Grimm
There seems to be an influx of televisions shows based on the Grimm Fairy Tales. “Once Upon a Time” focuses on the characters we are most familiar with…Snow White, Prince Charming and even Alice in Wonderland. On the opposite side, there is “Grimm” which focuses on the creatures or monsters in the stories, for instance, the Big Bad Wolf and ogres.
Written by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Stephen Carpenter, the storyline centers around Portland homicide detective, Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) who discovers from his dying grandmother that he has descended from a long and elite line of Grimms who have the ability to see seemingly regular people for the creatures they really are. As a Grimm, his main responsibility is to maintain a sense of balance between mankind and the mythological creatures he comes across.
Nick’s greatest ally is a reformed wolf creature named Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell, “Prison Break”) who is, of course well versed on all the different types of creatures in which Nick comes in contact. Unfortunately, at least for now he has to hide his alter ego from his girlfriend (Bitsie Tulloch) and detective partner (Russell Hornsby). Nick somehow accomplishes this even when an ogre attacks him and his girlfriend. I think that I might be asking some pretty tough questions if I were her, but other than being attacked, she doesn’t seem to notice the ogreish features.
One problem I have noticed is with consistency. For instance, Nick’s boss Capt. Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz, “The Day After Tomorrow”) is one of the evil and manipulating creatures but although Nick can see beyond other personas, he can’t seem to see anything wrong with Renard. If I missed something, I hope someone will let me know because it really bothers me. Of course, if he did seem him as the creature he really is, it would greatly affect the plot and probably lead to a much shorter season.
“Grimm” can get a bit gruesome at times but it balances itself with imaginative story-lines, great special effects and humour. Although the episodes are somewhat focused on the creature of the week, there is still a good continuing plot, which helps it rise above the “cookie cutter” genre. The show was recently renewed for a second season so I hope the writers can continue to give us plot twists, which will keep it exciting.
When I first started watching “Grimm”, I really didn’t like it but was somewhat intrigued by the concept. For some reason, I continued to watch and have come to really appreciate the twists the writers put on the Grimm Fairy Tale creatures as well as the imaginative plot lines. It is a show that is definitely worth watching and I’m glad it will have a second season to iron out any rough edges.
Written by Joyce Parnell
