The ONCE Writers

[darkones1fan]

Okay here’s a interesting topic. Lets talk about the writers of ONCE. All of them. Now what I want to happen here is for someone who knows these writers really good. Like really really good. Write down their names, and then give me a strength and a weakness of them and also like a little quirk (Sort of what you normally see in a episode like Adam and Eddy write the Important episode Jane writers the funny ones or something like that I don’t know). While I don’t like judging episode totally  based on the writers even a bad writer can redeem themselves and the good ones will have a stinker every now and then, it can help you prepare for what to expect from any future episode of any series.  So lets start disusing. Please keeps rants about writers you personally hate a minimum. 🙂

[RumplesGirl]

Writers for ONCE as of the third season:

Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis

Jane Espenson

Kalinda Vazquez

Christine Boylan

David H Goodman

Daniel T Thomsen

Robert Hull

Andrew Chambliss

 

 

 

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[darkones1fan]

Ah good thinking RG, here’s a list of folks in case you forgot.

[RumplesGirl]

By her own admission, Jane Espenson is better at dialogue than action and plot. Her focus tends to be character development and insight rather than taking the next leap in the overall arc of the show.

Skin Deep, for example, does little to advance the “break the curse plot” but it offers us one of the fundamental truth about Rumple’s character–he doesn’t believe anyone can love him.

Adam and Eddy, I would argue, are better at plot advancement than character development. I tend to find that their middle season episodes (Dreamy, The Doctor) are weaker than their premiere and finale episodes, which they always write. In other words, they are better and beginning and ending a story than they are telling a middle part.

Kalinda Vazquez relies a lot of plot devices, IMO–the tazer, the vault of eternal goo, the Blue Fairy, the sword of Camelot. I have yet to really enjoy an episode of hers that she either wrote solely or co-wrote. I did enjoy “Lost Girl” but I felt Chambliss’s hand in that one. Chambliss, for me, is really good at big powerful speeches–be it the Neal and Emma speech at the portal or the Emma and Snow speech in “Lost Girl.”

 

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[darkones1fan]

Oh Interesting RG.  Kalinda Vazquez reminds me of another writer named Merryweather Williams who had similar issues with her writing with a show I liked. Although she improved as time went on though so hears hopping.

 

Also agreed with you on A&E their stories are normally the plot advancement or as I like to call them the Important episodes.  But hey their the big writers head hanchos.

 

Jane and I have a lot in common in writing because I too love writing Dialogue, story is little harder for me though.

[Twice Upon A Time]

Outside of Kitswitz and Jane who everybody loves, my favorite writer is…

Andrew Chambliss -he wrote a couple of my ALL time favorite episodes ( Heart of Darkness, The New Neverland, Welcome to Storybrooke, SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT!!!

[obisgirl]

I remember Jane said in the commentary for Skin Deep that she likes to write about food and I recently watched a Buffy episode, The Double Meet Palace, classic Jane episode. Now, my mind just associates with her food related episodes.

But I know she does more than food episodes.  I love Jane.  She’s one of my favorites and has awesome writing credentials too, worked on Buffy, Battlestar Galactica.  She’s got serious greek cred.

[MatthewPaul]

Great thread. Here’s an idea I’d like to add. I’m listing the strongest and weakest episodes for all writers:

Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis
Strongest Episode: The Pilot.
Weakest Episode: Dreamy.

Jane Espenson
Strongest Episode: Skin Deep
Weakest Episode: In The Name of the Brother

Andrew Chambliss
Strongest Episode: Second Star to the Right
Weakest Episode: Child of the Moon

David H. Goodman
Strongest Episode: The Crocodile
Weakest Episode: What Happened to Frederick

Kalinda Vazquez
Strongest Episode: Lost Girl
Weakest Episode: Selfless Brave and True.

Robert Hull
Strongest Episode: The Crocodile
Weakest Episode: Selfless Brave and True.

Daniel T. Thomsen
Strongest Episode: 7:15 AM
Weakest Episode: Save Henry

Christine Boylan
Strongest Episode: Tallahassee
Weakest Episode: Tiny

Ian Goldberg
Strongest Episode: Second Star to the Right
Weakest Episode: Child of the Moon

Liz Tigelaar
Strongest Episode: Snow Falls
Weakest Episode: True North

Vladimir Cevtko only wrote one episode, “Hat Trick”, which was amazing. Why didn’t get get to write more?!

[RumplesGirl]

I’m listing the strongest and weakest episodes for all writers:

I agree with most of your list except:

Adam and Eddy
Strongest: Manhattan (it’s my second favorite out of all episodes–gotta throw it out there) It was highly emotional and brought together stuff that began in the Pilot itself

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[obisgirl]

I thought Save Henry was good. Why is it considered weak?

[Author]

Posts