"Once Upon a Time"...New on ABC

Everyone who reads about upcoming shows has heard about the remake of "Charlie's Angels" that has been in the work for years. Well, yesterday I got two exclusive television promos from ABC...and one was for the new "Charlie's Angels". I could review that preview here but, to be completely honest, I'm far more excited about the promo I saw for the other new show, "Once Upon a Time".

The show's main character is a female bail bonds collector. But, before you think that this is just another version of a crime show, think again. Instead this woman's 10-year-old son believes that she is really a princess stuck in current day America. "Once Upon a Time" is a modern fairytale, filled with princes, curses, and magic. Two stories are told simultaneously, in one all of the characters are true fairytale characters (complete with princess gowns and medieval weapons) and in the other they are living in a modern-day world, completely unaware that their other lives exist. The premise sounds complicated, but because the show is made by the creators of "Lost", I have high hopes that they'll be able to deal well with the complexity. I'm also excited about the show because the quality of the footage that I've seen looks superb. It lacks the cheesy-quality that many fantasy shows have, and is cinematically reminiscent of a show like "The Tudors".

My one concern is that the show is going to be competing with "Game of Thrones", which already had a staunch following because of the cult level of the books that it is based on. "Games of Thrones", like "Once Upon a Time", is set in a fantasy world and has multiple storylines happening at the same time. Obviously on many levels the shows are incredibly different, but it's a question of whether or not both shows can hold a mainstream audience when they are both so focused on fantasy. However, I do think that "Once Upon a Time" will stand apart because one of its storylines is set in the modern day world. This may also make it more attractive to mainstream America, which often rejects full fantasy as 'nerdy' and 'other'. If "Once Upon a Time" is really good I may even forgive ABC for removing "Brothers and Sisters" from its lineup...maybe.

Also, does the whole "Once Upon a Time"/"Once Upon a Mattress" titling bother/confuse anyone else? I seriously almost typed the title incorrectly every time I mentioned it!