No tv show in recent months has held my interest, except for the Doctor Who Christmas Special, but I decided to watch a couple of shows written by writers I admire, even though I don't particularly like the series.

Once Upon a Time, "Skin Deep" by Jane Espenson was much better than average, thanks to a great back story for Mr. Gold, which combines two different fairy tales in a clever way. On the other hand, the characters in the present day behave in ways that seem unbelievably stupid, and I really didn't get any sense that the present day narrative added anything. I would have enjoyed it more as a half-hour on Fairy Tale Theater. I did, however, like it enough to plan to watch the Jane Espenson episode, airing March 11.

Fringe, "The End of All Things" by David Fury was less successful. It wasn't bad, but we live in a universe where we have a limitless supply of great entertainment at our fingertips. Fringe has many features I've loved in other shows, such as The X-Files and Lost; it has appealing characters and David Fury is a first rate writer. But we like what we like, and I'd rather be reading the new Vernor Vinge novel than watching Fringe.

The big news for March is episode 2 of Touch, by Heroes creator Tim Kring, more than a month after episode 1 aired to critical acclaim and an audience of 12 million viewers. But Fox has been juggling its schedule around, so don't count on anything listed below. Set your DVR.

SF on TV in March 2012

Friday, March 2
Star Wars: The Clone Wars "Bounty"
Grimm "Three Coins in a Fuchsbau"

Sunday, March 4
Once Upon a Time "Dreamy" by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. They wrote for Lost, and wrote the movie Tron: Legacy.

Monday, March 5
Alcatraz "The Ames Bros."
Alcatraz "Sonny Burnett"

Friday, March 9
Star Wars: The Clone Wars "Brothers"
Grimm "Plumed Serpent"

Sunday, March 11
Once Upon a Time "Red-Handed" by Jane Espenson. Jane Espenson won a Hugo for Buffy, and wrote for Firefly, Caprica, Torchwood, and Game of Thrones.

Monday, March 12
Alcatraz "Clarence Montgomery"

Thursday, March 15
The Vampire Diaries "1912" by Julie Plec & Elizabeth R. Finch. Plec has written for Kyle XY; Finch has written for True Blood.
Touch "1+1=3" Rerun of the series premiere.

Friday, March 16
Supernatural "Out With the Old" by Robert Singer and Jenny Klein. Singer wrote for Reasonable Doubts; Klein has written several Supernatural episodes.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars "Revenge!", Season Four finale, air date uncertain.

Sunday, March 18
Once Upon a Time "Heart of Darkness" by Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg. Chambliss wrote for Dollhouse and The Vampire Diaries; Goldberg wrote for FlashForward and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Monday, March 19
Alcatraz "Webb Porter"

Thursday, March 22
Touch "The Blue Marble" by Tim Kring, creator of Heroes.

Friday, March 23
Fringe "A Short Story About Love" by J. H. Wyman and Graham Roland. Wyman has written many episodes of Fringe; Roland wrote for Lost.
Supernatural "The Born-Again Identity" by Sera Gamble, who has written many episodes of Supernatural, beginning in the first season.

Sunday, March 25
Once Upon a Time "Hat Trick"

Monday, March 26
Alcatraz "Garrett Stillman"

Thursday, March 29
Touch

Friday, March 30
Fringe
Supernatural "Party On, Garth"

In April, Eureka returns for its fifth and final season.