Once Upon a Time: TV Series

There were only two new shows that I was really looking forward to in the new fall season (other than Smash, which doesn’t start until February), and they were both based on fairy tales. Once Upon a Time and Grimm. And I am hooked on both.

I liked the premise of Once Upon a Time: fairy tale characters that have been cursed to live in our world. And I enjoy how each episode goes back and forth from Fairy Tale land to modern day Storybrooke. However, when I saw the first episode, I wondered how they were going to be able to stretch the premise into a full season, or even more. It seemed more suited to a mini-series.

Luckily, they have more stories in them that I thought. Each episode usually highlights one specific fairy tale character/story in Fairy Tale Land, with a parallel story featuring the same characters in Storybrooke.

Once Upon a Time isn’t a perfect series to me. There are some things that I don’t particular like.

I like deconstruction of fairy tales, however, it would be nice if they deconstructed more from the original fairy tales and not from the Disney-fied version of the stories. For example, as much as I like Raphael Sbarge and his character, Jiminy Cricket is a Disney creation, not part of the original fairy tale. And I don’t believe the bad fairy in Sleepy Beauty has a name, but in Once Upon a Time her name is Maleficent, just as it is in the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty.

Another thing that bothers me is that there are so many fairy tales to use in the series, so why did they use a King Midas, a mythological character? If they continue in that direction, and if they’re basing characters on Disney animated movies, I guess we’ll be seeing Hercules soon.

In spite of these things, I still like Once Upon a Time very much, and I am excited to see where the story goes.

Shakespeare Behind Bars

As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

This weekend I rented Shakespeare Behind Bars. It’s a documentary about a program at a Kentucky prison where the inmates rehearse and perform a Shakespeare play. The documentary was filmed for almost a year when the inmates were getting ready for a production of The Tempest.

The Tempest is a play about many things, including punishment, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, confinement and freedom. It was very heartbreaking and moving to hear the actors/inmates (which included burglars, drug dealers, and murderers) talk about their crimes, to see their honest emotions, and to hear how themes in the play related to them.

One of the inmates, who sexually abused seven girls, said, with a catch in his voice, “The people who need mercy the most deserve it the least.”

The arts can make a difference. It can change lives. One purpose of prison is rehabilitation. The Warden of the prison was very profound when he said, “How they leave when they leave this island is key. They can put us out of business. They just don’t come back.”

Theatre can help people work through issues, for those performing it and for those watching it. Shakespeare’s themes are relevant today because we aren’t that much different from those who lived 400, 500 or even a thousand years ago.

I guess you could say that Shakespeare said it best (which he usually did):
With my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury
Do I take part? The rarer action
is in virtue than in vengeance.”

It Started with a Voice

There has never been an actor whom I liked well enough to make me want to see every one of his or her movies, simply because that actor was in it.

Except one.

It may surprise you who the actor (actress) is, primarily because most people don’t even know who she is, since, even though she’s still alive, her last move was released in 1948.

Her name is Deanna Durbin.

In 1935 Deanna auditioned for Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM at the time, with another young teenager named Judy Garland, when she was 14. It’s said that Louis told his staff to get rid of the “fat one.” He was referring to Judy; his staff thought he meant Deanna. So, Judy went on to fame at MGM. Deanna went to an ailing Universal Studios where her movies became so popular that she saved the film studio from bankruptcy.

She made her first full-length movie in 1936, but even at that young age, Deanna had a voice that was so clear and wonderful, and a personality that could fill the screen, that no one could deny her talent. You could call her the 1930’s version of Jackie Evancho (other than the acting part), but Deanna’s voice was more beautiful and unique. And who could resist that face!

I can’t really say why I enjoy her movies so much. The plots of some of her films are very silly, as many old movies are, but Deanna is just so likable. You cheer for her to achieve her dreams. And boy, can that woman cry. I believe that when the director said, “I’d like you to cry now,” she did it just as soon as he said, “action,” right on cue. And then there's her voice - well, you just have to hear it to believe it.

For your own introduction to the greatness of what is Deanna Durbin, I would suggest you start with It Started with Eve. It’s a comedy about a man whose dying father’s wish is to meet his son’s fiancée. His fiancée isn’t available, and the man thinks that his father only has a few hours left to live, so he asks a hat-check girl (Deanna) to pose as his fiancée. When his father recovers - that’s when the fun starts. It Started with Eve has a great cast with Robert Cummings playing the faux boyfriend, and Charles Laughton at his best as the ailing father.

It is considered to be a musical, but the musical numbers (which include “The Lord’s Prayer, and “When I Sing” from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty) fit naturally into the plot, and no one simply breaks into song for no reason (although, I do have to say that I love musicals, and don’t mind people just breaking into song). And remember what I said about crying. When Deanna sings “Goin’ Home” and you see those tears, you just want to break down yourself.


After you’ve seen It Started with Eve and kick yourself when you realize what you’ve been missing for so long, I would suggest you next pick up His Butler’s Sister, and then the one that started it all, Three Smart Girls. Just enjoy the movies for what they are good, plain fun with a charming leading lady and incredible music.

Pic of the Week: Little Red Riding Hood

Book Review: Crossed

This review is going to be quite short because the book frustrated me so much.

Description:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Review:

Crossed is the second book in the Matched series, and when I read Matched, the first book of the series, I had a hard time putting the book down because I became so interested in the world that Ally Condie created. I cared about the characters, and I wanted to know what happened to them.

I did not have the same experience with Crossed. I put the book down several times, picking up other books to read in between. By the time I was over half way through the book, I was still waiting for something to happen; and I was waiting to care about the characters. Having the book narrated by two separate characters was okay at first, but toward the end I just got confused over whose point of view it was this time.

I will probably read the third book because there's sure to be some action in it, but when you write a trilogy, the second book can't be boring or you may lose readers for the third book.

Grammar Gaffe of the Week: Nauseated/Nauseous

I love grammar. And I love to speak and hear correct grammar. It concerns me that many grammar mistakes are becoming commonplace. (**Note: No, it isn't incorrect to start a sentence with a conjunction.)

I want to help people learn correct grammar usage and use this blog as my platform to teach it. I’m not always going to explain the rules, which can often be confusing and hard to remember, but I’d like to give simple ways to remember the correct usage.

I’m not grammatically correct 100% of the time, but I usually know what “sounds right” more than I remember each rule. It helps me to hear the correct usage over and over.

Each week I hope to have a new grammar gaffe with examples of correct or incorrect usage overheard in real life, in a movie, on the television, or read in a book, etc.

My first grammar gaffe post is neaseated vs. nauseaous. This isn't so much a lesson in grammar as it is in learning to use the right word to describe feeling like you want to throw up and describing the thing that makes you feel like you want to throw up.

At the weigh-in on the first episode of the new season of the Biggest Loser, one of the contestants spoke about his initial workout on the Biggest Loser Ranch. He said he felt "nauseous. "

When you feel like you want to throw up, you are nauseated. Something that makes you feel nauseated is nauseous (e.g., The nauseous meat made me nauseated.).

One of my favorite examples of the correct usage of nauseated and nauseous is from the song, "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch
With a nauseous super nos

It's nice to know we can learn correct grammar from an animated holiday classic.

Doctor Who: David Tennant Marries the Doctor's Daughter

David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor on the British series, Doctor Who, married Georgia Moffett on Friday, December 30th in London. I'm sure there were great cries of woe from many women. I think it's wonderful for him and Georgia.

I wanted to make the title for this blog, "David Tennant Marries His Daughter," but I though that was just a bit creepy, even if it is true, fictionally. Georgia and David met on the set of a great episode of Doctor Who called "The Doctor's Daughter" where Georgia played - wait for it - the Doctor's daughter, Jenny. But the title I wanted is true in another way. Georgia is the daughter of the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. How cool is that!

David and Georgia also have a daughter, Olive, who was born in March. So, the Doctor's daughter is the mother of the Doctor's daughter. Okay, that a bit creepy out of context too.