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

maraleia

By maraleia
in Once Upon A Time

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Jean

Jean

Yes, JMo said as much in an article that's in the spoiler section.

 

 

"That was very intentional," Morrison says of the various gems. "It was very important to have those DIsney nugget moments. If we do gain audiences because of adding Frozen, [the producers] wanted to give them touchstones of what the show's about."

 

I'm not sure it'll work. This show really is hard to get into mid-stream, if not impossible. Knowing who the players aren't enough in my opinion. If I was here just for Frozen, then I would want the focus to be on Frozen guest starring other people. I wouldn't put much effort in trying to figure out the rest of the cast if it was too complicated. And if a lot of effort was needed I would just give up.

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buildmeupbuttercup
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tennisgurl

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regularlyleaded

regularlyleaded

I think any new viewers the show may gain will be very short-lived because if nothing else, this show excels at squandering opportunities. Add all the touchstones you want writers, but here's a tip: It's about the emotional pay-off and not how many insipid easter eggs you put in your script that keeps the viewers.

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retrograde

retrograde

I think a lot of "new" viewers won't be totally green, though. This is a prime time Sunday night show, and if you're the kind of person who loved Frozen, you have probably checked out OuaT a few times before.

I think the show's best hope is that people engage enough in the first ep to go and play catchup on Netflix.

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sharky

sharky

So does that mean she's going to sue Once Upon a Time too? ;) Most places would just pay some settlement to make it go away -- especially considering how flimsy her argument is -- but I wonder if Disney will pursue to make an example out of her. They've been somewhat protective of Frozen stuff lately -- even ordering unlicensed "Frozen" products to be pulled from Etsy. And we all seem to believe that they're taking a heavy hand with the Once interpretation. So I doubt this woman is going to get far with such a big franchise on the line.

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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)

I'm not sure it'll work. This show really is hard to get into mid-stream, if not impossible. Knowing who the players aren't enough in my opinion. If I was here just for Frozen, then I would want the focus to be on Frozen guest starring other people. I wouldn't put much effort in trying to figure out the rest of the cast if it was too complicated. And if a lot of effort was needed I would just give up.

 

I agree this is a really hard show to get into mid-stream.  The recap special before the premiere should cover the major points since I guess if you boil it down, for the major subplots, all they need to know is:

 

- Storybrooke is a town where fairy tale characters were transported in a Curse

- Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Charming (sadly, their entire story is irrelevant at this point).  They just had a baby.

- Emma is starting a brand new relationship with Captain Hook 

- Regina was the Evil Queen, and she was in a relationship with Robin Hood.  But then, Robin Hood's thought-to-be dead wife Maid Marion shows up, courtesy of Emma, who travelled back in time and brought Marion back (ok, now this one might require some explanation)

- Elsa was placed into an urn by Rumplestiltskin, who is now married to Belle, who he lied to (they will likely explain this in the recap special as well since Zelena would need to be mentioned and they would need to briefly explain the dagger controls Rumple and he pretended to give it to Belle)

 

So five points to impart in a recap special isn't that bad.  I can totally see them using the characters the writers don't care about (Snow, Charming, Red, Granny, etc.) to be exposition fairies and explain things as the season progresses.

 

I think a lot of "new" viewers won't be totally green, though. This is a prime time Sunday night show, and if you're the kind of person who loved Frozen, you have probably checked out OuaT a few times before.

 

That would be interesting, since it basically means these will be "Once" viewers who abandoned the show at some point during the last two seasons.

Edited by Camera One
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Tripp

Tripp

I came into the show for the Wicked promo.  I missed the beginning of 3B.  I do admit that I basically knew the main characters because OUAT always showed up on my Tumblr dash.  (Plus seeing them in the EF it makes it easier to figure out who is whom).   If I didn't enjoy OUAT, I would have laughed after a few episodes, but I stuck around and then began back tracking watching all the earlier episodes.  Oddly I found out two more of my friends did the same thing.  We didn't discover until after the season finale aired that we loved OUAT but only started watching for Wicked.  

 

So I think it's a good idea for ABC to keep pushing Frozen because people who loved that movie may check out OUAT simply because they loved that movie that much.  It is quite possible to pick up new viewers that way.

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retrograde

retrograde

That would be interesting, since it basically means these will be "Once" viewers who abandoned the show at some point during the last two seasons.

I don't know about "abandoned." I could name dozens of shows I've watched a few episodes of here and there but kind of drifted away from and never really committed to watching. I was more thinking along those lines -- people who've caught an episode or two over the years and have a basic understanding of the conceit but never really "got into it" for whatever reason. 

 

But yes, I'm sure there are also plenty of people who, say, loved season one but got bored in season two and dropped the show. Maybe they could win some of those people back again. There are definitely shows I've ditched after a season or so of committed watching but could be lured back to if something I saw in a promo really interested me.

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Camera One

Camera One

I don't know about "abandoned." I could name dozens of shows I've watched a few episodes of here and there but kind of drifted away from and never really committed to watching. I was more thinking along those lines -- people who've caught an episode or two over the years and have a basic understanding of the conceit but never really "got into it" for whatever reason.

 

That's true.  I forget that's how a lot of people watch TV, and those are the people that TV ads and promos might draw in.  I personally can't watch a series unless I started from the beginning and watched every second.  But I do understand lots of people just turn on the TV and watch whatever catches their eye and holds their attention.

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didia

didia

Nine reasons to start watching OUAT! (LOL)

 

"(...)   2. Totally insane CGI. Most episodes of Once take place half in the real world, half in fairy-tale world. And fairy-tale world looks crazy. Imagine all of your favorite '80s family movies, art-directed by drunk people who are also on acid. Now pretend you're watching that with beer goggles on, and you have some idea of what the Enchanted Forest looks like. Sounds great, right?"

 

(...)

 

"   9. All the wine you can drink while watching. This show perfectly lends itself to copious consumption of pinot grigio, because it is easy to understand but hilariously nonsensical. Pour yourself an Olivia Pope-size glass and just go with it."

 

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a31125/9-reasons-to-start-watching-once-upon-a-time/?click=_hpTrnsprtr_9&src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1440_92987037

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

That article was awesome, and actually did sum up a lot of the reasons why I love this show (sexy dudes, kickass ladies, total insanity, scenery chewing). I think my favorite line in the article was

 

"Consider that one time a guy actually turned into a man-size wooden puppet, and everybody on Once was just like, "Yep, that's how it is here."

 

And yes, I will be drinking A LOT of wine while watching!

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SilverShadow

SilverShadow

It's official. There will be a Once Panel at New York ComicCon. Adam. Eddy, and Jennifer will be there. They're going to be screening an episode a day early and there will be discussion and Q&A afterwards. For some reason the panel description isn't showing up when I look for it right now, or I'd link.

 

I'll be attending so any PTV Oncers who might wanna meet up, shoot me a PM. :)

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Jean

Jean

(edited)

The 6 episodes ABC thinks are necessary to get with the program.  Pilot, S1 finale, Tallahassee, Manhattan, and the 2-parter finale of 3B.

 

http://abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time/news/storybook/20140925-marathon-6-episodes-to-catch-up-on-once-upon-a-time

 

Not to put to much stock into it since this is clearly the network people and not A&E but I hope this means that Emma/Elsa will be substantial. It's basically Emma's story that I'm guessing they want Frozen fans to see to understand the friendship that is coming and how Elsa got to Storybrooke. Also how crappy is it that Emma's story is pretty much those 6 episodes, over 3 seasons.

Edited by Jean
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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)
Ugh, these marketing people. They confuse Leopold and Prince Jonathan as if they never even watched the episode.

 

That was just so pathetic.  Maybe they fast-forwarded through to find a scene with snow/set in winter and tried to match it with the episode's description, and concluded Cora was teaching "Jonathan" the pretend prince how to build a fire.  

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KAOS Agent

KAOS Agent

While parked on the freeway for several hours today, I was treated to multiple radio ads for Once. The entire ad was Frozen, Frozen, Frozen. Come watch Elsa and Anna! It's Frozen! There was zero mention of any of the actual main characters on the show. It will be interesting to see if this works to get Frozen fans to tune in. And if they'll want to stick around after watching the premiere.

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Mathius

Mathius

(edited)

Also how crappy is it that Emma's story is pretty much those 6 episodes, over 3 seasons.

Not really, there were also several other S1 episodes, "Lady of the Lake", "Queen of Hearts", "And Straight On Til Morning", most of 3A, and "New York Serenade".

The big periods where Emma was nonexistent as a main character was most of Season 2 (literally 5 episodes of significant development out of 22!) and pretty much every episode in 3B when Zelena was the villain (discounting "NewYork Serenade" where she only came in at the end.) It's little wonder both S2 and 3B are looked down upon so much.

Edited by Mathius
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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)
The 6 episodes ABC thinks are necessary to get with the program.  Pilot, S1 finale, Tallahassee, Manhattan, and the 2-parter finale of 3B.

 

Those are some of the better episodes from the series, but if ABC is trying to pick episodes to help new "Frozen" people understand the subplots of Season 4, they should probably replace "Tallahassee" and "Manhattan" with "Witch Hunt" and "Kansas".  That should cover the big three plot points and characters heading into Season 4, which are Captain Swan, Outlaw Queen and Rumbelle.

Edited by Camera One
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stealinghome

stealinghome

(edited)

Yeah, I'm very surprised Tallahassee and Manhattan are on that list, tbh. If Neal was still alive, maybe, but since he's dead, those two are write-offs, for me. I would replace them with 3x11 and 3x12 (honorable mention to 2x01; 2x22, for explaining why the Charmings have to team up with Regina; and 3x15, because it's a terrible episode but explains Rumpel's resurrection). And actually, I also don't know that I think 3x21/22 are really that essential. As frustrating as they are--and they're certainly not as good as 3x21/22--"A Curious Thing" and "Kansas" would give viewers a better snapshot of "where we are now" in the series.

 

And you know, it occurs to me that the promo people seem to have deliberately picked two episodes from each season--but the fact that Tallhassee and Manhattan are write-offs bespeaks just how weak S2 was. It only produced a handful of good episodes, and half of those have been tainted by the enormous FAIL of everything related to Nealfire (and, to a lesser degree, Cora). It also tells you just how bad the continuity has really gotten, in the sense of--I really like "Miller's Daughter," for example, but at the end of the day Cora didn't matter at all in the present-day storyline, so why bother telling someone to watch her episodes? And sadly, I found myself saying this about just about every single episode....

Edited by stealinghome
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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)

I think 3x21/22 may be needed since it would feed directly into the events of Season 4.  Those episodes show how Emma brought back Marion and allows the viewer see Robin/Regina and Emma/Hook together happily such that they might root for them.  Time travel is hard to explain, so it would be better to watch it to understand.  If "Frozen" fans only watch 3x21/22, that might actually be enough since it's basically a CliffsNotes of the dynamic between Snow, Charming, Regina, etc. back in the Enchanted Forest, if they didn't watch Season 1.

Edited by Camera One
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myril

myril

The 6 episodes ABC thinks are necessary to get with the program.  Pilot, S1 finale, Tallahassee, Manhattan, and the 2-parter finale of 3B.

 

To me it looks like they choose the episodes, which least likely would scare people away. Little Regina Sue drama or hot Rumple feelings but mostly down to earth Emma dealing with fairy tale crazy and a charming pirate included. People will probably be disappointed after a couples of episodes into the season, but some might stay around and be it just to hate watch the show.

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Mari

Mari

To me it looks like they choose the episodes, which least likely would scare people away. Little Regina Sue drama or hot Rumple feelings but mostly down to earth Emma dealing with fairy tale crazy and a charming pirate included.

Yeah, that's what I don't get.

 

If they think the melodramatic Regina behavior and plots and the (disturbing) Rumple feelings make people uninterested, why do they insist on including it in the regular show?

 

If down to earth Emma and the pirate dealing with the crazy would get more people to tune in--and personally, I think it would--why focus so horrifyingly much in the regular show on the cringeworthy Regina and Rumple stuff? 

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kili

kili

(edited)
If they think the melodramatic Regina behavior and plots and the (disturbing) Rumple feelings make people uninterested, why do they insist on including it in the regular show?

 

The ABC promo department may have a different view than Adam & Eddie. Adam & Eddie seem to think that Regina crying is what the viewers tune in for. The ABC promo department may have noticed that the more the show focuses on her tears and her sad, sad life caused by the Charming clan, the lower the ratings go (e.g. 2B).

Edited by kili
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YaddaYadda

YaddaYadda

Adam and Eddie think that a woman crying tugs at people's heart strings and that they'll look beyond everything she did because....well she's you know crying!!!  When I want something like a new pair of shoes that I don't really need, I sad face the hell out of it and my husband always caves, so...

 

A&E try to manipulate the audience with her tears.

 

ABC promo department is hella smart for focusing on Emma.

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Jean

Jean

(edited)

I've said before that I thought Emma was a network mandated character that some exec thought was needed to "ground" the show. The wheels came off after S1.

For those episodes, I don't think the marketing dept. watched the show or the episodes. They probably just went through wiki summaries and chose the episodes with the highest count of the word "Emma." 3x22 had to be included because it had "Elsa" in it and it's a real 2-parter.

That Variety piece asks the same thing I've been wondering about: why is Disney letting Once have Frozen? Any additional promo from Once is neglible to Disney. Once is the only one that benefits.

Also I want to know exactly how involved the execs were. We know from A&E they needed story idea approval from everyone and their momma. Lasseter visited the set. Any additional oversight? Did the Elsa and Anna scripts have someone else looking at them?

Edited by Jean
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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)

To me it looks like they choose the episodes, which least likely would scare people away. Little Regina Sue drama or hot Rumple feelings but mostly down to earth Emma dealing with fairy tale crazy and a charming pirate included. 

 

 

I've said before that I thought Emma was a network mandated character that some exec thought was needed to "ground" the show. The wheels came off after S1.

 

Those are really good points.  "Tallahassee" and "Manhattan" are the rare episodes where half the episode (the flashbacks in Tallahassee with Emma/Neal and the NYC scenes in "Manhattan") completely take place in the "real world" outside of Storybrooke.  They are also episodes where Emma actually got to show deep feelings and is an actual person like in a normal dramatic series instead of an action figure.  

Edited by Camera One
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retrograde

retrograde

(edited)

This is a review of the season premiere, but I'm putting it here because there are no real spoilers in it. It's more about the show as a whole and is rather critical.

It's critical of the direction of the show since season one, but I would have to call that a pretty positive review for a "serious" critic. He seems to think the Frozen arc really does have a chance of bringing back lapsed fans and breathing life back into the show.

 

I don't generally care that much for Lowry's opinion though. I think the writers on this site and the AV Club are usually more dialed in to assessing shows both on their own merits and in the broader TV landscape, and I'm more interested in what they say.

 

Also, there's a really small interview with JMo in today's New York Times magazine. She talks mostly about playing the clarinet, but it was an unexpected place to see a Once interview pop up.

Edited by retrograde
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l star

l star

I don't think the choice of those six episodes means anything. If that bit had been assigned to the intern in the next cubicle I think the list would look entirely different outside of the pilot and last premiere.

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Mari

Mari

(edited)

And you know, it occurs to me that the promo people seem to have deliberately picked two episodes from each season--but the fact that Tallhassee and Manhattan are write-offs bespeaks just how weak S2 was.

I've been thinking about why "Tallahasee" and "Manhattan" specifically.  And while they were slightly better episodes in a weak season, I have a theory.

 

I think it's because of a couple of things--Tallahasee introduces both Hook, Emma's love interest, and Neal/Baelfire, Henry's father.  "Manhattan" makes it obvious that for most people going back and forth from Storybrooke isn't possible, and makes the connection that Neal is Baelfire is Rumple's son--and they're not on good terms.

 

3--21/22 make it obvious that Neal died, so new viewers wouldn't look for him, and in the meantime, it explains something that is weird about the show and timeline--how Rumple connects into the Charming/Mills family Pando.

 

Edited because previous phrasing made it sound like Hook was Henry's third parent.

Edited by Mari
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Camera One

Camera One

(edited)

I don't think the choice of those six episodes means anything. If that bit had been assigned to the intern in the next cubicle I think the list would look entirely different outside of the pilot and last premiere.

 

Imagine the hilarity if the intern chose:

- That Still Small Voice

- Dreamy

- Child of the Moon

- Selfless, Brave and True

- Think Lovely Thoughts

- The Tower

 

Catch up before it's too late!

Edited by Camera One
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Mathius

Mathius

(edited)
That Still Small Voice wasn't bad, but TLT was super boring. Whoever had the idea of having a flashback featuring only two guest stars we had never seen before is on crack.

 

Except that both guest stars are playing versions of characters pivotal to the current plot, one of whom is in the core cast. The idea that only regulars or recurring guest stars have to be in flashbacks doesn't make much sense to me, as otherwise you limit your options for introducing new guest stars.

Edited by Mathius
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