The 10th Kingdom: Episode 10

The 10th Kingdom: Episode 10
NBC
March 26, 2000
Fantasy, TV-Movie
DVD
B-

The series ends with "the good guys" winning, even if it means Virginia has to kill her mother in self-defense, and even if it means Wolf has to trick Virginia into thinking he's on the Evil Queen's side.  Also, it turns out that Virginia got pregnant from her romp in the woods with Wolf.  The Lewises decide to settle in the Fourth Kingdom, where they, Wolf, and the dog are heroes, except that Virginia and Wolf go through the magic mirror, I guess so she can officially say goodbye to New York, and so we can see the mirror special effects one more time.  Heavy hints are dropped about a sequel, although that never happened.

The 10th Kingdom ranges from C to B, mostly getting B-s, and that is what it averages out to.  I think the concept has a lot of potential and the characters and conflicts are interesting, plus there's all that great scenery and set design.  But too often Simon Moore's story dumbs down the characters, not just obvious ones like the trolls and the dog turned prince, but our protagonists.  It would've been more entertaining to see some sharp, cynical New Yorkers learn to adapt to the fairytale world, and there are moments where that happens, and yet the Lewises don't seem to have any street smarts, or even much common sense.  Also, the character of Wolf is poorly thought out, when he has the most potential of all.  I do believe this series is worth watching; I just wish it were better than it is.