Editor's Review

Grimm

(July 15th, 2011.)               David Giuntoli (Turn The Beat Around), Russell Hornsby (Lincoln Heights), Bitsie Tulloch (Quarterlife), Silas Weir Mitchell (Prison Break), Reggie Lee (Persons Unknown) and Sasha Roiz (Caprica) star in the offbeat drama Grimm, airing Friday nights at 9pm, on NBC, starting this fall.

"Grimm" is a new drama series inspired by the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales. Remember the fairy tales your parents used to tell you before bedtime? Those weren’t stories, they were warnings. Nick Burkhardt (Giuntoli) thought he prepared himself for the realities of working as a homicide detective until he started seeing things he couldn’t quite explain. When his ailing Aunt Marie (guest star Kate Burton) arrives, Nick's life turns upside down when she reveals they are descendants of an elite group of hunters, also known as "Grimms," who fight to keep the balance of humanity safe from the supernatural creatures of the world. As Nick digs deeper into her past, he realizes that he will have to shoulder the responsibility of his ancestors, and contend with a larger-than-life mythology of the Brothers Grimm that is now all too real.

The popularity of Vampires in particular and the occult in general, has TV producers scrambling to catch up to his trend. This series is as reaction by the network that does not have vampires, to find something that will appeal to that large and young segment of the audience. The variety in the stories within the framework of the stories of the brothers Grimm gives the writers several chances to find the particular part of these stories that is going to appeal to the largest audience, and of course, if they find more than one direction is successful, there is nothing wrong with creating a sequel.

Of course first you have to find success with the first series. And that is not as easy with this drama as it might be with others. This effort is dark and brooding with moments of intense action. Then suddenly it is calm again. That kind of emotional turmoil may be more than many viewers are looking for in a weekly television drama.

The age of the cars used in the pilot are so out of place that is has an effect on the creative intent of the series. I guess when you are producing a series as risky as this one, it is much harder to get a product placement sponsorship from one of the big auto makers. I am guessing that if this drama gets a full season pick up, the quality of the vehicles will improve in the very next episode.

            There is a segment of the audience that will find this series and support it. I have no idea if it will be a large enough audience to impress the network or not. The acting is strong enough. The writing is strong enough. It just remains to be seen if the events contained in this unusual series appeal to a wide enough audience.

            The slick production and trendy subject matter in this series may attract the same audience who currently enjoy some of the other dark series on television. This one has enough strength in the characters and in the story to at least hold their attention for  few episodes. By then, if the body count is not rising among the bad guys, the ratings numbers will not rise either.

 

 - Editor