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Once upon a time, ABC used to carry a Sunday night series called “The Wonderful World of Disney” that enabled the whole family to sit together and watch a sweet family-oriented program.
That magical time is back.
At 8 p.m. Sunday, ABC premieres an imaginative, creative and beautifully-produced series, “Once Upon a Time.”
It is about a lonely 10 year-old adopted boy, Henry (Jared Gilmore), who lives in a town called Storybrooke and believes all the characters and stories in a fairy tale book that he has been given by an English teacher are real and live in New England with him.
It stars Ginnifer Goodwin of HBO’s “Big Love,” Jennifer Morrison (see above) of “House,” Robert Carlyle of “The Full Monty” and Lana Parrilla of “Boomtown.” They all have dual roles, playing characters that live in Henry’s world now and the fairy tale world he imagines they came from.
In Sunday’s opener, Snow White, Prince Charming, the Seven Dwarfs, the Evil Queen, Geppetto, Jiminy Cricket and Rumpelstitlskin are brought to life as the story moves back and forth from Henry’s real and imagined worlds. In Henry’s view, the fairy tale characters don’t realize they were frozen in time and are now living in the modern world.
Henry seeks out the mother that gave birth to him and put him up for adoption, Emma Swan (Morrison), on her 28th birthday and brings the bail bondsperson to Storybrooke to meet the “evil” foster mother , Regina, (Parrilla) who is raising him.
Regina also is the mayor of Storybrooke, and she doesn’t take kindly to Emma showing up when she returns Henry home. She also doesn’t realize that the English teacher (Goodwin) gave Henry the fairy tale book to give him hope “and believe in the possibility of a happy ending.”
“Once Upon” is beautifully-produced and told but may have worked better as a movie. The cast makes the fantastic seem believable and Morrison gets extra praise for playing a tough character that is opposite her former “House” role.
Some cynics and realists might question the way the hour goes back and forth from fairy tale time to the modern world. But if a viewer just accepts the premise and goes along for the magical ride created by writers whose credits include “Lost” and “Tron: Legacy,” there is a good chance of leaving enchanted.
And how often can one say that about television these days.
But back to the real and modern world: “Once” airs opposite “The Amazing Race,” “Sunday Night Football” and “The Simpsons,” so there is no guarantee of a happy ending. Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 4

* Perhaps I’m inspired by fairy tales, but a voice in my ear said “say something nice about Channel 2’s Ed Kilgore.” The station’s sports director and 6 p.m. sports anchor did a nice remembrance of former Buffalo Bills center Kent Hull Wednesday night. Kilgore told some funny stories about Hull that captured the spirit of the athlete who died too young.
*Speaking of Hull remembrances, WGR radio hosts spent several hours Wednesday telling stories about Hull and allowing listeners to add their own stories about what a regular guy he was. One of the more memorable moments of the day came when morning host Howard Simon was so moved by an email written by a Hull fan that he got too emotional to finish it. He eventually resumed reading it.
The affection for Hull, who is on the Bills Hall of Fame, was very real and very poignant. It also illustrated the affection Western New York has for its sports heroes. Additionally, his premature death may have made many people think about their own mortality.
pergament@msn.com

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