Well, I’m back with another blink and you missed it series! Actually, this one technically had two seasons but honestly even with 19 episodes there are probably only a handful of people who remember this one.
While planning the 1987-1988 television season, some genius television person got the unimaginative idea of utilizing fairy tales in order to create a series. I don’t mean to be rude- I love fairy tales as much as the next person, but looking back at it (and the lack of new stories over the last decade plus), it was just laziness. Though, they did give it a twist- cast a spell and set the series in modern day! Woohoo! The Charmings took Snow White, her prince, their kids, and their happily ever-after and thrust them in the 1980’s. Throw in some wacky neighbors and you’ve got yourself a sitcom!
Well, I was the right age group at the time this series aired so you better believe that I loved it- even though I look back and cringe now. It was cute and funny with it’s shenanigans of the poor family trying to navigate the real world, let alone the modern one. The prince has to get a job! And we all know how useful fairy tale princes are. Snow is a modern woman… has to be mother and working woman. The kids go from being treasured future kings to 80’s kids. And let’s not forget the wacky neighbors who are bound to be curious about this family!
Well, the series was fun but it didn’t work quite right. Not even after the recasting of Snow White (which was done as though the audience wouldn’t notice a new actress in the same character). I recall loving the show, but I was 10ish. At that age, entertainment doesn’t have to be very good. I picked up the series at a con a few years ago and sat around with my friend watching it one day. We were both baffled by how the show even lasted for 19 episodes. Apparently people in the 1980s were very simple.
Now the concept of using fairy tale characters out of time is not new, nor was this the last time it was utilized. There have been feature films with this base storyline- and they did very well. And 25 years after The Charmings premiered, Snow and her prince took center stage again as characters on the enormously popular Once Upon a Time. I think that they work now because of the advances we’ve made in technology- you can’t have a fairy tale without magic, and audiences don’t want that magic to be cheezy. Let alone the amazing storytelling that is used in OUaT. But I shouldn’t really compare the two shows…
I don’t want you to think that The Charmings isn’t a good show- I have fond memories of it. But if you choose to watch it again (or for the first time) please remember that it is a product of it’s time…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jmt5GpVscU]
dee2henry
intellichick
ladydethpool
magnitudev1
natashanerdlush
nerdlushguests
elizabeth ann
Billy
stewartmoncure
thetwoohsix
NerdLush 
lol Elizabeth Ann! I give you props for admitting watching this show. 😉 I remember it well and you’re right about the cheeze factor. But as with most sitcoms, it served well in it’s time. 🙂 I will admit to not only watching it, but also liking it back then too.
I know, right? It was really cute/fun, in it’s day, but when you compare it to today (even just to other sitcoms, not OUaT) it doesn’t hold up well. It’s interesting which sitcoms/shows of the 80s do hold up or are watchable for their show and not for the cheeze factor. I love the cheeze factor, don’t get me wrong, but their are only so many shows from my childhood/youth that I can rewatch without cringing at a lot of it. HA!
Let me know if you ever want to borrow this- not the best copy but watchable, the girls may laugh. And you might like the rewatch. 😉
I remember it existing. Maybe that’s enough to live with.
That’s it, we need a crew viewing. Everyone meet in LA ASAP.