Tag Archives: Robert Carlyle

5 Reasons I Still Watch and Enjoy ABC TV’s “Once Upon a Time”.

OUAT-logo

There are lots of choices of shows to watch, stream, etc these days. With only 24 hours in a day (and jobs, family, etc taking up a lot of those hours) it becomes more difficult to choose shows to watch. I realize that there are many reasons that people start and continue to watch shows, but one show has continued to keep me coming back to it, and that is ABC TV’s Once Upon a Time. I want to share my 5 Reasons I still watch and enjoy ABC TV’s “Once Upon a Time”.

how to get the most out of watching Once Upon a Time

5. It’s a modern day morality play. I love stories, but stories with depth and layers are far more interesting to me. If you peel back layers of stories like the Original Star Wars Trilogy, it’s a morality play of choosing the light side and the dark side of the force. The warnings are clear and we watch what happens when someone chooses one or the other.

Once Upon a Time is the same.

We hope that certain characters will do the right thing, but they sometimes (Okay, many times) don’t. We (the audience) know the risks and/or the reward from making choices, and watch the characters enjoy the good or struggle through their choices. Life is messy. Sure, we wish everyone would make the right choice all then time, but that doesn’t make very good dramatic television and also it doesn’t teach us anything. Sometimes we learn by watching people make wrong choices, and there are many made on Once Upon a Time.

white-out-once-upon-a-time

4. It’s an extension (Not a copy) of the Disney movies we grew up with. We all remember the Disney’s retelling of classic stories, but Once Upon a Time take’s a “fan fiction twist” if you will on the Disney version, plus original story elements and adding a heavy dose of the story Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis want to tell. There are enough nods to the stories we remember, but also a new helping of new story twists making it a brand new experience. To me, Adam and Eddy are the Walt Disney (as far as TV show story writing goes) for a new generation.

vlcsnap-2014-10-03-07h03m34s117

3. It’s a “Reality Show” for Heroes and Villians. Adam and Eddy have challenged us to think beyond the boxes we like to put characters in: They are a Villain (always bad) – They are a Hero (always good). We struggle to do the right thing, and yet do the wrong, but we make these cardboard 1 dimensional story characters that can never wrestle or struggle like we do, because we don’t want heroes or villains to be like us. They are, and great writers like Adam and Eddy remind us of that.

Regina’s multi-seasonal redemption arc from Evil Queen/Evil Mayor to hero who uses light magic and is a card-carrying member of the heroes of Storybrooke is the most incredible of all.

Rumpel/Gold has had an “almost” redemption journey. Just when you think he’s there, – the old power hungry Rumpel kicks in, well like I said – it’s like real like (without the magical stuff).

Snow, Charming and Emma we learn had darkness in their past. Heroes have to struggle against darkness to make right decisions to be the Hero.

Strength without struggle is impossible. The struggle we see makes these characters resonate with us.

vlcsnap-2015-03-27-21h11m38s30

2. It has some of the strongest actors on television today. Lana, Robert, Ginnifer, Josh, Jennifer… I could go on and on about the strong cast in Once Upon a Time. They are top notch actors, that many people have never heard of. You can feel the emotion their characters are giving off through the TV screen. I feel it. That is the key to great acting, and OUAT has it all around. They make you laugh with them, cry with them, relate with them and are repelled by them, too.

heartofgoldreview2

1. It’s like a diamond – we see the same thing, but take away only a facet. We are not all the same. We all have different life paths, beliefs, etc, and the great thing about OUAT is that whoever we are – we watch it, see and take away something different from it. OUAT has a “magical” power that pulls people together that normally wouldn’t be to share this incredible story about incredible characters told with incredible actors by incredible writers and crew.

11085647_863786413684910_290257768_o

My wife and I host the Once Upon a Time Fan Podcast (http://onceuponatimepodcast.com), and if you love OUAT, we invite you to check out our podcast.

2014 Hiatus Minisode 4 – Rumpel takes charge, Young Owen, Kurt’s new ship, Dharma on OUAT, 10 Reasons its good to be Emma

emmaouatsword

This is an unofficial podcast dedicated to the hit ABC show, Once Upon a Time

Podcast Episode 203

Onceuponatimepodcast.com/203

Rumpelstiltskin Takes On a Long Midnight
Young Owen Mendel has been spotted outside on Storybrooke
Kurt Flynn has been spotted on a ship. Not ours, but ya know.
The Dharma initiative has infiltrated Once Upon a Time
Prince Charming carries messages for Rumpelstilstkin to a identity thief
10 Reasons its good to be Emma

We are now an affiliate of the fanforum.com Once Upon a Time forum

Onceuponatimepodcast.com/forum

Emma Thompson to star in Robert Carlyle Directorial Debut “The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson”

http://www.flicksandbits.com/2014/02/01/emma-thompson-to-star-in-robert-carlyles-directorial-debut-the-long-midnight-of-barney-thomson/64472/

Have you ever watched something and said “Wait, I know that kid!” Well, it happened to me and it turned out to be Benjamin Stockham or young Owen Mendel as Marcus on an upcoming NBC show “About a Boy” also starring Minnie Driver as Fiona. Premiering Saturday February 22nd after the Olymipcs.

The show description is:
When quirky single mom Fiona and her son Marcus move in next door, Will’s (David Walton) perfect world is changed forever. Created for television by Parenthood’s Jason Katims.

One tidbit – One episode was directed by Jon Favreau

John Pyper-Ferguson (Kurt Flynn – Greg Mendel’s Dad) portrays Tex in TNT’s new series called “The Last Ship”. Michael Bay is Executive Producer, it also stars Rhona Mitra (The Lara Croft real life model from 1997-1998). The series is set to premiere in Summer 2014 on TNT.

Rhona Mitra as Tomb Raider's Lara Croft

Rhona Mitra as Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft

Eric Lange (who played Stuart Radzinsky on Lost) has been cast as young King Leopold.

The 1997 film “The Full Monty” starring Robert Carlyle as Gaz is now a stage production. Kenny Doughty is playing the role of Gaz for the stage version. In an interview he was asked if he had ever met Robert Carlyle, and he said, ”No, but my friend Josh Dallas stars with him in Once Upon A Time, and relays messages. Rob’s wished me good luck.”

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Coronation-Street-s-Kenny-Doughty-talks-role/story-20537737-detail/story.html

Top 10 reasons why it’s good to be Emma.
#1. Breaking a dark curse always looks good on a resume. 
#2. Highly experienced at tree pruning. 
#3. Boba Fett wishes he had your bounty hunter skills. 
#4. Have you met my friend Tiny?
#5. Free clothes from the mayor.
#6. A poker bluff has no chance with you.
#7. Your heart is like a vending machine. People can reach in and grab it but they can’t pull it out. 
#8. Your parents can’t use the ole “when I was your age” line.
#9. No pesky sheriff training needed.
#10. “So I slayed a Dragon once” is always a good conversation starter.

Thanks again to Brad Pogras for anotherr great 10 Reasons its good to be… lists.

Tell us how are you coping with the Once Upon a Time hiatus.

3X04 Nasty Habits – First Thoughts

Neal untied the overhand knot because of what he learned from Hook.

In a strange way to show love to his son, Rumpel stole a small knife to help Bae sharpen his coal. Thus, helping Bae with his talent and at the same time flexing his “Dark One” terrifying muscles at the man that owned the knife.

Will we ever see the knife again, I wonder?

Rumpel wanted to build a palace for Bae. many have built palaces to the ones they love (The Taj Mahal and more. Check this link: http://weburbanist.com/2010/02/10/architectural-love-story-10-castles-built-for-love/), but Rumpel built it to give Bae freedom – in a palatial prison.

Rumpel used war paint. It reminded me of American Indian war paint, and more recently Johnny Depp as Tonto in The Lone Ranger.

native-american-war-paint

Rumpel described Belle as a vision, but is it really Belle – or Pan?

vlcsnap-2013-10-20-19h56m06s120

Have there been other visions that Rumpel have seen? Will he use it to speak to others in the future?

The Lost Boys fort was drawn in sand. Classic war “breaking people out” or “Escape plan” or “Battle plan” in movies.

Hook shot Charming a look when the group was talking about Dream Shade, and wanting him to tell Snow.

The only time anyone can leave Neverland is when Pan allows it, except for Bae (and Rumpel, too?).

Lana had some great lines “Did you learn that from Bail Bondsperson School?”

Here are some screen shots of Neal’s cave on Neverland.

Stars on the ceiling

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h03m30s154

Other various wall screenshots

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h03m58s100

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h05m40s104

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h05m51s23

Cindy from our Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/ouatpodcast) added these incredible thoughts: “Drawn on Bae’s cave walls was P & S. These were the letters Hook carved on the Jolly Rodger when he was teaching Baelfire to sail. Port & Starboard. Also, we’re the people he drew, the Darlings? What building was that? His home…Also, I liked that Baelfire loved to draw, like his mother. He was drawing a picture when Rumple entered to give him that knife, and how that tied into his cave drawings… I thought it was interesting that when Rumple cast that sleeping curse over all the lost boys, Rumples spell didn’t effect Peter, thus the need for squid ink. Poor Henry, Pan caught him when he was VERY vulnerable, just being woken from the sleeping spell. Remember, Rumple warned Neal it’s dangerous to wake him before the spell has worn off… If, in the beginning, children only came to Peter’s Neverland in their dreams, would that make Peter The Dream Catcher? Reminding me of ( I think, Tallahassee?) Neal once gave Emma a map so they could find a “home”. Now, Neal seems to have given her a new map leading to “home”. But where might that map lead? Enchanted Forest? Storybrook? Wendy? Tallahassee? New York? Tink took a watch from Tamara’s body. Why a watch? Was it Neal’s watch? It didn’t look like a woman’s watch. Maybe it was my imagination, but I saw lots of little tidbits from Neal and Emma’s past together in this episode.”

Here is the scrawling of P and S from “And Straight On ‘Til Morning” that we forgot to mention as a connection.

vlcsnap-2013-10-22-17h52m23s222

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h06m00s121

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h06m07s196

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h06m18s51

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h06m38s241

Pan gave Hook a portal. Is Pan growing beans on the Neverland island?

Colleen noticed a lot of similarities with this episode and the book, Lord of the Flies.

Neal left Neverland without Pan’s permission – how? We know he knew a sneaky way to get to Neverland. I am very interested to see how he got away from Neverland.

Rumpel said that he would sacrifice his life to save Henry, but does he mean it?

Rumpel said “Magic led him to the hamlet (Shown in the episode),” so I would guess that his “magic tracking spell” works similarly to Tink’s Pixie dust trail that led her to Regina’s true love in the tavern.

The Pied Piper is introduced. He used a pan flute to lure children to follow it.

Neal showed that not only can a person use a (Conch) shell hear the ocean, but when sounded, the ocean can hear the shell “call”. Brilliant idea! Neal uses it call a squid (a la 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h33m06s102

Disney film

As the squid came ashore, Neal asked Rumpel to extract some squid ink that could, according to Neal it has the power to immobilize the most magical creatures.

Hook/Charming exchange. Charming seems to accept the fate of his death and urges Hook (as a final wish) to just save Henry.

Flint and a Hook can light a torch. Hook can be on Survivor!

@ktodd1116 on Twitter reminded us that “Did you know the show Survivor was based on #LordoftheFlies?” Amazing! I had forgotten that. Thanks for letting us know! 🙂

Listening to #f

vlcsnap-2013-10-21-06h05m23s180

The shot of Rumpel on the roof reminded me of many movies. That’s all I got for that.

To Catch a Thief shot that Colleen mentioned.

cary-on-roof

Pan Flute. Peter Pan played the Pan Flute to be the Pied Piper. That’s a lot of P’s.

If Pan give Hook a portal, pan must have used them a lot to gather children to go and dance in the forest. Pan also mentioned that he would take some of the children to Neverland.

Pan also mentioned “visit in dreams”. Is it in the fire room, and is it anyone who is sleeping? Cue the creepy similarity to Nightmare on Elm Street.

Certain boys can hear the flute, as only certain people could hear the cries on the island. Only the “Unloved, Unwanted…” could hear.

Henry initially said he was not like Pan or the Lost Boys (Turns out Rumpel gave Pan the idea to call them that. Rumpel is involved with everything!).

Pan’s pipe is enchanted. Who enchanted it and how?

When Henry didn’t hear the pipe at first, I thought that Pan didn’t blow into the pipe.

Another funny Lana line about the Lost Boys using the colander to make Pasta, or should they be happy that Neal made a nightlight. Classic Regina stuff tonight.

Guessing games.

Pan is magical. Who was he and how did he become magical?

Neal not coating the tip of the arrow was one of the brilliant twists tonight.

Self Preservation is a nasty habit. On the flip side, sacrifice is a noble thing.

Pan wasn’t always immortal. Is there any Dark One knife? How did Pan become immortal?

Rumpel mentioned seeing people’s “true nature”. It reminds me of “denying who you really are” scenes.

Neal was worried that if Rumpel did the right thing today, what about tomorrow. Rumpel seemed like he wanted to change, but Neal didn’t trust him.

Rumpel wanted his ‘Redemption’. “Have faith and believe in me”

Neal used the old “Squid ink on the back of a leaf” trick to freeze Rumple.

Emma never stopped loving Neal.

“Never break into a place unless you know how to get out”

It was an interesting exchange between Neal and Pan about Neal winning by leaving the island and Pan asking, “but where are you now?”.

Pan now reset the board and a new game began.

Belle believes in Rumpel, but is it really Belle?

Pan tells Henry “We can be your family,” like Hook did.

Henry could hear the music, but is it a ruse to “play” along and trick Pan to get off the island?

We send #BigLove to you all

Please Tweet out “I am listening to @ouatpodcast #FirstThoughts #OUAT #NastyHabits” when you listen to the podcast. Thanks

We would love to hear; your thoughts, what you noticed, etc.

OUAT- Rumple and his turning wheel

Did you notice in episode broken rumple was sitting at his Turning wheel. The one he uses to turn straw into gold.

This is the first time we seen it since the many times in season 1 such as this:

Since magic is different in the world they are in now since the curse has been broken. Can he still turn straw into gold. If so, what kind of plans does he have to use it on?.

Want more Once Upon A Time? Check out the Once Upon A Time Fan Podcast at http://ouat.roneyzone.com

OUAT – Top 10 Reasons that ABC’s Once Upon a Time works

The little fairy tale drama that could. Early on, there were so many that felt it would never make it past Season 1, but it did, and here are some of the reasons it worked;

1. It’s like Lost, but different. There are the Lost lovers (like me) that see the old friend of the strange place that people can’t leave and/or stay gone for too long. The flashbacks, the mythology, etc. There are Lost not-lovers, too, and this show is different enough that they don’t noticed the obvious shout outs to Lost.

2. Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis learned alot from working on Lost. It is one think to create a TV show, but it’s another to create a TV show that can have a huge story arc, but also change it up completely along the way (Lost did that Season to Season with new locations and people the survivors came in contact with, flashsideways, falshforwards, falshallarounds (j/k), etc). As we have heard from Regina, “Magic is unpredictable in this world,” and that’s all we need to take this rollercoaster ride to new places in new ways. To further prove it, Jane Espenson told us, “We’re picking up right where we left off, but where we left off was in the middle of a veer in a different direction. Season 2 will be different than season 1 (Source: http://www.hypable.com/2012/06/05/once-upon-a-time-producer-jane-espenson-talks-season-2-time-jump-the-little-mermaid/“)”. We are in for quite a ride, I’m sure.

3. Creators drawing more creatives. On their own, Adam and Eddie know their way around a great story, but they wanted to share the fun and brought in an Avengers-like super group of writers (and some assist in other roles in the production, too) to destroy boring, Reality TV. As we already know, Jane Espenson has the Midas touch with stories, but Andrew Chambliss (Writer for Dollhouse, Vampire Diaries and Heroes), David Goodman (Writer for The Event, Fringe, Angel), Ian B. Goldberg (Writer for Flash Forward and Sarah Conner Chronicles) and others make up the merry band of wordsmiths. We can continue with the costume genius of Eduard Castro, the knitting together of the emotional musical soul by Mark Isham’s brilliant score, Laura Jones (and others) spot on Visual Effects, and on and on. As you look through these creative magicians body of work, it’s not wonder that OUAT is amazing.

If you don’t own Mark Isham’s fantastic soundtrack, yet, use our Affiliate link to order it now:

4. Amazing actors. No one player wins a game, and no one actor makes a show great. Every actor has a place in the tapestry of the unfolding story. One of many draws is the allurement of actors drawing fans in from other projects (Lost, Big Love, Stargate Universe, etc, etc) to see what their favorite star is doing now and stay along for the ride. I could go on and on about the stellar cast, but I do want to point one thing out that Lost taught us. If a character is a ‘throw-away,’ character (They just cry all the time, she just whines all the time, etc), just wait til the next twist and you will be surprised at what they become.

5. We need this right now. With the financial crisis that has pulled all connecting countries down for a heart-breaking tailspin, we need to be reminded that hope, dreams and wishes are still alive. We are so far from Walt Disney’s simpler time when “Cinderella” came out that we needed a reminder that the magic and belief isn’t gone or out of style. A changed life isn’t just for a sister held back from the ball, hope and wishes still come true. In a way, OUAT has magically parted the jadedness of 2012 and reminded us that there is more to life than what the news tells us. We needed this reminder, now. I think that’s one of the main reasons this show works.

If haven’t already ordered the OUAT Season 1 Blu Ray set, use our Affiliate link now:

We also have our Affiliate link for OUAT Season 1 DVDs:

6. Fairy Tales and the mirror of the Human Journey. Just as I said earlier, the Lost portions that show through in Once Upon a Time, there is more to it. Fairy Tales, myths and other stories in our society are mirrors we look into to see the power and consequence of choices, derive inspiration from and more. The more we step back from stories, we see themes and motifs that people like Joseph Campbell (and others) point out and there are emotional chord that strike as we watch (or hear) them. Emma’s Call to Adventure, The Refusal, Supernatural Aid (Mentors like Henry and August), etc. Even if you don’t want to look that deep, there are plenty of moments that you say, “That’s me,” or react emotionally to a certain situation (The not-so fairy tale romance of David and Marry Margaret in Storybrooke). There are plenty of levels in Once Upon a Time to engage the watcher, and it engages me.

7. Return to communal fandom. I haven’t seen this Lost-like, watch and discuss, pour over screenshots, etc since Lost (Maybe Fringe). Lost changed things, and Once Upon a Time is the heir apparent to the Lost-ish fandom throne, imho.

8. The Open ended-ness of the story. We have discuss that the OUAT is an “out of the box” story, but the cast and characters can grow larger, or we can focus on characters already introduced. I’m keeping a close eye on what Jefferson’ hat will bring. Very interesting characters coming in and out of the magical hat doors. Can’t wait.

9. Good and Evil. As good as the do-gooders are, there are the do-badders, too. What is refreshing is the more we take the OUAT journey, we see that a “bad” character does have good in them (and vice versa). People (like good characters) are 3 dimensional. The struggle of good overtaking bad, and bad overtaking good is a primal struggle that we connect with.

10. Social Media is magical again. Whether you are a blogger, podcaster, Tumblr person, Twitter junky, etc, Social Media is a part of OUAT like Henry’s book. We are so lucky and fortunate this show came along at this time when we can Tweet questions and “Atta boy (or girl)” to our favorite cast members, and sometimes that tweet back. Live podcasts and blogs give fans more opportunities to gather together to discuss and build clost #Oncer relationships. As magical as the show is, the magic does spread out to RSS feeds, Twitter timelines, and more.

What do you think?

I love this show, alot. So much, that my wife and I host the Once Upon a Time Fan Podcast at http://onceuponatimepodcast.com join the family on Oncers with us, won’t you (Yes, even during the hiatus)?