‘Once Upon a Time’ Sweeps ABC

The Americanized fairytale drama that swept ABC's nighttime circulation is at the top of the pack.

"Once Upon a Time" is the story of a young boy whose mother, Emma Swan, gave him up at birth. He now lives with his adoptive mother he's termed evil in Storybrooke, Maine. This may sound like the make-up for another family drama sitcom; however, it's far from reality. Ten-year-old Henry is hell bent on believing his town is full of fairytale characters unaware of their true identities.

Let's step back in time and figure out what ensued this wild mentality. Prince Charming and Snow White are visited on their wedding day by the Evil Queen, who poses a threat among the crowd and leaves them with a lingering fear of the curse she intends on releasing.

Frightened, Snow White seeks answers from the antagonist of the story, Rumpelstiltskin. He tells Snow White the Queen speaks the truth and she will place a curse on the town so there are no happy endings except the Queen's. There is hope in the wings when twenty-eight years later her daughter Emma will return and break the curse.

Present day Maine is full of characters Henry believes to be from his olden storybook he revisits throughout the season. Some characters include his teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard who he believes to be Snow White, Emma Swan's mother, Henry's therapist and Dr. Archie Hopper, who's believed to be Jiminy Cricket, as well as many others.

When Emma's son shows up on her doorstep begging her to come back with him, she decides to bring him back to Storybrooke with no intention of ever contacting him again. After she spends some time in the town, she decides to stick around and watch over him while she tries to figure out what's really going on. She befriends Mary Blanchard and the town's sheriff, or as the viewers found out, the Evil Queen's deceiving henchman.

There are twists and turns, flashbacks and new characters of childhood fairy tales developing all the time. The debut season was on standby for a month before returning on air this January and has already validated some truths to Henry's fanciful tales. The episodes are engaging, keep you on your toes and are a whole new genre of entertainment for television.

"Once Upon a Time" airs every Sunday on ABC at 7 p.m.