The current lineup

Oh, blog. There you are. How are things? Me? The usual. Roller derby. Work. You know. But I have been watching some TV. Oh, and what TV? I'm glad you asked.

The big story is that I am embarrassingly too into Once Upon a Time. In fact, I have a date with that show later this evening. Listen, I haven't really been interested in this trend of supernatural/fantasy stuff lately (I'm looking at you, really, vampires and werewolves), but something made me want to give this show a try and I fell for it. Hard. I'm trying not to build up too many expectations that can't be fulfilled, but I am guilty of going down the rabbit hole, so to speak, regarding cast interviews, and I do a lot of lurking on the TWoP message board. (Okay, okay, I posted once or twice, too.)

I can let a lot slide, plot-wise, for character driven shows. The plot for this one promises to be quite convoluted and hopefully compelling, given it's LOST associated pedigree. But the characters are great, and the dual Enchanted Forest/Storybrooke format with two incarnations of the characters provides opportunities for appropriately over-the-top, scenery chewing grandiosity and some relatable and interesting semi-reality-based stuff, too.

What I really love about it is that the show is headed up mainly by three strong and recognizably different (from each other) women without being about stereotypically "woman" stories. It is fantasy, it is a little soapy and silly, it is dramatic, it has action, it has humor, and it is not filled with vapid youths. (Git offa my lawn, you kids! And take your vampires with you!)

I was a little concerned about how Disneyfied the source material would be (Hi, ABC!), but I like the balance the show has struck so far with including some of the darkness of the pre-Disney versions of folk and fairy tales and including the familiarity of the modern Disney versions. I think the premise, telling the stories theoretically behind the stories of the characters "we think we know" wouldn't work if it didn't refer to the versions most well-known in the mainstream, and like it or not, those are the Disney versions.

Other stuff I'm watching...

Lots o' Thursday comedies.

Other than Once Upon a Time (OUAT), my other obsession is Parks and Recreation. Amy Poehler is perfect. Adam Scott's Ben makes my geeky do-gooder nerd heart skip a beat every week. And the rest of the supporting characters are a delight.

This week's season premiere of 30 Rock was also promising. I'm glad to have it back.

I also am glad the new Up All Night has been moved to Thursdays for now. It may not be a show I necessarily make an appointment to see, but I enjoy catching up on it saved on my DVR on weekends when I'm folding my laundry or whatever. Christina Applegate and Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph deserve a spot in my rotation. I like how their take on parenting is goofy and sometimes a little clueless but never dumb or hapless or mean. They are the parents even those of us who are child-free still want to hang around with.

And I still enjoy The Big Bang Theory. I like that it laughs with its geeks just as much as it laughs at them. The characters have grown without blandly losing who they are, which is a trick I think a lot of shows can't pull off, comedy or drama. And who would've thought that Howard and Bernadette would become a model of modern relationships, what with her being reluctant to have kids and Howard easily going along with a compromise to be the stay-at-home-dad when the time comes for them to have kids, in the most recent episode?

As far as other dramas go, I think I only still watch Castle. It ably fills my need for a quirky procedural with strong characters and a healthy dose of UST. Nathan Fillion and Adam Scott may have to duke it out to be my TV boyfriends. (Who am I kidding? There's room on this couch for the three of us.)

I know I'm missing out on a lot of good TV. I still haven't caught up on Community or The Walking Dead, which both have been living on my DVR for two seasons. Speaking of supernatural fairytale dramas, I was going to give Grimm a try, too, but so far it has just been stacking up on the DVR, too. I haven't even tried Modern Family yet. Or The New Girl. All shows that have been recommended to me and I've read good things about. But a lady's gotta prioritize sometimes, you know? (And besides Walking Dead, these have all been broadcast network shows... I am in a sorry state when it comes to cable shows. At least I've caught up on Mad Men all the way in time for it to start back up in March.)

If only I could make a living playing roller derby and watching television, life might be perfect.