I recently did an interview with a writer who said everything we fear and everything we need to overcome those fears are in fairy tales. That's good to keep in mind while watching "Grimm" (9 tonight, NBC) a clever show that uses fairy tales as fodder for a police procedural.
Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli) is a detective in Oregon, and, it turns out, a Grimm family member. That makes him capable of seeing and killing the monsters hidden among us. As he and his partner Hank (Russell Hornsby) are searching for a monster attacking women, Nick is learning more about his legacy from his dying aunt (Kate Burton). Along the way, he meets Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), a werewolf who has learned to control his ways.
If it sounds a little "Buffy-esqe," it is probably because the show's creators worked on that show and "Angel." So, it has the same mix of scary and funny and sly humor (the missing women have red hoodies and one has the initials R. H.). I hope Burton doesn't die for awhile; she's terrific as the aunt. Mitchell is a lot of fun too.
In the first show, Nick's relationship with his girlfriend (Bitsie Tulloch) is at stake, but it will take more than that to move the show from being just a cute procedural. It will take some skill to ensure the stuff of fairy tales -- our fears and our strength -- play out each week.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon.