Forget ABC’s undercooked ‘Once Upon A Time’ as the fall’s fairy-tale showcase. NBC’s newest supernatural horror ‘Grimm‘ shows more loyalty to fans of the fairy tale and horror genres alike.
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‘Grimm’ shares the same premise as ‘Once’ – fairy tales are not just fantasies your learn as a child but real stories about a supernatural world blended into our own.
‘Grimm,’ which airs Fridays at 9 p.m., is the darker and more dramatic of the two, while ‘Once’ plays on the twisted Disney take on the stories. The show’s hero is Oregon homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) who is new to the force and fears he could be suffering from a mental breakdown. Nick starts to see creepy hallucinations of random people whose faces morph into demons, goblins, wolves and worse. At least I think they were some sort of demon.
Nick’s aunt (Kate Burton), whom he loves like a mother, arrives for what seems like a normal visit. Instead, she’s come to tell him he’s about to inherit the family curse. The good news is that Nick isn’t crazy; the bad news is now he has the ability to see evil in true form.
Nick is a descendant of the Grimms, who are demon slayers fated to battle with werewolves, demons and witches, oh my! Now it makes sense why the producers of ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ would get involved with a show like this. So far, the choreographed fights and demon make-up are reminiscent of ‘Buffy.’
Nick’s aunt ends up in the hospital after battling a demon, who tries to kill her and Nick with a scythe bearing the inscription ‘Reapers of the Grimms.’ “We have the ability to see what no one else can,” Nick’s aunt says. “When they lose control they can’t hide, and we see them for what they really are.” The nurse in the hospital later says to Nick, “What kind of work was your aunt in? She has knife scars all over her body.” Nick’s response, “She’s a librarian.” Well, time to wake up Nick and face the demons of the world! (Also sounds similar to Buffy?)
Nick pairs up with reformed Blutbad (in our words, a wolf) named Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell, the best character in the pilot) and the two venture off to find the bad guy of the moment.
Russell Hornsby is cast as Nick’s partner Hank, who hasn’t been given much to do yet save some slight comic relief. Bitsie Tulloch plays his soon to be fiancée Juliette, who hopefully will be given more than just staring out the window looking worried.
Grimm’s first episode played with the tale of ‘Red Riding Hood’ and had certain scenes that made you cringe and gasp. As the show progresses, I hope we see more underlying Grimm tales like ‘Goldilocks,’ ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Snow White’ come out to play.
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