Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is the story of Alice, but later on in her life. This is nothing like the Tim Burton interpretation. This is the spirited, little girl that we loved as Alice in books but all grown up. She's now a clever, young woman with determination.
Wonderland takes on a life of it's own, incorporating parts of the original story like the mock turtle and chess game, but serving them up in a whole new way.
There are references to Once Upon a Time, there's no need to watch this before Wonderland. Wonderland stands on its own as an interesting tale.
It's VERY creative and the story begins quickly. I suggest watching through to at least the 3rd episode then deciding if you want to stick with it. The 3rd, 4th and 5th episode are all great character studies, while the 1st and 2nd set the stage.
Strong female AND male characters lead characters are a nice touch. It's very balanced.
The story isn't spoon-fed to the watcher either which adds to the unpredictability. Anything that seems out of place (like the phony Queen and the presence of Jafer) are there for a reason is all I have to say.
It's great to see an extremely creative, fantasy show on TV. Being a fan of shows like Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, White Dwarf (I wish that made it past the pilot), and others, I really hope this show's given a chance.
A lot of sci-fi or vampire shows seem to make into several seasons, but fantasy seems to have more of a challenge.
This is definitely one of the better ones, but I fear it may suffer a similar fate to Stargate Universe (which starred Robert Carlyle AKA Rumplestilskin), where viewers expect it to be like the previous incarnation.
It's wonderful to see Michael Socha (The Knave of Hearts) play the underdog who struggles to do the right thing. (He was also in the ill- fated fantasy/horror "Being Human" UK version which ended too soon).
Wonderland is focused on just a couple stories, instead of several like Once Upon a Time. It's more of a quest and journey focusing mainly on Alice, but with VERY interesting characters surrounding her.
