Sale on Grimms Season 2 & 3 on DVD

There are some big price drops this week on a few seasons of Grimm. Grimm: Season 2 is currently $13.00 and Grimm: Season 3 dropped to $19.99 from $29.99 this morning. (Or that's what my shopping cart alerts told me.) I realize more and more people stream shows these days, but these still make great gifts if you are trying to convert a friend into a fan of the show. Or if you just prefer the DVDs for yourself. Streaming can still be frustrating with the bumps and jumps it has. And DVDs are portable to friends' houses, too.

My first season set of Once Upon a Time: Season 1 (bought on sale) converted my sister and her husband to the show this year--now they are fans and have bought the later seasons for themselves since they came to the series very late. OUAT is everywhere and I feel guilty for not watching it more. I'm addicted to some other non fairy tale shows instead which will remain nameless for now.

New Book: The Mythology of Grimm: The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots of the Popular TV Show

The Mythology of Grimm: The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots of the Popular TV Show by Nathan Robert Brown is released this week.

As I have said before, one of the things I've enjoyed about NBC's Grimm has been the attention to folklore. And how refreshing that it hasn't been Disney versions of folklore either, but I digress. While I have not watching the series very closely--I do watch and keep up with it some--and there have been some interesting episodes and interpretations of fairy tales and they have pulled from some unexpected folklore at times, too. So this book might be an interesting exploration of the series and its folkloric inspirations. I haven't read it but for fans of the show, I am sure it is a must buy.

Book description:

NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world.

From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

Grimm DVDs on Sale

Grimm: Season 1 and Grimm: Season 2 have both dropped in price significantly over the weekend, probably since the third season just ended and is available for preorder at Grimm: Season 3. The prices are fluctuating but are standing at about 20-30% less than their usual prices on Amazon.

Gypsy just wrote a fun post about the Grimm season finale over on Once Upon a Blog which made me smile.

That's the thing about the little show that could we call Grimm. It makes me smile. On paper, it makes no sense to me--I don't do the horror elements personally and detective shows are stale even if I watch a few.

But I will admit here that Grimm pleases me on so many more levels than Once Upon a Time, namely because they do their research on fairy tales and other folklore to inspire them. I see those quotes at the beginning of each episode and it makes me happy every time, especially when I recognize it!

I appreciate OUAT but I don't really enjoy it--it irritates me more often than not with its Disney commercialization--but I am thrilled so many people love it. It has been a juggernaut. Yay for it!

I'm not actively watching Grimm each week depending on my time constraints, but when I catch it, I enjoy it. I give it more time than OUAT because I find its storytelling more compelling and less predictable. It feels like an independent film show next to OUAT's major Hollywood studio slickness. I enjoyed Grimm's ending. I groaned at OUAT's ending, even though the media had alerted us it was coming. And, hey, I liked Frozen well enough. I have a niece who adores it. Watching the film become a worldwide phenomenon has been fascinating.

And I am so happy they have all been renewed for a 4th season! Who knew that Grimm and Once Upon a Time would both be seeing 4th seasons! And even CW's Beauty and the Beast--so very loosely based on anything fairy tale or related to the inspiration show--escaped the ax and will see a third season. So the name is out there, too. OUAT Wonderland got the ax but Wonderland was a stretch always. I hope the musical version will be much more successful in the fall or whenever it arrives on our screens.

Now I am tempted to order season 2 for a future marathon viewing. I own season 1 and although I can stream, that is still frustrating at times when watching several episodes at a time. Hmmm...

A Bargain and A Little TV Discussion: Grimm Season 1 on DVD for $19.99

I rarely look at Target ads anymore, but did this week and saw that Grimm: Season One is $19.99 on sale this week at Target. And sure enough, Amazon price matched it this morning, so it is also $19.99 there.

I haven't been writing regular coverage of Grimm or Once Upon a Time or Beauty and the Beast this season due to time constraints--and I don't manage to keep up with watching them very well either--although I try to stay informed with them through TV review sites and such. That said, I have found myself watching all the episodes of Grimm since it returned from hiatus and the show has definitely grown on me more for entertainment purposes although the folklore elements seem to have atrophied. Poor NBC, Grimm is the only show I watch on that network. And they have upped the presence of women on the show which also makes it more enjoyable for me. I am hoping it gets renewed.

 

Once Upon a Time doesn't need my coverage. It has a large, loyal fan base and is, of course, the show I am asked about the most when SurLaLune comes up during my conversations with people in my "real" world. The Season 2 DVDs are already up for preorder, too. This one should be renewed for a third season very easily. I admit I am not a fan of the "evil queen should be lovable to all of us" storytelling. There are consequences for bad behavior--many fairy tales remind us of that!--and whatever the antihero sympathetic motivations offered, she has done some despicable stuff and should not be trusted but kept on a tight leash. Guess I've known too many real people like that to make a hero out of one of them. Has everyone forgotten she put a knife in her own father?

Beauty and the Beast barely resembles its inspiration show and is on the bubble for renewal. Hence the upping of the sexual levels the last few weeks. It looks like a CW show--it's like there is the same set designer for the entire network--which I now know since John and I are regular viewers of Arrow, having forgiven its flaws a while back ourselves. Which I admit is often my criteria for TV watching these days--what shows will give me a few minutes of something to watch with the hubby and chill for a few minutes with him? Arrow and Grimm and Elementary fit that need better than the others.

So which shows are you watching? Or not watching? What's your favorite?

Grimm: Season One is $16.99

Grimm: Season One is $16.99 in DVD format at Amazon and Target for the rest of this week.

The Target ad also shows Once Upon a Time: The Complete First Season as $16.99 but it is not listed on the Target site, so Amazon is not price matching, at least not yet. So if you have a gift certificate to either place and didn't get these on your wishlist, these are the lowest prices to date on these sets.

Free Ebook: Grimm: The Essential Guide (NBC)

Grimm: The Essential Guide is currently a free ebook download but it appears to only work on color Kindle gadgets and apps like the Fire or some of the phone apps. It is also available at Barnes and Noble. I ordered it and sent it to my Fire but since I hardly use that device, I probably won't be looking at it soon. I also am way behind on Grimm--watching, not reading about it--but my husband is growing more and more interested in it.

Book description:

Grimm: The Essential Guide is here! Download this interactive eBook and let the NBC hit drama series Grimm, inspired by the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales, come alive!

Learn about Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt and the rest of the characters on Grimm.

Enter Aunt Marie’s Trailer and view her mysterious artifacts.

Read the pages from the family journal passed down by generations of Grimms.

Navigate through the Creature Gallery.

See behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of the television series.

Be one of the first to see the terrifying new creature, Mauvais Dentes.

Meet the cast and so much more!

Both die-hard fans (aka Grimmsters) and curious newcomers will discover the ancient secrets of the supernatural Wesens that live among us in Grimm: The Essential Guide.

Get it now before it’s too late!

Grimm Season 1 on DVD Today

Just a reminder that Grimm Season 1 was released on DVD and Blu-Ray today in the US. Amazon has dropped the price on the sets by 50% the last few days and I doubt the price will last that long. Its sales ranks show that it is selling pretty well, which is always a good thing since all revenue keeps the show in production. I've seen one commercial during the Olympics coverage so hopefully the show will find a bigger audience when season two starts next week.

DVD description:

The classic Grimms' fairytales come to life like never before in this "dark and imaginative" (Mike Ayers, CNN.com Entertainment) series from the producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Portland homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) discovers he's descended from a long line of "Grimms," who are charged with keeping balance between humanity and the creatures of myth. With newly awoken abilities to detect the evil lurking among us, Nick struggles to keep his old life separate and safe as he becomes ever more entrenched in the ancient rivalries of the Grimm world. Now, watch back-to-back and uninterrupted all 22 Season One episodes of this uniquely evocative series that critics rave "offers genuine scares" (Michelle Tauber, People).

Bargain Book: The Queen Bee by The Brothers Grimm

The Queen Bee by The Brothers Grimm (Author), Iassen Ghiuselev (Illustrator) has one bargain priced hardcover copy available on Amazon for $6.78. The little known fairy tale was inspiration for a Grimm episode in season 1--BeeWare [HD], if I remember correctly.

Anyway, it's there and an interesting addition to a fairy tale picture book collection--I've added it to mine!

I will be back to regular posting soon. I had started to regain momentum again and then more demands got in the way!

NBC's Grimm on DVD and at Comic Con

Did you realize Grimm: Season One comes out on DVD in less than a month, on August 7th? Since the show is returning early, so is the DVD set. And on that note, here's some bits from articles about Grimm's appearance at Comic Con.

Bits from 'Grimm' Comic-Con panel: Footage from season 2 premiere reveals what's up with Nick's mom by Emily Rome:

Big revelations: Not many. The whole Grimm gang must have had a strict no-spoilers talk beforehand because none of them were very forthcoming. Lots of questions were met with variations on “You’ll have to wait and see.” Kouf at one point said, “We have a lot of ideas where we want to go with it. We just don’t want to tell you.” Even things that we thought were done deals had an air of mystery breathed into them. On what’s next for characters who have had the Wesen world revealed to them, Greenwalt said, “Who said Hank finds out? And who said Juliette remembers?”

***

Obvious fan favorite: If it wasn’t already clear on various message boards over the past season, it was definitely evident in the room that Mitchell’s portrayal of Monroe has quite the fan club. He got the biggest cheers when he appeared on the season 1 recap video screened at the beginning of the event and when he was introduced on the panel.

Bits from New threats add to tension in NBC's 'Grimm':

With his fiancée, Julie (Bitsie Tulloch), in a coma, his partner, Hank (Russell Hornsby), not far from a breakdown and his thought-to-be-dead mother suddenly very much alive, Nick's life promises to get even more complicated on the second season of NBC's Grimm (Aug. 13, 10 p.m. ET/PT).

***

"The Grimms were early profilers," executive producer David Greenwalt told a Comic-Con audience Saturday. "The people who wrote these stories could see these people."

***

Viewers will also learn more about Nick's superior, Capt. Renard (Sasha Roiz), and where he fits in a world of Grimms, Wesen and ordinary people. Roiz, however, wasn't giving any details away. "I'm just Capt. Renard."

As is the case with many shows with deep mythologies, fans who have been burned in the past by other shows wanted promises that Grimm would resolve all its mysteries during the course of its run. "I'll make sure that happens," executive producer Sean Hayes said.

NBC's Grimm at Comic Con

Have you seen these? Grimm has a presence at Comic Con this month and here are images of some of the promotional posters available there. And did you realize you only have about five weeks until the show returns? Glad to see NBC is supporting the show...

From TVLine:

TVLine not only has your first look at Grimm’s Season 2 key art below, we also have comic book whiz Whilce Portacio’s limited-edition Comic-Con promotional poster for the show!

Until then, you can go right on buzzing about the supernatural thriller. It’s certainly given us enough to discuss, what with NBC giving it an early premiere (on Monday, August 13, at 10pm/9c) to capitalize on Olympics hype and Lost alum Mark Pellegrino being cast as a coyotl.

Season Rankings for Fairy Tale Shows

With the fall/winter tv seasons behind us, we can now look at the final rankings for our two fairy tale inspired series this past year. Deadline published the Full 2011-2012 TV Season Series Rankings which shows that Once Upon a Time came in 16th overall of all network shows while Grimm came in at 81. There's more data on the site, of course, but OUAT ended up one of four freshman shows in the top 20. .

Then if you page down to look at Grimm, you will see that the shows that shared its similar ranking on other networks overall were canceled or on the bubble of nearly so. So if it had been on any other network, it may have suffered the same fate but NBC didn't have a good showing overall beyond football and The Voice so the Grimm will stay with us for a while longer at least.

Grimm, along with OUAT, is available for preorder on DVD and Blu Ray, too.