Once Upon a Time. There are three reasons why this was on my radar. 1.) It’s writing team includes a few Lost alumni. 2.) It stars one of my favorite Stargate actors (Robert Carlyle, who played Dr. Rush in SGU). And 3.) It seemed to put a conventional twist on classic storybook fables, which is unique and fresh (aside from Grimm, which will air on NBC).

So I checked out on the pilot on ABC.com and I was pleasantly surprised.

Ginnifer Goodwin (of “He’s Just Not Into You” fame) stars as Snow White. Her and Prince Charming are about to get married, have a kid, and have their “happily ever after.” The Evil Queen (is she really a queen though?) is pretty mad and ups the stakes. She calls up a curse over the entire fantasy realm, freezing everyone in time and giving them amnesia, so that she’ll have her own happily ever after.

So here we are, in current day. The modern plotline follows a woman named Emma and how she comes to learn about the city where all these characters are now living, forgetful of their past lives. The characters chosen are really cool, especially seeing their modern day counterparts. The standout character, in my opinion, is Rumplestiltskin, who somehow has the key to what’s happened in the past and how to remedy it. Is he the villain? Or the hero? Much like his role in Stargate: Universe, Robert Carlyle plays in this gray area and you can tell he has a blast doing it.

This pilot episode did all the right things. It gets you invested in the conflict, it gives you characters you want to continue watching, and it gives you a fresh and unique show amidst a clutter of boring pilots and shows that should have been cancelled seasons ago.

My 2 cents: Watch the pilot now and give your input below! I think you’ll be happy you did!