Duration: One Season, Thirteen Episodes
Runtime: 42 minutes per episode
Aired: 2013-2014
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (hereafter referred to as OUaTiW, just to save time) was created by ABC as a spin-off from their widely popular Once Upon A Time. As you may be able to tell from the title, this version was centred around Alice in Wonderland. Featuring many of the characters from the original story, but incorporating new characters from other fairytales and folklore.
Watch in OUATiW as we see Alice, in Victorian England, as a young child discover the mystical land of Wonderland. Going between the two worlds, causes worry for her father and upon her return as an adult, they struggle to believe that she has been to this mythical place. Alice voluntarily chooses to go and spend the remainder of her life at an asylum, refusing to forget or deny that Wonderland was real. After some time in the asylum, Will Scarlett appears and, along with the white rabbit, they break Alice out and she returns to Wonderland.
The Cast
Sophie Lowe as Alice. Sophie has previously appeared in various TV shows and shorts. Her performance in this was surprisingly really good. I wasn't so sure in the first few episodes, but I was rooting for her character by the end of the season.
Michael Socha as Will Scarlett/Knave of Hearts. Michael shot to fame starring in This is England. Will/Knave was my favourite character in this show. I loved his attitude and everything he did. I feel like Socha totally managed to embrace the feeling and persona of his character.
Peter Gadiot as Cyrus/Genie. Gadiot was born in the UK but of Dutch and Mexican descent. I felt that his heritage helped him pull off a pretty convincing performance.
Emma Rigby as Anastasia/The Red Queen. Rigby is better known to me as appearing in UK Teenage Soap Opera, Hollyoaks. As expected, her performance was awful. I should hated The Red Queen, but all I could do was laugh. I don't think that she managed to pull off any emotion at all. Even the crying scenes were emotionless. Also, what on earth is going on with her lips? I couldn't stop staring at them.
Naveen Andrews as Jafar. Naveen first graced my screen when he appeared in Lost. As much as I liked his character in this show, his performance was middle of the road. I couldn't get my head around Jafar, being in OUaTiW as his character was clearly from Aladdin.
John Lithgow as The White Rabbit. Finding out that Lithgow voiced the White Rabbit really shocked me. Normally, I can place Lithgow's voice without even looking to see if it was him, however, I was so immersed into the character that I didn't manage to think much more than "I recognise that voice".
The acting, apart from The Red Queen, was actually pleasant. It kept me entertained from start to finish. In fact, I loved everything about this show. Looking on the internet, it would appear to have been cancelled, yet I was informed today that the point was always for it to be a one season spin off from OUaT. It got panned by everyone I know, so I suppose that would have had an effect on as to whether it would ever be continued.
I am happy to tell everyone that doesn't already know, Michael Socha, stars in OUaT as the very same character. Now I'm going to have to pick that up where I left off.
Runtime: 42 minutes per episode
Aired: 2013-2014
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (hereafter referred to as OUaTiW, just to save time) was created by ABC as a spin-off from their widely popular Once Upon A Time. As you may be able to tell from the title, this version was centred around Alice in Wonderland. Featuring many of the characters from the original story, but incorporating new characters from other fairytales and folklore.
Watch in OUATiW as we see Alice, in Victorian England, as a young child discover the mystical land of Wonderland. Going between the two worlds, causes worry for her father and upon her return as an adult, they struggle to believe that she has been to this mythical place. Alice voluntarily chooses to go and spend the remainder of her life at an asylum, refusing to forget or deny that Wonderland was real. After some time in the asylum, Will Scarlett appears and, along with the white rabbit, they break Alice out and she returns to Wonderland.
The Cast
Sophie Lowe as Alice. Sophie has previously appeared in various TV shows and shorts. Her performance in this was surprisingly really good. I wasn't so sure in the first few episodes, but I was rooting for her character by the end of the season.
Michael Socha as Will Scarlett/Knave of Hearts. Michael shot to fame starring in This is England. Will/Knave was my favourite character in this show. I loved his attitude and everything he did. I feel like Socha totally managed to embrace the feeling and persona of his character.
Peter Gadiot as Cyrus/Genie. Gadiot was born in the UK but of Dutch and Mexican descent. I felt that his heritage helped him pull off a pretty convincing performance.
Emma Rigby as Anastasia/The Red Queen. Rigby is better known to me as appearing in UK Teenage Soap Opera, Hollyoaks. As expected, her performance was awful. I should hated The Red Queen, but all I could do was laugh. I don't think that she managed to pull off any emotion at all. Even the crying scenes were emotionless. Also, what on earth is going on with her lips? I couldn't stop staring at them.
Naveen Andrews as Jafar. Naveen first graced my screen when he appeared in Lost. As much as I liked his character in this show, his performance was middle of the road. I couldn't get my head around Jafar, being in OUaTiW as his character was clearly from Aladdin.
John Lithgow as The White Rabbit. Finding out that Lithgow voiced the White Rabbit really shocked me. Normally, I can place Lithgow's voice without even looking to see if it was him, however, I was so immersed into the character that I didn't manage to think much more than "I recognise that voice".
The acting, apart from The Red Queen, was actually pleasant. It kept me entertained from start to finish. In fact, I loved everything about this show. Looking on the internet, it would appear to have been cancelled, yet I was informed today that the point was always for it to be a one season spin off from OUaT. It got panned by everyone I know, so I suppose that would have had an effect on as to whether it would ever be continued.
I am happy to tell everyone that doesn't already know, Michael Socha, stars in OUaT as the very same character. Now I'm going to have to pick that up where I left off.