[television]: Look Out, There’s a Canine/Lupine On The Road!

by Ninthesis on Nov.21, 2011, under Mythologems & Contexts, Postal Modern Theatrette, television

Okay, okay. Spoilers, I get it. Everything else is under the “more” tag if you haven’t watched till the end of Lost, the first episode of Eureka, or until the fourth episode of Once Upon A Time.

There’s a trope that’s been running across the television series that I’ve been watching* and it’s so similar, I’ve got to wonder. I’m just putting this out there because it’s been bugging me for a few days. Not the unpleasant kind of bugging but the kind that runs at the back of your mind like an unsolved mystery. The unimaginative or prosaic person will just solve it by saying “the scriptwriters are running out of ideas”** – but I like to fancy there’s something else going on, some reason why this trope is effective, why we’re all so fascinated by television shows that center around small, quirky towns that have magical creatures. Or islands, as the case may be. These are the two events I am referring to:

Eureka – Jack Carter is transporting his daughter back to California, when they inadvertantly end up in Eureka because a dog runs across the road and causes him to crash his car. He brings his daughter to town where he convinces the deputy sheriff to place her in jail.
Once Upon A Time - Eva Swan brings her (long-lost) son back to Storybrooke, Maine. She leaves him there with his adopted mother, attempts to leave Storybrooke, but a wolf running across the road causes her to crash her car. The town sign falls on her car, she winds up in jail. During the course of four episodes she winds up in jail more than once before being offered the job of deputy sheriff.

Now, I don’t really think the writers of Once Upon A Time directly appropriated this, because they are the guys behind LOST after all – and, remember the dog? Yup. Dog. Plane Crash. Dog appears again in the last episode. Also, the wolf appearing on the road (path) to waylay the hero(ine)’s progress is a common enough fairytale occurrence, anyway. Heck, you have the same trope appearing to differing effect on both Once Upon A Time and Grimm. So, I’m fascinated by this. What other tv shows that any of you guys have watched which have corresponding occurrences? Theories?

*A few weeks back, while doing housework, Gossip Girl was on the idiot box – another car crash happened because the driver hallucinated about wolves on the road. This is partially why this post exists.
** No, I don’t believe this. I’m hooked on, and enjoy both Eureka and Once Upon A Time. And I will remain a LOST fangirl forever!

4 Comments for this entry

Dave
November 21st, 2011 on 19:53
Is it really a trope, though, if there’s nothing intrinsic to the character of the canid that affects the protagonist? Sounds like it could have been any sort of creature in several of the cited cases.
Ninthesis
November 21st, 2011 on 20:09
I think there is something intrinsic, actually – the wolf or dog is often seen as a sign in more than one mythic system – and in both cases, they are plot catalysts, standing at the crossroads of time. So no, any sort of creature wouldn’t have been the same.
TAB
November 22nd, 2011 on 23:17
hm. i started reading this post thinking the trope you meant was ‘mysticism as mundane’- the co-setting of Eureka / Warehouse 13 seems to involve quite a bit of this. i’m not going to watch Once Upon a Time until the season ends (if i hear good things then). but, dogs. huh. i don’t know, dogs are one of the most popular pets, but i’m not a dog-person in my totemic alignment or anything; i could probably more easily understand a trope involving birds than dogs, despite actually being a mammal myself.
Ninthesis
November 22nd, 2011 on 23:28
The way Lowjack was introduced in episode 1 was almost mythical, if you notice how Taggart was talking about him. Once Upon a Time came after Eureka, so it /is/ a possibility that there’s an influence there. As for mysticism as mundane, I’d buy it, except, I think the writers of Eureka break that rule and blur the lines more than once, though I have hopes they’re not going to betray us like the writers of BSG did…

*Oh, and personally, I was surprised that I ended up liking Once Upon A Time as much as I did. I’ll let you know what I think once it ends. Also, I’m catching Warehouse 13 once I’ve caught up with Eureka.