The Once TV Companion

This was one of those books where I felt a little odd buying it, as if I should maybe be ten or eight years younger. But if I always get movie companions when they're available for a movie I've enjoyed, why not do the same for TV? I've enjoyed Once Upon a Time, so here is the companion book for the series, Once Upon a Time: Behind the Magic.

Although the book reviews let me know that much of this book is taken from a magazine spread the show had, I never read that magazine. So the only effect this fact has on me is that you can tell it's magazine format and writing. But I don't read companions for the writing, anyway. You read them for facts and for quotes, and this book does have both. There are interview-articles with the actors, the writers, the producers, the effects people, and so on. In about 170 pages that have many pictures but also rather small text, there is a good amount of material. Some things I already knew, some things informed me on how certain things in the show were done, and some things taught me more about the TV-making field as a whole. Honestly, it was all better than I was expecting.

For Seasons 1 and 2, the book provides an episode guide with plot summaries, character lists, and facts to note. For a show with a twisted plot-line and so many characters, this is kind of nice to have. And, you know, even those pictures are nice: you have the chance to look closely at Red Riding Hood's hair or Mary Margaret's home or Cinderella's ball gown (which has very little screen time). For a Once fan, this companion is worth having.