'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' really interested me. Am a big fan of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass', have seen recently the books and Carroll as a person in a whole new light as well, and really liked its parent series 'Once Upon a Time' for much of Seasons 1-5 before becoming hit and miss in the Underworld arc and in Season 6 and then having a generally disappointing last season (with a few episode exceptions).
So there was real interest to see how the Wonderland characters would work with this premise and 'Once Upon a Time's' format of multiple storylines, fairy-tale flashbacks and references to stories. Seeing it, it was quite enjoyable but was an uneven show and didn't live up to full potential. In all fairness though, one can say that it didn't get enough of a chance to grow, as by the latter half of the show's limited run it had actually started to grow. Comparing it to its parent series, 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' at its best (the last three episodes, which were great) is not quite as great as 'Once Upon a Time' at its best but its worst episodes (for me it was "Home", which is probably not a popular opinion, and even that was more borderline average than lacklustre) are nowhere near the parent series at its worst which was the worst of Season 7.
Am going to start with what didn't work in 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'. The asset that was consistently bad and never improved upon was the special effects, which were cheap looking throughout. The White Rabbit fares least badly, but Caterpillar and Cheshire Cat (the latter being an odd character all round and far from purr-fection) were very poorly done and Bandersnatch in "Forget Me Not" was beyond amateurish. Jabberwocky also looked ridiculous but was actually a good character otherwise. A lot of the episodes were on the muddled and over-stuffed, especially the first three episodes and "Home". Some episodes had a good deal of time wasting, the Mallow Marsh stuff in "Down the Rabbit Hole" didn't intrigue or entertain that much and felt like padding.
Naveen Andrews and Emma Rigby generally didn't gel. They both had their moments when Jafar and Red Queen were actually interestingly developed and more than stock villains and their motivations clear, Andrews in "The Serpent" and "Bad Blood" and Rigby in "Heart of Stone" and "Heart of the Matter". Mostly though the characters are one-dimensional and Red Queen's decision making and such especially can be very all over the place and both mostly were not too great. Andrews tended to be dull and lacked menace as Jafar and Rigby often overacts to an embarrassing degree and is also not sinister enough. Their competition in who can ham it up the most in "Trust Me" was more indigestion-inducing than fun. Some of the dialogue was pretty cheesy and didn't always flow.
For all those problems, 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' has a lot of recommendable things. Less than special special effects aside, the show looks good. It is beautifully and atmospherically photographed, complete with vivid set design (especially the Red Queen's palace) and colourful costumes. Complete with a nice contrast of vibrant Wonderland settings and the more grim Victorian era ones when they appeared. The music also has atmosphere in a foreboding and infectious way, while the main theme sparkles in a way that fits with the premise. The opening sequence is well designed.
While the writing is not perfect, enough of it is thought provoking and has charm and fun. A lot of the best lines go to Knave, who is on the whole one of the best characters. Emotions-wise, the humour comes off the best with the Knave's sass and he and Alice have many great exchanges throughout. The storytelling was heavily flawed for much of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' run and started off very uneven but by "Bad Blood" or so the emotion increased as did the tension stakes. Found Cyrus underdeveloped to begin with but "Dirty Little Secrets" did a great job with him, and "Nothing to Fear's" calmer treatment of Lizard and its tastefully done exit for the character were appreciated. Cheap physical form aside, Jabberwocky was a very promising character and made a strong first impression in "Nothing to Fear". A character high point was Cora's return in "Heart of the Matter".
Excepting reservations with Andrews and Rigby, and Iggy Pop in "Forget Me Not" was an odd choice for Caterpillar and didn't fit the look, the acting was fine. Sophie Lowe was very appealing as Alice, and really appreciated her more mature, wittier, assertive and more active in the action personality. Michael Socha often stole the show, loved him as Knave and Peter Gadiot did very well with what he did when he was used well. Barbara Herschey thoroughly enjoys herself as Cora/Queen of Hearts and Peta Sergeant's Jabberwocky was creepy and authoritative. John Lithgow was inspired casting for White Rabbit and Keith David's voice for Cheshire Cat was that character's redeeming quality (a character that was otherwise a misfire).
On the whole, uneven but got a lot better in the second half post-"Home". 6/10
So there was real interest to see how the Wonderland characters would work with this premise and 'Once Upon a Time's' format of multiple storylines, fairy-tale flashbacks and references to stories. Seeing it, it was quite enjoyable but was an uneven show and didn't live up to full potential. In all fairness though, one can say that it didn't get enough of a chance to grow, as by the latter half of the show's limited run it had actually started to grow. Comparing it to its parent series, 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' at its best (the last three episodes, which were great) is not quite as great as 'Once Upon a Time' at its best but its worst episodes (for me it was "Home", which is probably not a popular opinion, and even that was more borderline average than lacklustre) are nowhere near the parent series at its worst which was the worst of Season 7.
Am going to start with what didn't work in 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'. The asset that was consistently bad and never improved upon was the special effects, which were cheap looking throughout. The White Rabbit fares least badly, but Caterpillar and Cheshire Cat (the latter being an odd character all round and far from purr-fection) were very poorly done and Bandersnatch in "Forget Me Not" was beyond amateurish. Jabberwocky also looked ridiculous but was actually a good character otherwise. A lot of the episodes were on the muddled and over-stuffed, especially the first three episodes and "Home". Some episodes had a good deal of time wasting, the Mallow Marsh stuff in "Down the Rabbit Hole" didn't intrigue or entertain that much and felt like padding.
Naveen Andrews and Emma Rigby generally didn't gel. They both had their moments when Jafar and Red Queen were actually interestingly developed and more than stock villains and their motivations clear, Andrews in "The Serpent" and "Bad Blood" and Rigby in "Heart of Stone" and "Heart of the Matter". Mostly though the characters are one-dimensional and Red Queen's decision making and such especially can be very all over the place and both mostly were not too great. Andrews tended to be dull and lacked menace as Jafar and Rigby often overacts to an embarrassing degree and is also not sinister enough. Their competition in who can ham it up the most in "Trust Me" was more indigestion-inducing than fun. Some of the dialogue was pretty cheesy and didn't always flow.
For all those problems, 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' has a lot of recommendable things. Less than special special effects aside, the show looks good. It is beautifully and atmospherically photographed, complete with vivid set design (especially the Red Queen's palace) and colourful costumes. Complete with a nice contrast of vibrant Wonderland settings and the more grim Victorian era ones when they appeared. The music also has atmosphere in a foreboding and infectious way, while the main theme sparkles in a way that fits with the premise. The opening sequence is well designed.
While the writing is not perfect, enough of it is thought provoking and has charm and fun. A lot of the best lines go to Knave, who is on the whole one of the best characters. Emotions-wise, the humour comes off the best with the Knave's sass and he and Alice have many great exchanges throughout. The storytelling was heavily flawed for much of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's' run and started off very uneven but by "Bad Blood" or so the emotion increased as did the tension stakes. Found Cyrus underdeveloped to begin with but "Dirty Little Secrets" did a great job with him, and "Nothing to Fear's" calmer treatment of Lizard and its tastefully done exit for the character were appreciated. Cheap physical form aside, Jabberwocky was a very promising character and made a strong first impression in "Nothing to Fear". A character high point was Cora's return in "Heart of the Matter".
Excepting reservations with Andrews and Rigby, and Iggy Pop in "Forget Me Not" was an odd choice for Caterpillar and didn't fit the look, the acting was fine. Sophie Lowe was very appealing as Alice, and really appreciated her more mature, wittier, assertive and more active in the action personality. Michael Socha often stole the show, loved him as Knave and Peter Gadiot did very well with what he did when he was used well. Barbara Herschey thoroughly enjoys herself as Cora/Queen of Hearts and Peta Sergeant's Jabberwocky was creepy and authoritative. John Lithgow was inspired casting for White Rabbit and Keith David's voice for Cheshire Cat was that character's redeeming quality (a character that was otherwise a misfire).
On the whole, uneven but got a lot better in the second half post-"Home". 6/10