Everyone was pretty -- Alice, her mom, the Prince, the Hatter -- heck, even the ugly people were pretty ... because it was television, and that's how television works.
Once you get past that, though, this show was clumsily written, woodenly acted. Alice's karate was wooden. The Hatter's sledgehammer punch? What was up with that? What was that -- fourth or fifth line of cocaine. "Yeah, and let's give the Mad Hatter an ironfist punch." And the fear of heights? _That_ was the big totally unexplained fear that Alice had to overcome? And -- boy -- Harry Dean Stanton and Tim Curry ... what, were they hired right out of the methadone clinic? It was nice to see that the entire iron dictatorship in Wonderland could be toppled by someone standing up and making a speech. I guess no one had ever tried that before.
The thing is ... this thing didn't even do a creditable job of marshaling movie clichés. Like that golden conversation between Alice and the Hatter in the forest: "I've changed." "No, you haven't. You'll never change." "No, I saw this castle in the forest -- and that made me change." "Okay, I believe you." Well, yeah, I mean ... it WAS a pretty nice castle in the forest.
Once you get past that, though, this show was clumsily written, woodenly acted. Alice's karate was wooden. The Hatter's sledgehammer punch? What was up with that? What was that -- fourth or fifth line of cocaine. "Yeah, and let's give the Mad Hatter an ironfist punch." And the fear of heights? _That_ was the big totally unexplained fear that Alice had to overcome? And -- boy -- Harry Dean Stanton and Tim Curry ... what, were they hired right out of the methadone clinic? It was nice to see that the entire iron dictatorship in Wonderland could be toppled by someone standing up and making a speech. I guess no one had ever tried that before.
The thing is ... this thing didn't even do a creditable job of marshaling movie clichés. Like that golden conversation between Alice and the Hatter in the forest: "I've changed." "No, you haven't. You'll never change." "No, I saw this castle in the forest -- and that made me change." "Okay, I believe you." Well, yeah, I mean ... it WAS a pretty nice castle in the forest.