Once Upon a Time In Wonderland

With the success of Once Upon A Time finishing out its second season and preparing to roll into its third it’s not surprising to find that the show has produced a spin off, ABC’s Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (that’s really quite a mouthful). As you will have already guessed, the show is going to be about Alice, but not quite the Alice that we know from the original Disney version, and somewhat deviated from the many iterations that have popped up over the years. In the pilot episode alone I have to say that I like what I see.

 

So as the pilot episode begins we find Storybrooke in quite a state. The earth is rumbling, the wind is fierce, the rain is coming down in sheets. Everyone seems to be sheltered somewhere except for a lone figure helping themselves to a cup of tea in Grandma’s diner. Nope, it’s not Hatter. 

 

As the Earth rumbles and the foundations shake we get another figure, quite literally popping up. It’s the White Rabbit and he’s very eager to find Alice. 

 

We find Alice (Sophie Lowe; Two Mothers) being grilled by doctors at an Asylum on her story of Wonderland. As the doctors grill her we see flashbacks of her time in Wonderland. Right off the bat it’s obvious were not going to see Alice as the naïve innocent young girl from the original story. Alice is having some fun stealing pieces of mushroom, being chased by castle guards, giggling and enjoying her time, it seems she knows her way around the place (all that is explained in the pilot). As the guards make chase through the endless maze of the castle grounds Alice has hid away inside of a bottle laying alongside the maze path, it’s really here where the story begins. 

 

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland is a Fantasy/Adventure/Romance/Drama, kind of like its predecessor. Wonderland looks like its going to take place in the Fantasy world. Though the pilot is just a bit over twenty minutes long it’s intriguing enough, and harmless enough without wasting too much of your night, to get you to come back, for at least the following episode. No doubt it will be seen by many and might bring some new viewers into the fold of its parent show. 

 

The extended cast includes  Peter Gadiot (The Forbidden Girl) as The Genie, Michael Socha (Being Human UK) as the Knave of Hearts, John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as The White Rabbit, Emma Rigby (Hollyoakes) as The Red Queen, Naveen Andrews (LOST) as Jafar, Keith David (Mass Effect) as The Cheshire Cat, and of course Barbra Hershey (Once Upon A Time) as The Queen of Hearts.