Cut to their wedding: the wicked queen (Lana Parrilla, from 24 and a bunch of other TV shows) storms in, Sleeping Beauty-style, and puts a curse on the newlyweds and the entire fairy-tale land.

Meanwhile, in present-day Boston, a boy seeks out his birth mother, a beautiful but prickly bail bondsman—“bail bondsperson,” as she reminds a perp—named Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison from House). The kid is convinced that Emma’s the key to breaking the wicked queen’s curse. Spoiler alert: he appears to be right.

There’s a lot going on here—I haven’t even mentioned that Snow is Emma’s mother—with many fairy-tale cameos (e.g., super-creepy Rumplestiltskin played by Robert Carlyle) and in-the-know winks. Speaking of winks, what is it with those Lost people and eyeball close-ups?

As a fairy-tale nut, I enjoyed the pilot episode, but I can see how it all might get tangled in its own cleverness. Have you been watching Once Upon a Time? Thoughts?

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