"Once Upon a Time" appeals to the fairy-tale lover in me

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From the show's website:

Once Upon A Time is, at its core, a story about hope. "For us, that’s what a fairytale is. It’s that ability to think your life will get better... Adam and I just wanted to write about something hopeful that for one hour a week allows one to put everything aside and have that feeling that your dreams just may come true."--Edward Kitsis, Co-Creator/Executive Producer

Note: If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I never give a blanket recommendation to a TV show.  Very rare is the show that contains nothing that would be offensive to someone or completely family-friendly.  With that caveat, though, I have to say:

I'm loving "Once Upon a Time."

I've got to admit, it had me at Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the creators of the show.  Both were among the writers of "Lost," my favorite show of all time, so I was pretty sure "Once Upon a Time" was going to be special.

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If you're not familiar with it, here's the premise of the show (from the show's website):

Emma Swan’s life has been anything but a fairytale. A 28-year-old bail bondsperson, she’s been taking care of herself since she was abandoned as a baby.

But when Henry—the son she gave up 10 years ago—finds her, everything changes. Henry is desperate for his mom’s help and thinks that Emma is actually the long, lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yes, the actual Snow White and Prince Charming.

Even stranger, Henry believes that Storybrooke, the sleepy New England town he calls home, is really part of a curse cast by the Evil Queen, freezing fairytale characters in the modern world with no memory of their former selves.

Of course, everything is headed for a showdown between the good represented by Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), and the evil represented by Queen Regina (Lana Parilla).

And of course there's the enigmatic Rumpelstiltskin/Mr Gold (Robert Carlyle)--who we think is one of the baddies, but sometimes we're not quite sure. Let's say he's a character you love to hate--and his Irish accent is awesome, by the way.

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In the meantime, we're getting to know a host of characters from our beloved childhood fairy tales and even from Disney movies (the show has Disney's permission), both as they were in fairy-tale land and as they are in modern-day Storybrooke.

And the stories going on in the present day are just as fascinating as the ones in fairy-tale land.

I would not recommend this show for little children--there may be things that would be too disturbing for them. But if you love the romance and wonder of fairy-tales, as well as a story rich in imagination and adventure--along with excellent acting and fine writing--Once Upon a Time may be for you.

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Are you liking "Once Upon a Time"? Let me know in my comments!

From the Archives: My Interview with Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott

Brooke Elliott dishes about body image, working with icons, and NOT being pressured to lose weight

Note: This post was originally published in August 2010, but since "Drop Dead Diva" is back for another season, I thought I'd reprise it!--Cindy

Television being what it is, I never give a blanket endorsement to a TV show. However, I've seen "Drop Dead Diva" several times now, and I've really enjoyed it so far.

OK, it's one of those someone-comes-back-to-life-after-dying premises. We all know you have to suspend disbelief there, so just enjoy the show for what it is: light-hearted fun with some occasionally serious things to say about the weight issues that most women live with.

The best thing about the show? Its star, the delightful Brooke Elliott.

Deb is a slim, air-headed woman brought back in the body of a brilliant but dumpy and overweight lawyer, Jane. Somehow they merge--with Deb getting Jane's overweight exterior and brilliant mind, but keeping her own ditzy personality. Plus, Deb can't seem to remember that she doesn't look like a babe anymore, so she still acts like one.

The lovely Brooke Elliott is absolutely convincing portraying this paradox, and as I told her, it makes me believe that all overweight women should just act beautiful...then maybe it would become a self-fulfilling reality!

I asked Brooke about having a job in which she feels NO pressure to lose weight...what it's like working with famous guest stars like Delta Burke, Paula Abdul and Liza Minelli..and what about the guardian angel, Fred--will we ever see him again?

You can listen to my 8-minute interview with Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott here.

Check out my book blog today, where the question is: Do you like movies made from books?

"The Middle": Not Quite Your Typical TV Family

One of the TV series that has apparently been given a third chance at life by ABC's Powers That Be is a little gem of a show called "The Middle."

I have to admit, I almost passed over this little show entirely. Apparently this is its second season, and I just recently started watching it... but lately it's been on my list of things to make sure are DVR'd.

Why? Well, it's laugh-out-loud funny. And it stubbornly refuses to portray television's perfect family, always complete with flawless good looks and decorator-magazine homes.

Not that Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn and their three TV kids are ugly. They're just REAL.

The situations that Mike and Frankie Heck and their children find themselves in are so genuine, strike such a chord, and hit so close to home that at times it's almost painful--but not painful enough to keep you from guffawing.

Heaton and Flynn are perfect as a Midwestern couple just trying (desperately, at times) to get by and raise their children to be decent people.

Their teen-aged son Axl (Charlie McDermott) is cute enough, but lazy and often disrespectful. His outrage at his parents' strictures is comical--but you get the feeling that he will turn out to be a perfectly good guy.

A recent episode saw him having to follow through with a prom date with a weird girl that he had accidentally invited (by text message, of course. And we can kind of forgive him, because she was one of a plethora of "Ashleys" at his school--who wouldn't get confused?).

Axl did the right thing, even though we as the audience could clearly see that he was going to have a terrible night. (I do wish Axl wouldn't use the Lord's name in vain so often.)

Eden Sher as junior-high daughter Sue Heck is nothing short of delightful. Her unbridled enthusiasm and undaunted cheerfulness and determination help her navigate through the often painful pitfalls that we all know comprise the middle-school experience.

Sue is far from being precociously gorgeous and/or sexy. She's like most junior high students, like I was (if you ever had the unfortunate chance to see my junior high yearbook)--socially awkward and not very pretty. Nevertheless, she's adorable.

And Brick. Brick is one of the best things about the show. In real life, Atticus Shaffer has a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, type IV , which causes him to have extremely fragile bones.

This hasn't stopped Atticus from having a great acting career as a 12-year-old playing a character 3 years younger than himself. Brick is very intelligent, very quirky, and very funny. I love his habit of whispering to himself the last word of a sentence he has just uttered.

The Hecks' home in Orson, Indiana, isn't perfect either. The home decor seems to represent some of the more regrettable colors and choices of midwestern living, and it's not always (in fact, rarely) perfectly clean and uncluttered.

If you like to laugh...and maybe you're a little fed up with perfect TV families...you might want to check out "The Middle."

13 of my favorite TV characters of all time

I'm delving into the archives of Notes in the Key of Life to participate in the Thursday Thirteen meme! This was originally posted in September of 2008, so you'll see references to some shows which were airing then, but are no longer on.

What are YOUR favorite TV characters? Let me know in my comments section!

...in no particular order (and yes, some of these go waaaay back...)

--Lisa on "Green Acres," played by Eva Gabor...she was so ditzy and quirky, she cracked me up.


--Barney, played by Don Knotts, on "The Andy Griffith Show." Need you even ask why?



--The Virginian (I don't think they ever gave his name), played by James Drury, on "The Virginian." Mysterious...manly...you know, the strong, silent type


--Al, played by Dean Stockwell, on "Quantum Leap." Not sure why...I just really liked him.

--Phyllis, played by Cloris Leachman, on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She made an art form out of being snobby and clueless at the same time.

--Herman Munster on "The Munsters," played by Fred Gwynne. Again, he was just funny...and he had that great, deep voice. The thought of monster as lovable goof...


--Emily, played by Suzanne Pleshette, on "The Bob Newhart Show." She was just a cool character...a pleasure to watch.

--David Addison, played by Bruce Willis, on "Moonlighting." His smart-aleck wise-cracking kept me watching, and promised his future stardom.

--Rob Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke, on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Again, no explanation needed--he's a legend.

...and more recently...

--Hugo "Hurley," played by Jorge Garcia, on "Lost." Hurley's down-to-earth sense of humor is one of the things that keeps the show from spiraling into inaccessible weirdness.

Dr. Jack Shepherd, played by Matthew Fox, on "Lost." I know a lot of viewers don't care for Jack, but I think he's the heart and soul of the show.

--Peter Petrelli, played by Milo Ventimiglia, on "Heroes." His basic goodness and likeability make him immensely appealing. For me, there could be no show without Peter.

--Hank, played by Fred Ewanuick, on "Corner Gas." He's just so likably goofy!

From the Archives: Gotta Love Those TV Theme Songs!

"We're gonna make it after all!"

One of the most popular things Darren Marlar ever did on his morning show was TV Theme Song Day. The lines were jammed with people making their requests, and Darren valiantly tried to find each and every song. This was originally posted on March 29th, 2005:

Every once in a while, we just do something silly and fun on the Marlar in the Morning show on101qfl. Yesterday, we talked about TV theme songs, and the phones rang off the hook as listeners requested their favorites. It ended up being a wonderfully nostalgic walk down memory lane.

However, I have a quibble with the "official" list of the top 10 TV theme songs of all time. Any list that doesn't include the themes to Mary Tyler Moore, the Beverly Hillbillies or M*A*S*H has really got a problem!

Here's the list compiled by Robert Berry of RetroCrush:

1) Sanford and Son
2) The Brady Bunch
3) Gilligan's Island
4) Batman
5) The Jeffersons
6) Mission: Impossible
7) Star Trek
8) Twin Peaks
9) Spongebob Squarepants
10 Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

OK, I can agree with seven out of 10 of those (although not necessarily in the order Berry ranked them.) But, Twin Peaks?!? And SpongeBob Squarepants has NOT been around long enough to achieve "best of all time" status. I don't think Fat Albert belongs in the top 10, either.

Oh, and wait! Where's Andy Griffith's familiar whistle?

I can think of a few that, while not classic enough to be on the top 10, deserve a brief mention. Who can resist Will Smith's catchy "Fresh Prince of BelAir" rap? And for sheer novelty, there's always the Garry Shandling Show theme from several years ago:

"This is the theme to Garry's show.
The theme to Garry's show.
Garry called me up and asked
Would I write his theme song?
I'm almost half-way finished,
How do you like it so far?
How do you like the theme to Garry's show?

This is the theme to Garry's show.
The opening theme to Garry's show.
This is the music that you hear
As you watch the credits.
We're almost at the part
Where I will start to whistle..."

And I'm pretty sure I could come up with all the lyrics for "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres"!

Listeners called in requests for their own favorites; everything from "The Dukes of Hazzard" to "I Love Lucy" to "Welcome Back, Kotter."

How about you? Do you have any favorites? Let me know in my comments section.