Title: Once Upon a Time (ABC Sundays 8/7c)

Genre: Fantasy, family drama

Location: Storybrooke, Maine (where happy endings apparently go to die) or fairytale land (every girl’s retirement plan)

General Premise:

In order to seek revenge on Snow White and Prince Charming, the Evil Queen exiles the entire kingdom to Storybrooke, Maine. The only one who knows their true identities is Henry, a 10-year-old boy given up for adoption by Emma Swan – who doesn’t know she’s the daughter of Snow White or that the fate of the fairytale world rests on her shoulders.

Connection to Grimm Fairy Tales: The land from whence these characters originally came seems to be a strange melange of all the Grimm fairytales.

Supernatural weirdness factor (scale 1-10): 6.5. However, while there are two separate lands, the real world seems to be getting more magical by the second.

Cheese Factor (scale 1-10): 9. Everything from the costumes to the script reeks of cheese. The show takes itself far too seriously, and it’s difficult not to laugh when Grumpy, Geppetto and Prince Charming chat casually, like its just another Monday at the water cooler.

Title: Grimm (NBC Fridays 9/8c)

Genre: Supernatural, crime, mystery

Location: Portland, Oregon

General Premise:

Homicide detective Nick Burkhardt learns that he is the last descendant in a long line of supernatural hunters called the “Grimms.” He discovers that he can see people’s supernatural identities, enabling him to fight them with the ease and accuracy that no one else can; meanwhile, he continues to investigate murders while keeping his legacy a secret.

Connection to Grimm Fairy Tales:

The creatures that Nick must fight are all creatures or villains coming from Grimm’s fairy tales.

Supernatural Weirdness Factor:

5. The series takes place in the real world, which is infiltrated with supernatural beings (a fact only known to a few people).

Cheese Factor (scale 1-10):

3. The show is surprisingly un-cheesy and manages to mix some humor and irony into its dialogue, which keeps things a little lighthearted and balances well with the dark, twisted cases that they face.

Verdict: With the creators of “Lost” at its helm, “Once Upon a Time” seems like the more original series on paper. But it doesn’t really have the magical effect that it should. “Grimm” has a better survial chance because it takes a well-known formula of a crime TV series and gives it a fairytale twist that adds flair instead of cheese.