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

[daxx]

I bought 1-2 and the musical on iTunes. But I passed on 7. I was no longer feeling the need to be complete. I do wish they had released season 3 though.

[KAOS Agent]

The only music I'd really like is the S3 finale wedding/Granny's makeout music. Those cellos were awesome.

[Writing Wrongs]

I always liked Hook's theme. I don't think that was on any of them, was it?

[daxx]

On 7/24/2019 at 2:49 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

I always liked Hook's theme. I don't think that was on any of them, was it?

Season 2 soundtrack has a track called “To Neverland” that has a variant of Hook’s theme. 

[RandomWatcher]

[Souris]

Very sad! TVLine story.

[legaleagle53]

I was just coming in to post about Gabe's passing.  He was unfailingly kind and gracious to his fans (he was one of the few Oncers to follow me back on Twitter), and to say that I'm devastated at the news is an understatement.

Incidentally, Sean MaGuire is putting together a GoFundMe for Gabe's family even as I type this. RIP, Gabe, and thanks for being such an all-around great guy as well as a wonderful, talented actor!

Edited July 27, 2019 by legaleagle53

[Shanna Marie]

According to the Once Facebook page, they're doing a OUAT merchandise sale now (I guess via ABC?). So stock up now! The image they showed was a coffee mug with a picture of Dark Swan Emma when she was trying to tempt Hook into evil. Exactly the memory of the series I'd want with my morning tea!

[Camera One]

I was bored and browsing the store, and I had to laugh when I saw they were selling sets of four Roni's coasters for $20.

[KingOfHearts]

The OUAT Facebook page is advertising an OUAT Reunion con by Creation Entertainment. I'd post the link, but I can't figure out how to share a link for a post, so...

Quote

Storybrooke or bust! The Creation EntertainmenOfficial Once Upon a Time Reunion Convention is coming to Whippany, NJ on October 25-27, 2019 at the Hanover Marriott Hotel. Don’t miss Lana Parrilla, Sean Maguire, Emilie de Ravin and more of your favorite stars! #OUATNJ https://www.creationent.com/cal/ouat_nj

The link in the post directs to an error 404 page.

2 years out and we already get a "Reunion" con. It is official, though.

Edited September 4, 2019 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

2 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

2 years out and we already get a "Reunion" con. 

I would find it hard to reminisce or think fondly of this show if I went to a reunion.

What I would like is a candid interview with the Writers without spin to hear about HOW they created such a train wreck pretty much every season in some way or another.  What were their initial plans before each half-season?  How did these plans change over time?  What were the network requests each season?  

Edited September 5, 2019 by Camera One

[PixiePaws1]

4 hours ago, Camera One said:

I would find it hard to reminisce or think fondly of this show if I went to a reunion.

What I would like is a candid interview with the Writers without spin to hear about HOW they created such a train wreck pretty much every season in some way or another.  What were their initial plans before each half-season?  How did these plans change over time?  What were the network requests each season?  

..and the pink glittery elephant in the room....

Why so many retcons...did none of the writers watch any earlier eps or do they think fans are goldfish unable to remember previous seasons??!!

[Camera One]

35 minutes ago, PixiePaws1 said:

Why so many retcons...did none of the writers watch any earlier eps or do they think fans are goldfish unable to remember previous seasons??!!

And what's the point of all those script binders if no one ever looks at them again.

[KingOfHearts]

9 hours ago, PixiePaws1 said:

Why so many retcons...did none of the writers watch any earlier eps or do they think fans are goldfish unable to remember previous seasons??!!

A&E would tell you there are no retcons and that the canon is completely consistent.

[Shanna Marie]

There really must not have been a lot of demand for the season 7 DVDs. Even Amazon is showing "this item will be shipped in 1-2 months." I'll have to see if I can get the early discs from the library or I may have to delay the start of the rewatch for season 7.

ETA: Though it is in my neighborhood Best Buy for the same price. The only difference is I had a gift card at Amazon, so it would have been free. But I guess I can buy other stuff with the gift card.

(Another update) And now Amazon is saying it will be in stock and ship Sept. 13. So, slight delay in discussing the first couple of episodes, but it's not like I'm eagerly anticipating seeing Murderella again right away.

Edited September 6, 2019 by Shanna Marie

[Camera One]

Sorry Muppets fans.  I'm sure you are very sad. 

Quote

"Creative" differences, LOL.  What do you mean we can't have a surprise twist flashback showing Kermit the Frog kidnapping a baby?

[Shanna Marie]

12 hours ago, Camera One said:

"Creative" differences, LOL.  What do you mean we can't have a surprise twist flashback showing Kermit the Frog kidnapping a baby?

I'm picturing one of the Hensons reacting to their storyline in which Kermit is proved to be a terrible, horrible person (frog) in order to make their new misunderstood villain character look better -- but the horrible thing he did was tell Scooter a secret about Miss Piggy so that Scooter would know to avoid her. Or else Miss Piggy drugged Kermit to make him want to spend the night with her, and it was treated as fun and flirty.

A friend who's a film professor tweeted a story that was very different. That version said Disney canceled the new Muppets series before it really went into production, not that A&E quit over creative differences.

[KingOfHearts]

4 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

A friend who's a film professor tweeted a story that was very different. That version said Disney canceled the new Muppets series before it really went into production, not that A&E quit over creative differences.

I head Disney is doing something completely different, called "Muppets Now". It's going to be a short series that's meant to be closer to a modern adaptation of The Muppet Show.

[Shanna Marie]

42 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

I head Disney is doing something completely different, called "Muppets Now". It's going to be a short series that's meant to be closer to a modern adaptation of The Muppet Show.

I'd rather have that than any kind of drama about the Muppets' lives. I liked the most recent thing that was sort of The Office meets The Muppets, but it was better when it focused on the show itself and the issues at the studio (so, basically, the original Muppet Show). I really didn't want to have to think too deeply about Fozzie Bear's interspecies dating life or Kermit's relationship woes, but I did like Uncle Deadly trying to get Piggy ready to go on camera.

[KingOfHearts]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I'd rather have that than any kind of drama about the Muppets' lives. I liked the most recent thing that was sort of The Office meets The Muppets, but it was better when it focused on the show itself and the issues at the studio (so, basically, the original Muppet Show). I really didn't want to have to think too deeply about Fozzie Bear's interspecies dating life or Kermit's relationship woes, but I did like Uncle Deadly trying to get Piggy ready to go on camera.

I think the drama was what turned people off from the show. Nobody wanted to see Kermit and Miss Piggy broken up. I agree that when it was about the studio shenanigans, it was much more entertaining.

[Shanna Marie]

43 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Nobody wanted to see Kermit and Miss Piggy broken up.

I kind of did because it was such an abusive relationship, with him terrified of her and her screaming at him and making threats when she didn't get her way. But I just wanted it quietly de-emphasized, not for that to be actually addressed and the breakup delved into. As I recall, in the original show, them actually being in a relationship wasn't fully canon. She chased after him and flirted like crazy, and he cringed away from her and humored her. The couple thing seems to have happened more in the movies, and then in this series they were a serious item who had gone through a bad breakup, and that was what I didn't want to see. As in so many TV series, the "will they/won't they, are they/aren't they?" was better than actually getting them together and then having to break them up to get drama.

[Camera One]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I kind of did because it was such an abusive relationship, with him terrified of her and her screaming at him and making threats when she didn't get her way. 

That's actually A&E's definition of true friendship.  No wonder they were a natural fit for this.

Adam has retweeted Josh Gad's more elaborate explanation:

Quote

Misinformation is my least favorite kind of information so I thought I’d take a minute to clarify some news that broke today. After a little over a year and a half of working on a project called “Muppets Live Another Day,” @adamhorowitzla #eddykitsis and I have decided, with a heavy heart, to walk away. Some times creative differences are just that. The project, with original songs by Bobby Lopez and Kristen Lopez was to be directed by the great Jason Moore, (director of “Avenue Q” and “Pitch Perfect”). It was meant to be a limited event series that picked up a year after “Muppets Take Manhattan” and was essentially about what happens after you’ve reached the end of the rainbow. It was going to be Muppets by way of Stranger Things and feel like a movie spread over 6-8 episodes. Part of the joy for us, by placing the Muppets in the middle of the 1980’s, was to subvert and comment on our current love for all things nostalgia while at the same time allowing the characters to tell a story that would ultimately lead to and end in present day, revealing some secrets along the way. It has been one of the great joys of all of our lives to write words for these iconic characters. We wish this franchise all the best and thank our partners at Disney+ and ABC Studios for the opportunity to develop something so fun and outside the box. They have been nothing but supportive and terrific and we can’t wait to play again in other sandboxes. While it is sad, I have no doubt this franchise, under its new leadership will find new and wonderful stories to tell. My only hope is that one day you can all hear the BRILLIANT music by Bobby and @kristenlopez5681 wrote for Kermit and company. The music is next level good. In the meantime, Adam, Eddy and I are already cooking up new fun ideas that we cannot wait to share. Until then, long live “The Muppets.” They have given us joy for over 40 years and I have no doubt they will continue to bring us joy for the next 40 years.

What happens after you've reached the end of the rainbow?  I'm sure it was both hopeful and dark but not bleak.  Too bad we won't find out what "secrets" the Muppets were hiding.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Camera One

[AnotherCastle]

Quote

That improv experience helps him build characters, a great tool for a short series like The War of the Worlds with only three episodes. For eight years he played Rumpelstiltskin, allowing him to develop a completely unique personality for the character that the writers couldn’t have envisioned.

“If you’re working correctly, you can improve the script,” he says. “To write for 20, 30 or 40 characters on a show like Once Upon a Time is difficult for them. To have someone like myself who can take the character on their own and develop it, they’re delighted by that.”

Playing the same character for so long isn’t something Carlyle thought he’d be fond of at first, but during the eight seasons of Once Upon A Time, his character took on different incarnations with their own quirks and mannerisms.

“I wanted to play them so differently you might not even realize it was the same guy playing them,” he says. “What a wonderful thing for an actor to be given.”

https://leaderpost.com/entertainment/television/robert-carlyle-a-man-of-science-in-war-of-the-worlds-miniseries/wcm/cac1e7fa-a5fb-4afc-8d19-42d6d8cc4473

[Camera One]

So on "Once", you sort of need to develop your own character.  He's so right-on about improving the script.  Though towards the end, even he couldn't do that.

[Camera One]

Adam liked this article, so I'm sure you'll all want to read it.

Once Upon a Time: Best moments from the series

It’s been eight years since Once Upon a Time premiered. With the show’s eight-year anniversary, we’re taking a look back at some of the show’s magical moments.

https://netflixlife.com/2019/10/24/once-upon-a-time-best-moments/

Edited October 25, 2019 by Camera One

[daxx]

I don’t need a map from ouat that’s being auctioned off right? Pretty sure I don’t need to spend an extra 2 bills and change. But I wants it! 

[daxx]

So, I didn’t buy the map. I did want something though. It’s been such a part of my fandom life . I picked up 5 plastic gold coins from Tallahassee, the giants hoard. $50 shipped, so ridiculous but the cheapest thing. I can frame it with a picture of Hook smelling a coin. 😂 

[Writing Wrongs]

I've been re-watching Veronica Mars and in a Season 3 episode, 2 of the cops were named Kitsis and Horowitz. That can't be a coincidence.

[Camera One]

6 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

I've been re-watching Veronica Mars and in a Season 3 episode, 2 of the cops were named Kitsis and Horowitz. That can't be a coincidence.

I never noticed that way back when, since I didn't pay attention to individual "Lost" writers.

In this article, it says they're friends:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-10-02-0510020495-story.html

[KingOfHearts]

Frozen 2: Once Upon A Time's Frozen Season Isn't Canon

Jennifer Lee, writer and director for Frozen 2, was actually asked if the film would use any elements from Once Upon a Time.

Quote

“No, that’s not canon. We didn’t see it. So I kinda made a point of certain things not to see so it wouldn’t affect us that way. Frozen 1 and Frozen 2 to me are one complete story and that’s really where we stay. So glad they had fun with that. I think they had a lot of fun with the characters.”

[Camera One]

If she made a point not to see it, then how did she think the show "had a lot of fun with the characters"? 

From that Screenrant article:

Quote

The Frozen half-season of Once Upon a Time being declared non-canon is something of a relief, since it formed part of a time when the quality of the show’s writing had begun to decline as it began to abandon the nuanced exploration of the absolutes of good and evil and instead started unironically playing up to the fairytale tropes it had previously subverted. 

The "Frozen" arc was one of the better written ones, and the show jumped the shark before 4A.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Camera One

[Shanna Marie]

2 hours ago, Camera One said:

The "Frozen" arc was one of the better written ones, and the show jumped the shark before 4A.

I kind of consider the 4A finale to be the real shark jump, since after that point there really was very little good, and revisiting 4A on the rewatch made me really reconsider its quality. I think the depiction of the Frozen characters was good, and I liked the addition of Ingrid to their mythology. But the rest of the story was pretty weak. I generally wanted to fast-forward past any part other than the Frozen characters, and even those characters were underutilized. They mostly dropped the friendship between Emma and Elsa along the way and forgot the fun fish out of water stuff they'd been doing with Elsa in the earlier episodes.

And 4A is what gave us cryptsex and Regina telling Henry to stay away because she was sad about losing her boyfriend of less than a week. And the townspeople expecting a woman who'd given birth two days earlier, and who was mayor by default after Regina quit because she was sad about a breakup, to fix the electrical grid.

Though the end of nuance did come earlier. I think that hit in 2B.

[Camera One]

Moving discussion to All-Seasons.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Camera One

[KingOfHearts]

‘Once Upon A Time’s Lana Parrilla Receives Wild Ovation, Talks Return Of Regina: “Reboots Always Happen” – CCXP

Quote

The panel was definitely all for the fans as they played multiple clips from the series. Parrilla reminisced about shooting the series, how it changed her as an actor and the evolution of her character throughout. She even talked about the possible comeback of the character, Regina.

“Her story is over — for now,” she smiled. “I don’t really know. Reboots always happen — you never know.”

I didn't know you could compare Wonder Woman to a mass murdering psychopathic rapist, but uh...

Quote

In a time when female superheroes are front and center with Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, Parrilla said that playing Regina was a great experience and that she is her Wonder Woman. 

Edited December 7, 2019 by KingOfHearts

[Kktjones]

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

Parrilla said that playing Regina was a great experience and that she is her Wonder Woman

Along those same lines, I saw a clip where Lana was talking about how incredibly inspirational Regina was and that she was like the "Superhero of Storybrook". I know she had to get inside Regina's head, but she seems to have completely bought into her fans' delusions about Regina (either that or she was just playing to the room).

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

“Her story is over — for now,” she smiled. “I don’t really know. Reboots always happen — you never know.”

And the show has been over for more than a year and a half and it appears she has yet to move on from Regina. I don't believe she has done anything since the show ended (I don't follow her too closely, so I could be wrong).

[KAOS Agent]

Lana Parrilla was reported to be in a pilot for a FOX show that I believe has been picked up, but she is not listed in the cast now. She is in some movie with Shia LeBeouf, but nobody is really clear about when it's coming out and they completed filming summer 2018.

I do think there is some level of playing to the room about Regina. The people who are at those kind of things are superfans who paid big bucks for the chance to reminisce about a character on a show that's been off the air for well over a year. Not that she isn't totally in love with the character herself, just that it's also what the audience wants.

[Camera One]

And then there's the whole question of whether a reboot would even benefit from having Regina in it.  Season 7 made it pretty obvious that her character was played out and had nowhere else to go.  I suppose in the reboots, sometimes, you have some of the originals playing the parents, but they already did that with Regina and Henry.  Can you imagine a reboot with a grown-up Lucy and Regina returns as Grandma?  I mean, zzzzzz.

[AnotherCastle]

[KingOfHearts]

So it's a Once Upon a Time spin-off that's not a Once Upon a Time spin-off? It's by the same people, with the same company, in the same kind of universe - it's just an anthology this time. Alrighty then.

Calling it now before Lana Parrilla is announced as a guest star.

Edited December 16, 2019 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

From the article:

Quote

Taking place in a Disney-like Enchanted Forest

Quote

While it will pay homage to the classic signposts we’re all familiar with from the stories we grew up with, Epic will endeavor to create a whole new batch of characters 

Quote

as it explores love in all its forms.

1 hour ago, KingOfHearts said:

So it's a Once Upon a Time spin-off that's not a Once Upon a Time spin-off? It's by the same people, with the same company, in the same kind of universe - it's just an anthology this time. Alrighty then.

Totally... it's like the same thing, except without the real world component which made "Once" unique. 

So I'm guessing they are going to try to tackle Cinderella a third time then?  Can't wait for the uncreative juices to flow.

And yes, let's call it "Epic" because that will make it so.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Camera One

[KingOfHearts]

At least we all have something new to critically eviscerate, LOL.

[Camera One]

30 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

At least we all have something new to critically eviscerate, LOL.

That's why I am hoping it gets through the development process.  😈

[Shanna Marie]

15 minutes ago, Camera One said:

That's why I am hoping it gets through the development process.  

They don't have a great track record lately. Haven't they been fired from a couple of things or had them canceled because the bosses didn't like the direction it was going?

[Camera One]

23 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

They don't have a great track record lately. Haven't they been fired from a couple of things or had them canceled because the bosses didn't like the direction it was going?

All you need is Hope™.

This time, it's their own production company, I think.  The article said they're supervising and the main writer is their protegé Brigitte Hales.  

I guess they need to convince the people at Disney+ that this incredibly unique never-been-done-before concept would work well as a show, and the new Disney streaming service may be desperately looking for new material with the complaints of people signing on saying there isn't enough new stuff.

A&E might be hoping this will be the next "Mandalorian".

Edited December 17, 2019 by Camera One

[tennisgurl]

Well now that we’re on the last season of the re-watch, I guess we need something to make fun of!

[Featherhat]

I saw this and thought "OUAT without the real world" and lo and behold it's from E&A and then I thought "definitely going to be an "evil Queen is misunderstood and gets a happy ending in there for one of the stories." Though that one is also popular in other stories now as well.

As for it's chances of being picked up without having seen any casting or script? Whilst something haven't gone their way lately OUAT did run for 7 seasons and was vastly popular at one point. This is their wheelhouse. And if you can get people to keep coming back to different stories in your anthology it negates needing pesky long term plot and character arcs that makes sense or making the characters look like morons by having the same storyline beats played out time and time again. 

The set up was sometimes the problem, especially with Season 7 but more often it was the follow through that was disappointing. 

Regardless I'll be here for the snark. 

[KingOfHearts]

Only the master storytellers would create a series called "Epic" immediately after writing for a series called "Amazing Stories". I guess they like writing for shows that have desired reviews as titles.

Edited December 17, 2019 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

I listening to a podcast "The Writers Panel" with Brigitte Hales and a few other TV writers, to hear what she would say.  I only listened to a bit, but here's a bit of the part I heard (~ 22 min mark)

"I went to "Once Upon a Time" which was a machine.  It was already up and running.  It was a franchise.... they knew exactly what they were doing."

"At "Once Upon a Time", it was very hierarchical, and not necessarily in a bad way.  They had 22 episodes and it had to get done... You had to know your place and that was that.  I think in those kinds of room, and it was a big room, with very experienced people, when I was first, my first year there, I didn't know where I fit in.  I would try to say things... which I thought... were completely stupid.  I thought I was going to get fired, 10 separate times."

"And then very slowly, I began to realize there were certain things I did, that would just land.  It wasn't how I thought of myself.  I had always thought I was a character person - that that's what I would bring to a room. And it still is, to an extent, what I bring.  But I realized that I was really good at story twists.  And this was something I would never have been able to tell you before I started to do it constantly.  And I just started noticing - oh, I'm coming up with a lot of those ideas.  And within a couple of years, I found that I when I go in now, I'm very clear about what it is that I bring.  I can say, I'm really good at character, but also, when you need that Act 6 twist or Act 3 twist, that's often something that I can bring, for reasons that I don't know why."

---

It sort of explains why A&E was happy with her work, I guess.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Camera One

[legaleagle53]

On 12/16/2019 at 6:31 PM, Camera One said:

That's why I am hoping it gets through the development process.  😈

Gosh, it would be awfully disappointing if we didn't at least get a pilot to snark on and roll our eyes at!

[Camera One]

Adam has announced A&E's new show "Amazing Stories" finally has a release date on Apple + (March 6th).

Hopefully, the tigers haven't changed their stripes.  It would be more amusing that way.  

Edited January 20, 2020 by Camera One