Once Upon a Time in Wonderland premieres on Thursday, but ABC has already released a 20 minute sneak peek. Alice has been committed to a mental hospital because she continues to maintain that Wonderland is a real place. She thinks that her true love died in Wonderland and the Knave of Hearts convinces her to return. They return to Wonderland via the magic of the white rabbit and another great show is born.
Watchers of Once Upon a Time are already familiar with the setup: introduce a fairytale character, explain a complicated backstory, and hope for a happily ever after. However, this show seems to have a very different tone from the original. Alice lives in Victorian England and Cyrus, her true love, is not a fairy tale character from an established story. Instead, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland has actually succeeded in fabricating characters that we still care about, even though we didn’t grow up with them in our bedtime stories. Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter says, “There’s a chance that Wonderland will be a little more grounded with the acting while considerably more odd with the visuals, which just might be a good combination.”
Most critics seem to have mixed reactions to the new series. Variety’s Brian Lowry says that “there are certainly some arresting designs,” but also says, “ABC’s visit to Wonderland might once again leave the network less in need of a looking glass than a rear-view mirror.” The potential of the series is certainly in question, but I must say that I am coming along for the ride as long as it lasts.