Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

:

Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 10, 2013
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 92
  3. Negative: 14 out of 92
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User Reviews

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  1. DQ_Slotkins
    Oct 22, 2013
    3
    So, so pitiful. A terrible waste of talent. There was potential here, but they didn't come through with a script worth filming. The CGI is so cheap it belongs in the 1990s. I've seen better effects on laundry detergent ads.

    I'll continue watching the original show but not this weak spin-off.
  2. Criticak
    Oct 26, 2013
    2
    I rated the pilot a couple of weeks back and now the third episode aired a few nights ago and i just want to point out that it was awful. this show is going nowhere! Stick to the original Once upon a time not it's cheap spin-off
  3. Vagoth
    Sep 22, 2014
    3
    "Alice in Wonderland" is one of my favorite books, and I've enjoyed "Once Upon a Time". Being a combination of the two, I had high hopes for "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland", but it quickly proved disappointing, mostly due to the writing.

    Both the plot and dialogue feel thrown together and forced. The character's are multi-dimensional and unpredictable, but only because they are    "Alice in Wonderland" is one of my favorite books, and I've enjoyed "Once Upon a Time". Being a combination of the two, I had high hopes for "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland", but it quickly proved disappointing, mostly due to the writing.

    Both the plot and dialogue feel thrown together and forced. The character's are multi-dimensional and unpredictable, but only because they are inconsistent. So much effort is put into giving the backstory for each character and why they are doing what they are doing in the present, but lacking logical cohesion, the backstory doesn't explain the character's irrational behavior.

    The plot is often painfully contrived, where the characters could easily go a better route for themselves, but chose a more dramatic direction, simply because the writers wish it and didn't bother inventing a good reason why the characters should go that way. This seems to happen most frequently whenever someone makes a magic wish. They *know* they need to wish carefully, and yet the characters always make the dumbest, most open-to-catastrophic-interpretation wishes the writers can think of.

    I was finally driven from watching the show when they introduced their Jabberwocky character. Since the original illustrations of "Through the Looking Glass", the Jabberwock has always been a dragon-like creature. In "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" it looks like a glam-rocker woman. And it was one of the most painful performances I've seen on TV. And forgive me if this critique is too nerdy, but everyone in the show kept calling her the Jabberwocky, when Jabberwocky is the name of the poem, the creature in the poem is the *Jabberwock*. Did they ever even read the books?    … Expand
  4. raviopatra
    Nov 17, 2013
    3
    I was intrigued to check out the pilot because Once Upon a Time has been consistently good for its first two seasons and season 3 is, in fact, even becoming more solid. However, this spin-off doesn't impress me at all. I guess I'm no longer thrilled by the unconventional takes on classic tales. And the VFX is seriously horrible. I know it's a network TV show, but at least have the decencyI was intrigued to check out the pilot because Once Upon a Time has been consistently good for its first two seasons and season 3 is, in fact, even becoming more solid. However, this spin-off doesn't impress me at all. I guess I'm no longer thrilled by the unconventional takes on classic tales. And the VFX is seriously horrible. I know it's a network TV show, but at least have the decency to work better on the visual effect because it's really irritating. Red light for me.… Expand
  5. tymerk
    Mar 29, 2014
    3
    It would be better left alone once in a fairy tale, and it distorts the whole episode with its own story while trying to tie them that they peresikalis ... This is not work because in the series once a tale of gin, and this other, and somehow miraculously he was not storebruke and in Wonderland. And it's not all alkaline error. The best option is to close the show once in Wonderland.

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed TV Season of 2013
90
#90 Most Shared TV Season of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 23
  3. Negative: 3 out of 23
  1. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Vicki Hyman
    Feb 13, 2014
    50
    The grand, star-crossed romance between Alice and Cyrus is promising, and turning Alice into a willful Victorian riot grrl is a move that will resonate with many viewers. As in "Once," the computer-generated landscapes and creatures don't quite work--they look do look unworldly, but in a cheesy way.
    Read full review
  2. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Oct 24, 2013
    38
    Wonderland grabs elements from the Lewis Carroll classic, throwing them down a rabbit hole and lets them land willy-nilly. [28 Oct 2013, p.42]
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Margaret Lyons
    Oct 10, 2013
    40
    Wonderland has no nuance. It's not elegant or metaphorical at all, and many of the scenes would be at home on an episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
    Read full review
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