible leaders who put their needs ahead of the populace.  

 

And Neverland.  We never find out what happened to the Lost Boys.  We never see Wendy or Peter or Michael dealing with their trauma of being hired goons for the boys and trapped in a cage for a century for Wendy.  

 

It is just frustrating, since there is so much that *could* be told.  And this is only talking Season 3.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Camera One

[ShadowFacts]

 

And Neverland.  We never find out what happened to the Lost Boys.  We never see Wendy or Peter or Michael dealing with their trauma of being hired goons for the boys and trapped in a cage for a century for Wendy.

 

That whole kettle of fish was particularly galling to me.  I don't get around the fandom that much, but I would have thought Wendy in a cage would have ignited some sort of backlash.  The story would be so much richer if these characters were touched upon in some way in Storybrooke. 

[angelwoody]

The showrunners of Eureka would be PERFECT for ONCE. Eureka was a Sci-Fi show that never took itself seriously. There was a lot of plot! plot! plot! rush, especially in the early seasons, but they also did a great job with their characters. At one point in the Show, some of the characters are put under a virtual simulation with an alternate reality of events. Only a couple of months has elapsed in real time, but those in the simulation think they've been away for three years, and that their loved ones have moved on. When the characters wake up, the repercussions of the brainwash are dealt with in the narrative. For example, one half of the main couple was fed the illusion that her fiance got into a relationship with his assistant in those fake three years of her absence. When she is rescued from the Virtual Reality, she still struggles with trusting her fiance and his assistant, even though she knows what she had experienced was only an illusion. It had felt so real to her, she had to work hard to trust those people again.

 

In ONCE, realistically, the fake memories people had would have and should have caused a lot of conflict. For example, David and Abigail lived as a married couple. Some random couple was bringing up Jefferson's daughter as their own. And yet, we don't know how any of these characters felt about their cursed lives. Does it still feel real to them? How do the people who parented Grace for 28 years feel about their loss? What do Abigail and Frederick feel about her having been intimate with David while Cursed? By rushing from plot to plot, and refusing to give any kitchen sink moments, ONCE has ended up with extremely shallow writing. 

I agree with everything you said.  I freaking LOVED Eureka and the writers did a great job of doing over-arching stories along with the crazy-thing-going-on-of-the-week.  They wrote believable, organic relationships, major events had consequences that mattered...  I'm still said that show got cancelled.

[KingOfHearts]

 

The showrunners of Eureka would be PERFECT for ONCE. Eureka was a Sci-Fi show that never took itself seriously. There was a lot of plot! plot! plot! rush, especially in the early seasons, but they also did a great job with their characters.

I just started watching it. I love the pacing. It's so much like Once - a bunch of weird characters living in a small town full of secrets with a new sheriff and their child. I noticed even in the PLOT PLOT PLOT scenes, it wasn't too rushed. I too love how it doesn't take itself seriously. I really wish Once would introduce more comic relief because some of the material is just plain asking for it.

 

I wish Once would put in a character who was comically perky or funny. I find most of the characters to be way too serious or dramatic. They really need someone there to lighten the mood. The show can get overly depressing in tone at times, and I'm not the only one I've heard said this.

 

I find the characters tend to meld together instead of contrasting. They need a "rock the boat" kind of person. As far as the cast's relationships go, everyone seems to be okay with each other for the most part. The show has plateaued in many ways. It's just one happy family fighting the crime of the week. That's probably enough for some people, but I know the show can do better than that because it has in the past. It needs fresh blood that intends to stay.

Edited September 23, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[ShadowFacts]

I just started watching it. I love the pacing. It's so much like Once - a bunch of weird characters living in a small town full of secrets with a new sheriff and their child. I noticed even in the PLOT PLOT PLOT scenes, it wasn't too rushed. I too love how it doesn't take itself seriously. I really wish Once would introduce more comic relief because some of the material is just plain asking for it.

 

I wish Once would put in a character who was comically perky or funny. I find most of the characters to be way too serious or dramatic. They really need someone there to lighten the mood. The show can get overly depressing in tone at times, and I'm not the only one I've heard said this.

 

I find the characters tend to meld together instead of contrasting. They need a "rock the boat" kind of person. As far as the cast's relationships go, everyone seems to be okay with each other for the most part. The show has plateaued in many ways. It's just one happy family fighting the crime of the week. That's probably enough for some people, but I know the show can do better than that because it has in the past. It needs fresh blood that intends to stay.

 

I think your wish may come true with

the arrival of Will Scarlett. That guy had a way with line delivery that cracked me up on Wonderland.

.  And I totally agree that this show needs an injection of humor and a departure from the histrionics and villain battling.

[KingOfHearts]

I'd like to see Regina or Hook get fake memories. I'd like to see them be the complete opposite of what they usually are. Perhaps Regina is the sweetest Disney princess ever, and Hook is the sensitive nerdy guy at the coffee shop.

[Camera One]

I want to see the Blue Fairy laughing at Tinkerbelle after finding out Marion showed up.

[Mari]

Yup--and then point out to Tink what did you think  would happen when you used stolen dust? 

[Anakerie]

Jareth: *impatiently taps Rumple on the shoulder*

Rumple:  What do you want?

Jareth:  I want you to stop playing with my balls, that's what I want!

Rumple: WTF? These are MY balls, thank you very much! Yours aren't nearly this big!

Jareth: They are too! And you're not even doing it right! You're not supposed to just hold them, you're supposed to move them around in your hands.

Rumple: They're my balls and I'll play them them however I want to!

Jareth: Even Hoggle is better at playing with them than you are!

[stealinghome]

Is there ay chance we could put a freezing spell, a la Pan or Regina or Rumpel, on this guy and kidnap him to the Once writers' room? Because, THIS:

Usually [they don't work] if they violate the emotional reality. We can sustain pretty enormous swings, in terms of the reality of what’s happening to our characters. But it can’t violate any emotional reality. That’s probably where we spend the most time -- making sure that if something with a certain magnitude happens, that our characters have enough time to really process, react and unpack it to each other. "What did this event mean to us?"

[Mari]

Is there ay chance we could put a freezing spell, a la Pan or Regina or Rumpel, on this guy and kidnap him to the Once writers' room? Because, THIS:

Can we clone him instead?  Because I really enjoy Sleepy Hollow, and don't want to mess with that.

[FurryFury]

Eh, I'm not sure. The best part of SH is the chemistry between the leads, and this is more casting than writing. The writing itself pretty much sucks, TBH. I had to stop watching last year around ep 10 simply because the plots were awful, like Haven or even Sanctuary levels of awful. I liked both Ichabod and Abbie a lot, but I was meh on Jenny and Irving, and Katrina and John Noble's character bored the hell out of me. The "historical characters as members of conspiracy" stick didn't work for me at all, because I know next to nothing about the American Revolution and am not interested enough to check (now, if it was Civil War...). A few of the s1 episodes showed some real promise (the pilot, 6 and/or 7, IIRC), but I still find the show completely overrated.

 

At this point, any writer, or even critic, who could get into Adam and Eddie's heads that Regina apology shouldn't be the focus of the show would work, I think.

[Amerilla]

Word, FurryFury. SH is all about the chemistry of the two mains - the plotting plods, the mythology makes very little sense, and as someone who does know quite a lot about the American Revolution, I have to shut off my brain to keep myself from hurling things at my TV. Plus, I'm distracted by the presence of so much Spanish moss on the trees in "upstate New York."

Edited October 7, 2014 by Amerilla

[Camera One]

Wow, that quote made him sound so good.  Are there any good writers out there?  

[stealinghome]

To be fair, I personally don't find Sleepy Hollow to be that poorly written--it's head and shoulders above Once (not that that's hard). Once could really use an infusion of its tongue-in-cheek vibe, as a matter of fact. Once tries to be frigging Shakespeare all the time (and fails...miserably). Sleepy Hollow revels in its ridiculousness but takes itself seriously enough that the viewers are never insulted.

Edited October 8, 2014 by stealinghome

[Anakerie]

I would love for George RR Martin to get his hands on this. It would be epic. We'd have Charming's head on a spike, Hansel and Gretel sleeping together, and Crazy Evil Henry.  Storybrooke, Portland, Augusta, and Bangor all in an epic battle to take over the state of Maine. There would be constant debate over the secret identity of Rumple's mother. (You know NOTHING, Mr. Gold!). Grace would become almost feral and then train to be an assassin. And Regina would be like "Evil queen? Bitch please, I'll SHOW you evil queen!" A quarter of the town's population would have died at the wedding of Rumple and Belle in spite not even being invited. And former house-pet Ruby is now leading a pack of wolves.

[FurryFury]

Hansel and Gretel sleeping together,

 

After seeing a version of them than had both as modern-times ex-child porn stars and assassins, who crossdressed as each other and, yes, slept together, nothing would faze me anymore.

[El Seed]

My biggest wish is for characters to react to each other appropriately and logically, and for the plot to develop from how the characters would behave rather than characters acting out of character in order to drive the plot, but I sincerely doubt I'll ever get that wish. So instead, I want a spinoff or something where the show is about Emma and Charming as the co-sheriffs of Storybrooke and Hook helps them with their investigations. Snow can join the cast if she's Bandit Snow, but if she's doormat-Regina's-biggest-cheerleader Snow then she can pop up from time to time with Snowflake and Henry just so we know they're alive. If Regina is season 1 Mayor Mills she can join too, but if she's the current "biggest victim ever" version then she can stick with the main show. I don't know what I would title the spinoff. Storybrooke PD? Grimm Justice? Stop! Or My Daughter Will Shoot?

[Whodunnit]

I want to see Elsa and Anna's parents be named Kay and Greta like the two kids in The Snow Queen.

 

I want to see wherever it is that Hook has been living.

 

I want to see characters delegating jobs coughsnowwhitecough to professionals paid to actually do said jobs like calling an electrician to deal with the power station.

 

I want to see the apartment that Henry had circled in the newspaper in episode 3-22. Did they ever go look at it?

 

I want to see Elsa go ice skating.