5 Reasons to Watch ABC’s Once Upon A Time

ABC’s new ‘fairy tale in the real world’ drama Once Upon a Time premiered to 12.2 million viewers on Sunday, making the show an instant hit. If you haven’t checked it out yet you might want to take a look at our top 5 reasons for doing so.

1. Josh Dallas

Josh Dallas featured prominently in The Geek’s Guide to Fall TV’s Hottest Men earlier this year. If you’re looking for an old-fashioned swashbuckling hero with the heart of a poet then look no further because it’s all here. And if you don’t believe me, check out that scene from the pilot episode where Prince Charming battles the Evil Queen’s henchmen with his newborn daughter tucked under one arm.

The Geek’s Guide to Fall TV’s Hottest Men

Joshua Dallas as Prince Charming

2. The Fairy Tale

If you’re looking for some respite from the zombies, serial killers, shape-shifters and other malevolent entities being served up this Fall, then Once Upon a Time is probably for you. If the pilot episode is an indication of what to expect from the remainder of the season then audiences can look forward to a whimsical and family friendly experience from writers with an obvious love of the fairy tale genre. Little red riding hood, Pinocchio and Gepetto, Rumpelstiltskin and more all feature as diverse characters in a rich fairytale world.

The funeral of Snow White

3. Three Female Leads

Female leads are thin on the ground these days, and three female leads are even rarer.  Once Upon a Time serves up three strong and diverse female characters in the shape of Jennifer Morrison as the unemotional, tough as nails bail bondswoman Emma Swan, Ginnifer Goodwin as the brave and virtuous Snow White, and Lana Parrilla, who hams it up beautifully in the role of the Evil Queen. Incidentally, Morrison and Parrilla both featured in The Geek’s Guide to Fall TVs Hottest Women earlier this year also.

Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla

 The Geek’s Guide to Fall TV’s Hottest Women

4. Two Worlds to Play With

There really is more bang for your buck with Once Upon a Time with two very different worlds woven into each episode. If promotional stills from future episodes are anything to go by, then the rich and vibrant fairytale world will continue to be very much a feature as the show explores the characters’ back stories.  How did Snow White meet Charming? And why is she responsible for ruining the Evil Queen’s life? And just what terrible price did the Queen pay for her enormous curse?

The lush and vivid landscape of the fairytale orld

The dreary and slightly off-kilter town of Storybrook, Maine is the perfect juxtaposition to the lush fairytale landscape. There’s something almost Twin Peaks in nature about this place that goes beyond the clocks not working.

All is not quite as it seems in Storybrook, Maine

5. The future is blurred

One episode in and it’s not easy to predict where the story is going. Prince Charming is comatose in a hospital bed, and the rest of the characters are trapped in a make-believe world (our own) with no idea of who they really are.  It all hinges on Emma Swan and her ability to break the curse, but her cynical and skeptical nature seems to be the biggest obstacle to doing so. It’s not easy to guess what might happen next, which indicates that the show will not follow a straight-forward procedural route. Expect twists and surprises along the way.

The clock is ticking ...