By the end of season One, ABC was already touting Once Upon a Time as the best new drama on television and small wonder given that it breaks away from the wretched crime drama rut and wonder of wonders; no sleaze, excessive violence or profanity to be found, probably one of the most family-friendly dramas that television has seen in like twenty years. What... is a creatively enjoyable story with likeable characters, great FX and gorgeous sets still sufficient to rate as exceptional adult entertainment?

Seriously, this brilliant fantasy drama just continues to gain momentum with each episode as you are drawn into a world where classic fairy tale characters are brought to life after having been exiled to our world via a wicked queen's evil spell and all memories of their previous lives have been erased. Snow White and Prince Charming are the most obvious main characters but there are also dwarves, fairies, trolls and other great characters like Red Riding Hood, Gepetto & Pinocchio, The Mad Hatter and many more along with some nasty villains like Rumplestiltskin and of course the Evil Queen herself. And in spite of the fantasy setting, it's also immediately apparent from the cast's performance that this is a program that takes itself seriously resulting in a surprisingly believable story. Also, Once Upon plays a little like a detective show in that various clues are revealed in each episode all pointing to their previous lives, and although this is a serial, many of the episodes are just great stand-alone, fairy-tale based stories

Now if you're like me and just couldn't get into Lost please don't be put off by the fact that Once Upon has some of the same writers because the style of this series doesn't resemble that one at all. In fact it doesn't resemble anything on the big three networks, which is probably one of the main reasons I was so taken with it; i.e. utter amazement at something so remarkably nonconforming.

I'm not gonna review each episode because I dislike spoilers and you can easily wiki summaries of each but I will say that "Desperate Souls" is a very moving story featuring my favorite character Mr. Gold, "Skin Deep" is an excellent take on the Beauty & the Beast theme, "Dreamy" features an awesome dual-story featuring everyone's favorite dwarf, "Red Handed" is one of the most creative werewolf stories I've seen in years, "Hat Trick" is visually gorgeous and introduces the existence of other fantasy worlds and finally in "A Land Without Magic"...way to go ABC for giving us such a ridiculously cool dragon!

As a long-time fan of TV fantasy and sci-fi series (good ones being few and far between) I can honestly say that this is one of the best and reminds me a little of the Harry Potter films in that it is very character driven. I found myself eagerly anticipating each Sunday evening to see what new turn of events the next episode would bring, and of course with the release of season one I can now sit and veg for hours on end watching one of my fav new shows.

With 22 fabulous episodes packed into this DVD set (having a hard time thinking of a really lame one) prepare to become a permanent fan of the show, harboring a secret desire to run away to Storybrooke. :o)

I don't watch a lot of television, but I do allow myself to get hooked on a few series (Mad Men and The Walking Dead presently). I very happily added Once Upon a Time to the list this year. Very skillfully written, especially in terms of transversing the fairy tale world and the "real world" Storybrooke. And I appreciate the way the writers fractured a few fairy tales in the interest of advancing certain plot lines. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I think the characters are rich and multi-dimensional. Some of the most interesting aspects of the show are found it its dark undercurrents/themes. It might be an 8:00 show, but it is definitely an 8:00 show with an edge.

The acting is top-notch. Robert Carlyle will always be a favorite, but all of the actors are spot on for their characters. It has been a great first season and I look forward to Sunday's finale with mixed feelings. I can't wait to see what happens, but I will miss watching the show over the summer.

I've watched this show since the pilot and fell in love with each new episode it had to offer. This show is so unbelievably unique in its own way and its fun to see what kind of new twists come up within it. My favorite episodes so far have been: Skin Deep, Heart of Darkness & Desperate Souls. Robert Carlyle is very very always on time with his acting. He brings Rumplestiltskin to live in this new magical out come of our favorite disney characters and many other fairytales that lurk within a vault. His performance is breath taking and truly remarkable. Everyone should watch this show because if your not then your missing out on a great show. This has an amazing cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla & of course Robert Carlyle. You will not be let down by the fantastic twist that the directors have been putting down here. Its a must see for fairytale lovers. You have my word that this show is very good to watch with all ages. Once Upon A Time, is truly remarkable.