Okay, so I finally watched the frist episode of NBC's Grimm. And, as you can probably figure out from the title of this post... It's my new favorite show.
Once Upon a Time is good. But this is way more my style... this far.
Before I discuss the awesomeness of the first episode, maybe I should set the stage a bit. I think I've said this before (maybe not on here) but this show -- totally gives off the feeling of Law and Order: SVU where the victims aren't being attacked by your evil humans, they are at the mercy of fairy tale inspired monsters. A child molester who can turn into a wolf -- intense. So, I think the TV-14 rating is pretty fair.
Oh, did I mention that this show comes to us via the producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a (the?) writer of Angel? I'm all about some Joss Whedon (the brilliant mind behind those shows and also Firefly) so anything coming from people who worked on his stuff -- yes, I have high hopes.
And they didn't let me down.
Here's what some tweeter's had to say...
Yes, totally the perfect blend of tension, horror, action and comedy. I love it. So, more in-depth premise. From what I can tell is that there are monsters in our world who loose control and attack people. Right? Okay, so the Grimm's tried to warn us (I assume with their stories) but who would believe that? So, now there are people who are given a "gift" of sight -- they can see these creatures for what they really are -- and are here to protect us. They are called Grimms.
So, our main character, Nick, is a detective. Life is pretty normal. Except, he starts to see women who have creepy faces and men with snake tongues. How does Nick respond to this? He just focuses more on the case in front of him: a young college girl who was out running in the park and was torn to pieces. Did I mention the red hoodie she was wearing? Or the fact that there were no animal tracks around? Hmm... Well I should've.
Anyway, Nick does his job and gets home. Ready for a night with his (almost) fiance, when he realizes his aunt (the lady who raised him -- since his parent's died in a car accident...or did they?) is visiting. She's dying of cancer and is the active Grimm. As far as I can tell, when she dies, he'll inherit his full power.
I won't tell you anymore about the frist episode... apart from the fact I can't stress how awesome it is. Oh, also, the aunt? Yeah, she winds up in the hospital at one point and the doctor is all "Hey, did you know about the scars?" and Nick says, "What scars?" Turns out she's covered in scars that look like they've come from being kickass. When the doctor asks what he job was we find out she was a librarian. Having worked as a librarian I was very excited by the kick-assness of this.
I think as viewers we are promised so much in this first episode. Mystery, (What the hell is going on? What really happened to Nick's parents? Who is the man in the car at the end?) humor, action... It has the makings of just being plain awesome.
Don't believe me? Check out this preview of the season...
Not enough for you? Or maybe you missed the first episode and want to watch it... Either way, go to the webpage. It is chock full of goodies.
I have to admit, I was extremely disappointed by this pilot. The main character is the only decent actor, and SO much of the 'plot' in this episode was obvious and cliche. The whole "But I can't leave my girlfriend--I'm about to propose!" thing is totally weakened by the fact that we don't learn anything about their relationship in this episode. Yes, there are time constraints for a pilot, but the writers should've worked more within the bounds of the pilot and then used the subsequent episodes to set up this tension. When I saw that David Greenwalt was attached to it, I actually mourned his reputation a little.
ReplyDeleteHmm... I wish that I could respond to comments like you can on LiveJournal.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yes. It was cliche. I will admit that. Also, I totally agree on the girlfriend thing. I kind-of hope that the reason we didn't get too much on their relationship is that she's going to be gone soon. I don't really see her sticking around.
HOWEVER, I think my reaction is due in part to how predictable ONCE UPON A TIME is starting to feel to me. I was so excited about both shows I was just glad that one actually didn't get me bored. I also enjoyed seeing how the tale was applied to the modern time. That shot where the mail man hangs her hooide up in the closet with all the other hoodies was pretty intense. Also, how the woods is a park...well, sometimes.
I think that they are setting up some expectations that won't be followed through. Many of the monsters aren't going to be right out of the fairy tales and that's kinda of to be expected (you can only have so many scorned mothers and evil sisters) but I think that given time it'll play out okay.
Also, I don't see this hanging on for as many seasons as other shows... I think it might have an amazing first season. Maybe a fantastic second season, but not a kick-ass 5th season. So, we'll see.
This show is too creepy for me. I really can't handle scary anything.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna watch the lighter, fluffier 'Once Upon a Time' and I'm totally okay with that. :P
It certainly had cliche moments, but I really liked it! I mean, it took me about 0.7 seconds to realize that the girl running was wearing a red jacket and that meant bad things. But regardless, I love the Grimms. Fingers crossed!
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