The Storybrooke Daily Mirror: OUaT in the Media, Cons and Other Real Life Encounters

[Souris]

They say they vet it through Epoll Market Research, which is a company that tracks data about entertainment industry. It's one of the rivals of Marketing Evaluations, the company that puts out Q scores, which is probably still the predominant one. Epoll named theirs E-scores. I don't know if networks or studios would actually care to put in effort to push anything. It ain't exactly the Emmys.

 

One of the metrics used is probably number of twitter followers. That sector of the population is most likely to vote in these things.

 

I'm not familiar with how respected EPoll is and what their methods are, hence my side-eye of them. I think publicists would definitely push -- publicists will push for anything that will give their clients a bit of positive press! Even if it is the PCAs, which I concur definitely ain't the Emmys. Also, I'm wildly cynical about this stuff. ;)

[retrograde]

Probably not a lot. I can't remember if Lana was ever nominated either. This award show, just like many of the big award ceremonies like the emmys, etc. typically always nominate the same-old "safe" shows or people (Sorry, but I feel like Ginny falls under this category :( ). But at least the people have a chance of getting a character nominated by writing him or her in.

Yet I imagine Lana would fare better than JMo or Ginnifer Goodwin in the voting. She/Regina has the kind of *coughcrazycough* fans willing to vote obsessively in online polls, which is basically what it takes to win a PCA. 

[Tripp]

Just delurking to say I'm a LP fan.  And I don't consider myself crazy or obsessive.  Out of the entire cast, I feel she is the most talented (with the exception maybe of RC).  It's her layered potrayel of Regina that has led me to root for Regina even when she's at her evilest.  In the hands of a lesser actor I possibly would hate the character like so many who post here do.  But it's also a show about fairy tales so I probably would sit back and enjoy it for what it is...entertainment.

 

Good for GG, I think she deserves it and should get more screentime on the show.  I find JM has been walking through her scenes, especially in S4.  Occasionally I see a light in her eyes that reminds why I rooted for her in S1 but it goes so quickly I wonder if I imagined it.  I want to get Captain Swan because I love him and think he throws himself in the role while JM doesn't seem to get into the passion like he does.  

 

My opinion on why they were nominated is because the PCA, like the other awards shows, tend to go for the hero characters and never really take any kind of changes in nominations.

[retrograde]

(BTW, I didn't mean to imply all Lana Parilla fans are crazy -- I like her plenty, too -- just that she appears to have a contingent of particularly vocal and active fans online, whom I can see campaigning and voting hundreds of times in a poll like this. JMo and Ginnifer do not seem to inspire quite that level of passion.)

[KAOS Agent]

The People's Choice Awards are mostly determined by a very heavy teen fanbase. The kind of people who have the time and energy to vote again and again and again. It's why shows like the Vampire Diaries which have a very low viewership comparatively often walk away with these awards. Once/Lana fans do not compete with those teen CW voters. And where those fanbases overlap, they will most likely skew away from the Once side of things.

 

This isn't a contest between Jen/Ginny/Lana and their popularity within the show. It's a name recognition thing and I guarantee you millions and millions more people know who Jennifer Morrison is over Lana Parilla. The PCAs want to nominate actors with high name recognition and no matter how popular Lana/Regina may be to Once fans, people who don't watch the show have no clue who she is. 

[Serena]

A few years ago there was a write in campaign for Nina Dobrev and she ended up winning the whole award so it can definitely work.

Yes, and I believe Nina was the first and only one to ever be nominated/win thanks to write-ins. Like I said, the power of the tweens.

[Stuffy]

I liked it better back when the ratings, box office sales, and music sales chose the winners. A show like the vampire diaries with it's low ratings compared to other shows obviously isn't the people's choice. They'd have higher ratings if they were. There would be years with repeat winners like when ER was big but at least they were accurate.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Stuffy

[HoodlumSheep]

I wish they'd do away with the "vote however many times you like" part of the PCA's (or at least I think it's one of the award shows that you can vote infinitely, without having to find loop holes (like clearing history/blocking cookies, etc.)) People would still find ways to multi vote, but at least it would cut down some of the teeny bopper madness that can occur from some of the shows.

[FurryFury]

It would only take one person posting the way to chain-vote on social media for everyone to start doing the same, though. It doesn't matter - if there's a will, there's a way. People want TVD to win so badly? Let them. It's just a stupid award.

[Serena]

They want people to vote lots of times. It means they spend ages on their website or tweeting "I'm voting for whoever for PCA!" And that's free publicity for them. Also, don't they chose the winners themselves regardless of who gets votes anyway?

[Stuffy]

They want people to vote lots of times. It means they spend ages on their website or tweeting "I'm voting for whoever for PCA!" And that's free publicity for them. Also, don't they chose the winners themselves regardless of who gets votes anyway?

I don't know if the PCAs do that but the Teen Choice definitely does.

[l star]

I believe the winner is directly tied to who will show up, especially with the TV awards.

From what I can tell, the nominees are heavily influenced by publicists, record companies/networks/studios promo choice, and how things were originally listed. The nominees don't evolve. The original lead or 'lead' is always the one nominated. Same for couples. For example, Rizzoli & Isles- I haven't seen anywhere that Angie Harmon was that popular in a long while. I don't just mean in the show, I mean as a celeb. But she has always been the lead name for that show and she is the one nominated. So basically, I'm not saying Jennifer and Ginnifer don't deserve the nominations. I'm saying I don't think they were nominated because they deserve it but because of the system. Which to me, sucks.

[formerlyfreedom]

Okay, I think we've exhausted the convo and opinions on the People's Choice Awards - let's get back to OUaT in the Media, and if you want to talk more about the awards overall, head over to the Small Talk topic, please.

[InsertWordHere]

The Galavant trailer totally started like the beginning of Once, with a man riding a horse on the beach. The voiceover even said something about fairy tales. Nice placement, ABC promo department. 

[Souris]

Georgina posted a photo of her, Colin & Sean watching the ep.

[Camera One]

Don't visit Once Upon a Time Twitter, unless you want to see how people in their marketing department wasted time on Photoshop to create images for "My mind was in the forest but my heart took me here" accoompanied by tweets like "Regina and Robin Hood's relationship grows increasingly complex."  And don't forget the requisite photoshopped "We will find the author" picture.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Camera One

[myril]

Actually think they are doing not that bad of a job with their Twitter account, I might not like what the show has become, but it is what it is, and that is what they're promoting.

 

Collecting season 4 related tweets randomly, mostly cast, crew: A OUaT Twitter Collection

[Emma]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DaydreamBR/status/532750136716566528

https://mobile.twitter.com/DaydreamBR/status/532689143378501632

Lana and Sean are going to be at the "Ever After" convention in Brazil.

[Writing Wrongs]

On a merchandising note:

 

For some reason the book Once Upon A Time: Behind The Magic is no longer available on Amazon or B&N. I find that odd. I remember seeing a copy on the shelves at B&N, but it is gone now. I wonder what the deal is? Now marketplace sellers are charging a high price for copies.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Writing Wrongs

[Writing Wrongs]

Jennifer Morrison defends excess of curses on Once:

 

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/01/once-upon-time-jennifer-morrison-curses/

[regularlyleaded]

From the article linked to above:

Though it seems like curses have become Once’s go-to foil for our favorite heroes, star Jennifer Morrison is quick to defend the ABC series, pointing out that the show itself is a fairy tale. “Fairy tales are not literal,” she tells EW on the set of Once while filming next Sunday’s spell-centric episode. “They are very metaphorical, and they are very representative of other things.

 
Oh, good God. I respect Jennifer Morrison and she strikes me as an intelligent person and is an eloquent speaker, but no. I'm sorry, but nope. This kool-aid that came straight from A&E's office isn't selling.

 

The comparison she makes is flawed IMO. It's not the same thing because it's not metaphorical curses, monsters, or witches. These are actual witches, monsters, and curses that appear all the damn time on this show. Literal snow monsters, literal flying monkeys, literal curses. So while that may be how she thinks of it in her head (as metaphorical for real life obstacles), IMO that doesn't work for us in the audience because what we see are actual monsters. She doesn't have to watch this show like we do. We have to watch the endless literal witches, curses, monsters, heart-ripping happen all the time and none of it ever means anything because the moment the curse is broken, the monster vanquished, or the witch melted, these characters go on completely unaffected.

 

I freaking DARE one of these writers to deal with a real cancer storyline as inconsequentially and frivolously as they deal with all these curses and magical shenanigans, and then not expect to get completely reamed for being so inept and thoroughly incompetent with their "storytelling". They would get ripped a bloody new one. So no, these curses are nothing like real life problems. Real life problems affect you. Nothing that happens on this show affects these people in the long run. They are completely over it and it has been forgotten, often as soon as the next episode and sometimes by the end of the same episode; it's like nothing ever happened. The moment the witch or curse is gone so is any short term and especially long term consequence it could've had on the characters.

 

I hate to break it to her, but about 80% of the characters on this show are exactly the same as when the show started back in S1. And I could argue that of the characters that have changed that "change" is mostly because the plot demands it and not because it came out of any actual organic and natural development. It happened because the plot said so.

 

This is why people bitch about the endless stream of curses and witches and magical bullshit. Because they don't affect anything on the show other than to pass the time.

 

(ETA: The writers in fact waste precious screen time throwing magical curses, witches, monsters, and Plot!Plot!Plot! at the audience in lieu of actually dealing with the human drama between these characters and dealing with the emotional repercussions. It think that's what people are really bitching about. The writers spend more time on plot points than the human drama.)

 
More from the Article:

Still, Morrison recognizes that the excess of curses might make it seem like these characters are crazy for not leaving Storybrooke. “But that’s like saying we’re crazy in real life,” she says. “In real life, stuff comes your way and you have to find a way to survive and deal with it. [...]"

These idiots can leave Storybrooke. You can leave the place with the endless witches and monsters and fairy tale holy wars. That's not the same thing as trying to escape something in real life like an illness. You can't escape an illness by moving. But, hey, guess what, you can escape the actual real wicked witch by leaving town!

 

Dammit, I think Jennifer drank the A&E kool-aid...It's a sad day.

Edited December 2, 2014 by regularlyleaded

[Rumsy4]

Well... as actors, they need to latch on to something to help them get into the scene. I'm going to give her a pass on this. I do agree though--the almost total lack of follow-through, the certainty that the season's villain will be defeated by the end of an arc, and constant resets, keep this show at the level of a Saturday morning cartoon.

[regularlyleaded]

Well... as actors, they need to latch on to something to help them get into the scene.

 

Well, yes, from an actor's point of view this is pretty much what they have to do to make things work in their head. It's her headcanon, and that's fine. I don't begrudge her whatever she says to herself to rationalize it and allows her do her job best. But as an audience member, I only know what's going on with this story based on 42 minutes of magical shenanigans that have no rhyme or reason, so my reaction is "Well, that's very nice for you and it sounds all pretty, but as someone who is only told the story with what's on the screen, that's a bunch of B.S."

Edited December 2, 2014 by regularlyleaded

[FabulousTater]

Huh. Well, that's an interesting take on the show's never-ending use of curses. I agree with everyone that it makes sense that JMo would rationalize it this way to be able to realistically portray her character.  It's not totally off the wall and make some sense when you're talking about classical fairy tales. And really, the actors have to act to against a green screen with imaginary objects and creatures that exist only in their minds so whatever gets them through the day.
 
But to me as a viewer the "it's meant to be representational not literal" argument is pretty weaksauce. I mean, sooo the curses are metaphors for life's never-ending obstacles? So the show is an allegory now? Okay, but even fantasy allegories should be well written (and make sense within it's own world rules) to convey their message. Otherwise it's just silly make-believe crap and then anything can be called an allegory 'cause we feel like it, and because it's "fantasy" and "fairy tales". But shit, if they get to call the magic and curses on this show "representational" of real life problems and that we should ignore that it literally makes no sense within the context of the show itself then by that standard any remotely fictional story elements can be interpreted as "representational". Even "Sharknado" is an allegory. Yaaaaaa, that's it. Those tornadoes flinging sharks out like missiles are just meant to represent how sometimes life never let's you have a damn break. It's man-eating shark after man-eating shark -- problem after problem. Those damn tornadoes (which I guess can represent deadly and capricious mother nature) fling man-eating sharks at you all the time and you must stick together with your loved ones and deal with it or die alone. And the only way you'll win the battle with the shark is by the power of a chainsaw, err, I mean "hope" that will see you through the difficult to chop with only a machete parts of the shark dark times.

 

ETA: And really, excusing the overabundance of curses by calling them "representational" doesn't make it all any less boring which was the original complaint in those EW forums. When the lead up and outcome of every curse is always the same, then the story is stale and boring to watch no matter what the curse "represents".

Edited December 2, 2014 by FabulousTater

[Alex]

Very unpopular opinion in these boards, but I actually agree with JMo.

I always thought (and think) that this show is about fairytales, with fairytales characters, that could eventually be related with real life, metaphorically, but this is and remains a fairytale. This is also why I seldom intervene in the characters threads: they're fairytales characters, often bidimensional, written in that way, and I'm fine with it.

I would think different if this was a show about real life, because there are actual problems, but again, it's about fairytales. Impregnated in fairytales, I'd say. And I also think this is the reason why A&E (and sometimes the actors) fall from the pear tree (Italian saying) when they're confronted about what could be an actual and real problem: they write a story to be taken at least at the second degree, not literally.

 

That's not the same thing as trying to escape something in real life like an illness. You can't escape an illness by moving.

Actually you can. You can escape in a safe place, not with your body, but with your mind. Or, at least, this is what happens to many (terminally) ill people I known. You also have many examples of this in literature: many 18th and 19th centuries writers were very ill and wrote to escape the illness, physical or psychological (Alcott, Austen, Keats, Leopardi, to name a few).

[HoodlumSheep]

Poor JMo having to defend her show :(. Like I understand people's complaints, but at this point the curses have just become something OUAT is known for. I don't mind them, it's just they aren't executes as well as they should. At least the Shattered Sight spell isn't like the last 2 mega curses. Season 2 was the only season without a mega curse right?

I don't mind JMo trying to rationalize the curses and the magic, etc. It's a fairy tale show.

[Dani-Ellie]

And really, excusing the overabundance of curses by calling them "representational" doesn't make it all any less boring which was the original complaint in those EW forums.

 

 

 

Very unpopular opinion in these boards, but I actually agree with JMo.

 

I think this is one of those situations where everyone's right. Of course as a viewer, using a curse every eleven or episodes is boring. It's like, there are other storytelling tactics, guys, let's change things up a bit.

 

But Jen has a point, too, especially when it's taken in concert with one of Emma's recent through-lines: learning how to live your life despite the challenges. Fairy tales are allegories because stories are allegories, using Fantasy Situation X to stand in for Life Situation Y. People's lives obviously don't include witches and curses, but they do include things that happen that are beyond our control, and we have to figure out how to deal with those things and still live our lives in the meantime. That was the sentiment behind Charming's "moments" speech: learning to hold onto what you have when everything around you is trying to take it from you. Finding the strength to not give up even when the obstacles seem insurmountable. Learning how to appreciate and enjoy and cherish the good even when the bad seems to outweigh it.

 

It's a sentiment I've seen more than a few times in fantasy shows. Early Edition did it when Gary found a trunk belonging to the man who had the newspaper before him. Gary was expecting the trunk to give him answers, and all that was inside it was a slip of paper saying, "Live your life." Disappointing, obviously, for Gary in the immediate sense, but the sentiment was that he still needed to find a way to be Gary Hobson and not just Chicago's savior. Medium did it when Allison had a dream that their youngest daughter was going to end up with cancer like, 20 years down the road. She was freaking out, and Joe was trying to convince her that even if it was going to happen, there was nothing they could do about it then and they couldn't spend the next 20 years worrying about it: "Otherwise there is no life. There's just waiting to die."

 

I happened to rewatch that Medium episode when my previous job was having financial trouble and we were afraid of losing our jobs. That quote was a comfort to me, even if the situations weren't similar, because the sentiment still applied. I couldn't spend my days and nights freaking out. I could have a plan in place in case the worst happened, of course, but what was going to happen was going to happen, and there was nothing I could do about it.

 

So, yeah, as storytellers, it would help if the higher-ups changed things up from time to time and used a different storytelling device, but at the same, in life there is always another "curse" waiting around the bend.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Dani-Ellie

[KingOfHearts]

While I understand Jen's analysis, I also agree with regularlyleaded in that the curses don't hold actual consequences like real life circumstances. In real life, people die, get evicted, get fired, break up, etc. They don't go back to normal after every problem. They and their lives change. The curses on Once are pointless because there's no difference between the before and after. Nothing is really at stake.

I believe the many challenges in Storybrooke can be compared to real life, but they're different because one has consequences and the other does not.

Edited December 2, 2014 by KingOfHearts

[Curio]

The curses on Once are pointless because there's no difference between the before and after. Nothing is really at stake.

 

Responding in the All Seasons thread.

[Emma]

I don't think Jen has drank the koolaid but she has been talking the company line since that incident that shall not be named again. With a few exceptions, her interviews from that moment on have been night and day from before.

I dislike whoever gave her a talk about things.

[YaddaYadda]

I don't think Jen has drank the koolaid but she has been talking the company line since that incident that shall not be named again.

 

I know you called it the incident that shall not be named again, but inquiring minds would like to know nonetheless?

[Emma]

I know you called it the incident that shall not be named again, but inquiring minds would like to know nonetheless?

The After Ellen disaster.

[Serena]

Honestly, it shouldn't be on Jen to defend the writing. She's not the one writing it. But if people do ask her questions like that, it's the only way she can answer them. And I agree with the way of thinking that it's not the many curses that are the problem, it's the lack of consequences for them.

[YaddaYadda]

The After Ellen disaster.

Ugh!  Right!  I'll remember this as the event that shall not be spoken of from now on.

[Stuffy]

Ugh!  Right!  I'll remember this as the event that shall not be spoken of from now on.

I thought you guys were talking about the Michael Coleman incident.  Ha ha. It's hard to keep up with all the fan-created drama JMo has to deal with.  They start to run together.  

Edited December 2, 2014 by Stuffy

[Mathius]

I think this is one of those situations where everyone's right. Of course as a viewer, using a curse every eleven or episodes is boring. It's like, there are other storytelling tactics, guys, let's change things up a bit.

 

But Jen has a point, too, especially when it's taken in concert with one of Emma's recent through-lines: learning how to live your life despite the challenges. Fairy tales are allegories because stories are allegories, using Fantasy Situation X to stand in for Life Situation Y. People's lives obviously don't include witches and curses, but they do include things that happen that are beyond our control, and we have to figure out how to deal with those things and still live our lives in the meantime. That was the sentiment behind Charming's "moments" speech: learning to hold onto what you have when everything around you is trying to take it from you. Finding the strength to not give up even when the obstacles seem insurmountable. Learning how to appreciate and enjoy and cherish the good even when the bad seems to outweigh it.

 

It's a sentiment I've seen more than a few times in fantasy shows. Early Edition did it when Gary found a trunk belonging to the man who had the newspaper before him. Gary was expecting the trunk to give him answers, and all that was inside it was a slip of paper saying, "Live your life." Disappointing, obviously, for Gary in the immediate sense, but the sentiment was that he still needed to find a way to be Gary Hobson and not just Chicago's savior. Medium did it when Allison had a dream that their youngest daughter was going to end up with cancer like, 20 years down the road. She was freaking out, and Joe was trying to convince her that even if it was going to happen, there was nothing they could do about it then and they couldn't spend the next 20 years worrying about it: "Otherwise there is no life. There's just waiting to die."

 

I happened to rewatch that Medium episode when my previous job was having financial trouble and we were afraid of losing our jobs. That quote was a comfort to me, even if the situations weren't similar, because the sentiment still applied. I couldn't spend my days and nights freaking out. I could have a plan in place in case the worst happened, of course, but what was going to happen was going to happen, and there was nothing I could do about it.

 

So, yeah, as storytellers, it would help if the higher-ups changed things up from time to time and used a different storytelling device, but at the same, in life there is always another "curse" waiting around the bend.

 

This. All of it.

[Shanna Marie]

I figure it would be a bit of a Career-Limiting Move to publicly criticize the decisions made by your bosses. So even if she thought, "You think you're tired of curses? Try being me! I'd love it if they could come up with something new," it's not like she could say that in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

 

Then again, it is a fairy tale show. Curses kind of come with the territory.

[regularlyleaded]

I figure it would be a bit of a Career-Limiting Move to publicly criticize the decisions made by your bosses. So even if she thought, "You think you're tired of curses? Try being me! I'd love it if they could come up with something new," it's not like she could say that in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

Then again, it is a fairy tale show. Curses kind of come with the territory.

True. It's not like I expected her to say, "Ya, this got old 2 seasons ago for me too.." but that doesn't mean the writers' Chicken Little routine with curses (whether it's meant to be "representational" or not)  is any less annoying because it's the same disaster all the time. Even if it's all meant to be a metaphor it still should be engaging for viewers and reusing the same disaster over and over isn't engaging or entertaining.

 

When I think of "representational" work or allegories one that comes to mind is  "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" that I read as a kid (it may not be the best example but I think it's an easily accessible reference). Now, if that book were to be placed into the mold of OUAT, the curses could be like Aslan dying 5 times. Every season Aslan dies...and comes back. Aslan's death and resurrection are meant to be representational of other themes, but OMG, despite the themes, after 5 deaths and resurrections I'd be like, "Dude, dead or alive. Pick one and go with it."

 

Or if this were a show based in real world drama the curses are the equivalent of floods. So it's a show that takes place along the Mississippi Delta and there's a flood all the time. Every season and mid season there's a flood. Wow. Much water. Such Excitement. :-| Don't tell me that wouldn't get boring. Jeeez, at least next time go with a drought or better yet, and I know this is really insane, how about they don't have any big curse at all and make the characters deal with each other without some mega-disaster (except it's not) hanging over their heads. Is that really too much to ask for from a TV show?

 

And now the bigger question -- Why didn't EW ask the writers or show runners this question? They are the ones making this up. JMo doesn't have any input into the story or plot so it's unfair to ask her to defend a plot she didn't conceive. It's one thing when actors are asked about their character and to essentially explain the character's head space, but the plot? They have no input or control over the plot.

Edited December 2, 2014 by regularlyleaded

[Serena]

I don't actually completely agree with the curse criticism. I mean, if it were, for example, the Sleeping Curse all the time, and every half season they had to save someone from it, then yeah, I'd get it. But this new curse they're doing is different than any they did before (well, kind of similar to the potion in 116, but it seems harsher). So since the consequences will be different, I don't feel such a sense of repetiveness.

[ShadowFacts]

I don't buy that the show is meant to be allegorical, Jen is being diplomatic and charitable.   But even if it is, it certainly is not well done.  It is just recycled, rehashed, retreaded DANGER! that falls pretty flat and of course that's lazy writing and boring viewing.  Other shows that are formulaic manage to keep most episodes interesting, and have the continuing relationships between main characters develop or devolve, as the case may be.  In a coherent way.  Not so with this one.

[Aliasscape]

if  the curse is a metaphor for life's neverending obstacles then well, it's not for the big ones because yeah those would be life changing for the characters and these really aren't. It's not cancer and natural disasters. 

 

It's when your car breaks down. Not through any fault of yours, not an accident, just the car has a flat, needs a new one. It's those times when you run out of milk in the house and you need to buy more, when your wifi goes down or the cable goes out. It's stuff that is REALLY stressful at the time but within 2 days you can basically forget about it. 

 

So basically this curse of shattered sight, it's not losing your family to death in a horrible accident. It's that time you and your boyfriend had that awful fight and debated breaking up for a couple days. It's that time your parents had to drop everything to go see a distant relative and left you in charge of your younger siblings with only last minute notice. It's that time that new friend you made sister's boyfriend got drunk and disappeared for two days and the two of you had to comfort her, and when your ex threatened to sue for full custody of the kid and you were angry they'd dare say that but you knew they were never gonna follow through on filing anything.

[Shanna Marie]

if  the curse is a metaphor for life's neverending obstacles then well, it's not for the big ones because yeah those would be life changing for the characters and these really aren't. It's not cancer and natural disasters.

Thank you for saying this. You've saved me the trouble of having to write the same post, that the major life obstacles change you, change your relationships and change your worldview.

 

Heck, even having a tire throw a tread while I was on a highway didn't just blow over for me. It totally changed the way I prepare for a trip and has made me paranoid about anything that feels slightly different about the way my car drives -- and there wasn't even any damage. I was able to get safely to the side of the road, and then about thirty seconds later, two pickup trucks stopped to help me. The mechanic changed the tire while the two pastors doing their Sunday visitation of homebound church members kept me company (and I think were making sure I didn't have to be alone with the mechanic), and I was home only about fifteen minutes later than normal. Even minor obstacles can have lingering effects in the way you face life, and we don't see those effects in these characters from massive obstacles.

[Minneapple]

Even minor obstacles can have lingering effects in the way you face life, and we don't see those effects in these characters from massive obstacles.

Ah yes. And this is the whole point that the interviewer should have made. It's not about the curses per se, because who really cares what kind of curse it is and what it does? The important thing is how the characters react to it, how do they overcome it, what kind of growth do they show because of it, what are the consequences of the curse. If stuff is happening but the characters aren't changing because of it, then...what is the point of the stuff happening? Especially if it's BIG DRAMATIC STUFF that's happening.

[regularlyleaded]

if  the curse is a metaphor for life's neverending obstacles then well, it's not for the big ones because yeah those would be life changing for the characters and these really aren't. It's not cancer and natural disasters.

 

Even minor obstacles can have lingering effects in the way you face life, and we don't see those effects in these characters from massive obstacles.

I think that's pretty much the crux of the problem (for me). Let's forget for a moment whether or not these "disasters" (not just the curses) are meant to be representative of real life obstacles. Whether they are or aren't is beside the point. When it comes down to it, the way the writers treat all these major "disasters" is to have the characters running around, desperate because they are all about to die (or never see each other again). But in the end, when the magical dust settles, it's like nothing happened and the characters don't change in way commensurate will all the fretting, nail biting, pearl clutching, and "Oh, noes, we's doomed! I love you all!" good-byes. They take very little to nothing away from that experience. The writers manufacture all this drama, a huge build-up of "The End IS NIGH, but then the clock rolls over and, lo and behold, The Rapture never happened and it's "Oh, well. Back to work..." I can't take the characters or the story seriously (never mind the actual show) when that's how it plays out time after time.

[formerlyfreedom]

Hey, folks, we seem to have gotten off track here - This is the spot to talk about OUAT in the media - interviews, pictures, articles, etc. So the original piece about the interview with JMo? Yes, here.

 

But we've moved off of that, and some of this conversation may be better had in the New Writers topic - or another of the many. So let's get back to keeping it on the Media, thanks!

[Emma]

Does it get better than this? Here's the article Jen wrote for Darling magazine.

http://poole73.tumblr.com/post/104177232076/jennifermorrisonsource-the-legacy-of-positivity

[YaddaYadda]

So I was looking for that app she mentions because I really love the concept and I cannot find it. 

[pezgirl7]

Have you guys seen this tweet photo of books on the shelf at the library?

https://twitter.com/heglahegla/status/540675340247379968/photo/1

All of them have something to do with the show characters. Of course the Captain Swan fans are freaking out because The Savior, The Hook and Along Came Romance are right next to each other! I like Good Guys Wear Black, Nothing Gold Can Sew and Evil Breeding. Well done set decorators!

[YaddaYadda]

Along Came Romance

 

The one next to it is called Busy Bodies, I think. 

[pezgirl7]

Yep! Some CS fans were of course freaking out about that too, going *wink wink*. I was able to read all the titles except the black book with very small lettering. Anyone have any ideas on what it says?

Edited December 5, 2014 by pezgirl7