Alice: Part One

By Lisa Fary

I’m over re-imaginings. It was charming in Into the Woods, and even when Gregory Macguire first did it with Wicked. But, Maguire kept on writing re-imaginings of fariytales and other well known stories, and I lost interest in his books. Then there was Battlestar Galactica, and so on and so on. By the time Tin Man rolled around on the channel formerly known as SciFi, I was totally disillusioned with the entire idea of a re-imagining and needed it to knock my socks off.

It didn’t.

Naturally, I wasn’t going into SyFy’s miniseries, Alice, with a clear and open mind. I expected it to be silly, expected to dramatically turn it off with a huff halfway though, expected to groan through what I saw.

I didn’t.

Weird, right? I actually watched the whole thing, only groaned when the soundtrack kicked in (bongos everywhere), and. . . enjoyed most of it.

What makes Alice work is the cast. Without the strength of the cast, Alice would have fallen to the usual depths we expect from SyFy originals.

Caterina Scorsone is instantly likable. Scorsone has a great screen presence, chemistry with the other cast members, and doesn’t overplay. The character herself is also likable, not whiny or needy, doesn’t act stupidly, and isn’t easily intimidated. I think it would have been easy to let an actress in this role play up the innocent aspect of Alice in keeping with what the world at large knows about her from Lewis Carroll’s story. But, Scorsone and director Nick Willing don’t allow it to go in that direction.

Kathy Bates as the Queen of Hearts isn’t the red faced, screaming cow from the Disney’s film. She’s measured, but her impatience and temper are palpable under her massive blue eye makeup.

Everyone else is so downplayed that when Matt Frewer shows up as the White Knight, his crazed speech and tortured movements truly stand out. Without the subtlety of Alice, Hatter, and the Queen, the White Knight’s impression would have faded among them. The same goes for Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Queen’s criminally insane interrogators.

What bugs me most about Alice are the similarities to Willing’s other SyFy miniseries, Tin Man. Granted, there are similarities in the source material (little girl gets lost in a magical world and makes strange friends while a wicked woman wants to kill her); however, Willing’s two minis also have:

• lost parents
• a mysterious jewel
• a resistance
• the little girl from the source material really existed, really traveled to the magical world and is now legend in OZ/ Wonderland

What Alice has that Tin Man didn’t is a message. The residents of Wonderland demand to feel whatever they want, when they want and they do this through teas made by the Queen of Hearts. The teas can only be distilled from humans from Earth, who are abducted through the Looking Glass. The Queen’s subjects are demanding more exotic feelings to experience, their use of the teas causing them to lose the ability to feel much on their own. It’s instant gratification and without it, the Queen would lose her grip on her kingdom.

It’s far more sinister than Azkedelia simply wanting to lock the O.Z. in darkness. John interpreted the Queen as representing television. I interpreted her as pharmaceuticals like antidepressants or Adderall (anything other than calm contentment is an anomaly that must be drugged out of existence). But, she’s really anything that takes us away from self-control, coping skills, and moderation. She’s anything that encourages us not to deal with our feelings, to consume more and more, and to do so without thinking through the long-term consequences.

Part one started falling apart by the middle of the second hour, as if it had gone on too long. But, I’m still interested in seeing the resolution and will be watching part two on Monday night.

Now, I’m trying to figure out what kind of fabric Alice’s dress is made of so I can copy it. Not for cosplay; just to wear.

Lisa Fary is a graduate of the creative writing program at Florida State University and holds an advanced degree in Special Education. Her earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She’s angry that it’s almost 2010 and she still doesn’t have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram.

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