Once Upon a Time
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In the world where fairy tales and the modern-day are about to collide, noting will be the same again. A 10-year-old boy, Henry, found his mother Emma Swan, who abandoned him when he was a baby, and believes that she comes from an alternate world. According to his book, the epic battle for the future of both worlds is beginning and they need her help.
- Names for many characters in Storybrooke are often coordinated with their fairy-tale counterpart. For example: - Mary Margaret Blanchard (Snow White): Blanchard derives from the French word "blanc" or "blanche" for white. The name "Mary Margaret" is from a real-life woman believed to be the inspiration of the Snow White character named "Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina Freifräulein Von Erthal" (born on June 15, 1729 in Germany.) - Regina Mills (Evil Queen): Regina is a Late Latin and Modern Italian feminine noun and name meaning "Queen". Regina's grandfather was a Miller so that is a connection to her last name. - Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin): Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold in his story. - Ruby (Red Riding Hood): A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone. - Ashley Boyd (Cinderella): Cinders precede ashes in the burning process. Boyd derives from the Gaelic word "buidhe" meaning yellow-haired. - Sidney Glass (Mirror): Because another word for mirror is glass or looking glass. Also, his newspaper is called The Mirror. Sidney's character as the Queen's minion trapped in a mirror parallels a genie trapped in a lamp as a master's servant; the name Sidney refers to Sidney Sheldon, the creator of I Dream of Jeannie - Archie Hopper (Jiminy Cricket): Crickets often hop to get around. Also, crickets are sometimes called hoppers. - Jefferson (The Mad Hatter): The group Jefferson Airplane has a song called "White Rabbit" which uses imagery from the "Alice in Wonderland" tales - Paige (Grace) In the real world the Hatter's daughter is named Paige but in the other her name is Grace. Grace Slick was a member of Jefferson Airplane and writer of "White Rabbit". - Dr. Whale (Dr. Frankenstein): In his fairy tale world he is Dr. Victor Frankenstein. In the real world James Whale was the director of the original Universal Frankenstein and its sequel Bride of Frankenstein.
- Katee Sackhoff auditioned five times for the role of Emma Swan.
- Paula Marshall was cast as Maleficent but was replaced by Kristin Bauer van Straten after producers decided to go in a different direction with the character.
- Cora (Queen of Hearts): Derived from the Latin word for heart: "cor".
- Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) and Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) met on the set of this show, fell in love, are married (as of 4/12/14) and expecting a child together (due in 2014).
- The creators formally offered the part of the Blue Fairy/Mother Superior to singer Lady Gaga. However, according to Edward Kitsis, they never never heard back from her management staff. The part then went to Keegan Connor Tracy.
- Tom Ellis played Robin Hood in season 2 but was unavailable to appear in season 3. He was replaced by Sean Maguire.
- Zelena (The Wicked Witch): Zelena means "Green" in various Slavic languages.
- SPOILER: The storyline of Snow White and Prince Charming's second baby was written to accommodate Ginnifer Goodwin's pregnancy.
- Jennifer Morrison and Warren Christie both played characters called "Cameron" on House and Alphas respectively.
- The candle that Emma puts on her birthday cupcake is star shaped. She then makes a wish before blowing it out. This is a reference to the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Disney's Pinocchio. Disney owns the network that produces the show.
- The Mayor's address is 108, the sum of all the Lost numbers.
- When Emma wakes up in the jail cell, the song Leroy is whistling is "whistle while you work." from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Leroy's fairy tale counterpart is Grumpy, one of the seven dwarfs.
- The key's holder of Emma Swan's room has a swan in it.
- Cinderella is identified as just Ella, hinting at the true origins of her name being Ella who is covered in Cinders or Cinderella for short, making her name actually Cinder Ella. Cinders are also known as Ashes which leads to her Storybrook name of Ashley which could be taken as an adverb being used as an adjective to imply she too is covered in Ashes (Cinders).
- The wolf hanging in Ruby's car is added allusion to her Red Riding Hood identity, escorted through the woods by the Big Bad Wolf.
- When Henry loses his shoe on the stairs towards the end of the episode, it is an allusion to Cinderella losing her glass slipper on the stairs.
- Two objects of Emma Swan's childhood are hidden in this episode: -The glass unicorn mobile from Emma's crib in the pilot can be seen hanging in Mr. Gold's pawn shop. -The purple and white baby blanket she was found in, also from the pilot, is visible in a suitcase behind Emma as she unpacks boxes.
- Emma says to Ashley that "there are no fairy godmothers in this world." While she means in the real world, Storybrooke does not have a counterpart for the Fairy Godmother, so there literally is no Fairy Godmother.
- Emma pours Mary Margaret a glass of McCutcheon's scotch - the same as Mr. Widmore (played by Alan Dale, who is also King George in this episode) refuses to pour for Desmond on Lost.
- The Nolan's address is 444, one of the Lost numbers repeated thrice.
- The mobile that David is first looking at in the pawn shop is the mobile that was hanging above Emma's crib in the pilot.
- Henry is accused of stealing an Apollo candy bar. Apollo candy bars were the candy bar of choice on Lost.
- Quinn Lord and Karley Scott Collins, who play Hansel and Gretel respectively, played a young Peter and Olivia respectively on different episodes of Fringe.
- When Snow is in the Jail and meets Grumpy, he whistles a tiny part from the "Heigh-Ho" Snow White and the seven Dwarfs Disney song.
- On the side of Moe French's van it reads "Game of Thorns" likely referencing the HBO series Game of Thrones which Once Upon a Time writer/producer Jane Espenson also has a writing credit on.
- When the evil queen is telling Rumplestiltskin about Belle, in the background is a gold scythe just like the one used in season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On the other side of the room, the wizard's hat from The Sorceror's Apprentice segment of _"Fantasia" (1940)_ sits atop a pedestal.
- The siren is from Greek mythology, where they lured sailors to their watery graves by appearing as beautiful maidens and singing an enchanting song.
- Astrid's statement, "Someone once told me, 'You can do anything, as long as you can dream it,'" is a paraphrase of a quote by Walt Disney, "If you can dream it, you can do it."
- Visible when she is answering the phone, Ruby is wearing a wolf shaped ring, referencing her story in Storybook.
