A blog of my running thoughts while reading. *Warning: Spoilers*
This was a very nice retelling of a very familiar fairy tale. The fairy godmother was great, but what really made the telling was the focus on how it was Cinderella’s sweet personality that caused the prince to fall in love with her and not her magical gowns. The characters were marvelous and the actors did a great job.
This was an interesting retelling of the story. It had a great frame story around it, too. I really liked how they portrayed the piper in his brilliantly colored cloak and hat. The part about the little boy who was left behind was done really well. I love that they set up his fate ahead of time (most versions forget that part). This was very well done.
Usually we see the Snow Queen as sort of the villain of the story, but this version painted her in a decidedly good light. The Lady of Summer came off looking much worse. I liked Gerta and the Robber Girl, they both did great jobs. I actually really liked the costuming in this one too. This was an interesting retelling of this fairy tale and it was fun to watch.
This was amusing. It was heavily watered down, but not as much so as many modern versions. The wolf still came down the chimney, just not into a boiling pot. And the pigs still got their revenge, the wolf his punishment, it just wasn’t in the way we are used to seeing it happen. I wasn’t fond of Tina, the girl pig. She was portrayed as shallow, flighty and stupid, yet highly desirable. It was annoying.
This was such an interesting episode. The Doctor and Rose meet Charles Dickens at the very end of his life. He talks a lot in the episode about how he spend so long searching for real evidence of the supernatural (ghosts, etc.), only to have learned that every claim was a hoax, every “medium” a charlatan. He is a true skeptic, but he also wants to believe. It was interesting how they used that element of his life and personality throughout the episode. This is a part of Dickens that we rarely hear about and they used it so well.
This was a great retelling of the story. The boy’s interactions with the ghouls in the castle were great. I especially liked when he was telling one how to improve its wail! The princess was excellent as well. She was helpful, but not overly so. The narration was easily some of the best in the series, although most episodes manage not to have any. I enjoyed it a lot!
Although still rather a dark story, this was the lightest of the bunch. Medusa was extremely well done. She usually comes out looking kind of silly, but this one was actually pretty creepy. I thought that Danae was good, but Perseus was a bit stiff. The dog was excellent in this one. I’m not going to miss this show nearly as much as the fairy tale one.
This was an interesting telling of Beauty and the Beast. The beginning of the story with the family was somewhat condensed, yet a suitor for Beauty was added in. A lot of time was spent showing Beauty getting to know the Beast at his castle, which worked well. I liked the costuming in this one. It seemed a little odd that the Beast (in his prince form) was French when no one else was, but I suppose that he did say that his kingdom was very far away.
This is another not so well known tale, but it was so much fun to watch. I thought that the princess was especially well done in this one. She didn’t feel spoiled, selfish or random, but rather like a girl tired of being seen as a pathway to lands riches and a crown, a girl tired of nobody caring who she really was or what she wanted.
This was another well-told tale. It’s a lesser known, but fascinating tale. I was impressed that they chose to tell it. The fairies were cute and they did a great job making the problems with each wish clear. The ending was cute, although I could have done without the spelled out lesson!