Drop Dead Diva

OK, you KNOW if Margaret Cho is involved, there will be some decent writing. As much as I like the show, Cho's is my favorite character. She fires up any scene she's in. Wait, no Fred is my favorite character. And Grayson. And Jane! Everybody's interesting, seriously, and the acting is really right on. The premise is Freaky Friday meets LA Law, but add in a guardian angel, smart chicks, models, and fresh story lines.. and hey, you've got my attention. Drop Dead Diva is unpredictable, but with the likable hooks surrounding romance, achieving partner, and beauty. You can stream it on Netflix, which is slightly addictive. So beware.

"Drop Dead Diva" is a new series on Lifetime. The pilot is very enjoyable, mainly because of the star, Brooke Elliot, who is fabulous. She plays a brilliant, highly successful attorney, Jayne, who pays no attention to her appearance - she's on the heavy side, and her hair is long with no style. One night, she stays late at the office, and a man, angry with one of the partners, comes in with a gun. She is killed. At the same moment of her death, a shallow, pencil thin, blonde beauty named Deb is driving to an audition to be a prize demonstrator on The Price is Right and crashes while putting on lipstick. Upset that she's dead, once in heaven, she hits a "return" button when the check-in person isn't looking. She ends up with Jayne's body, Jayne's brains, and her own memory.

I love the premise - it's been used in movies before, but usually seriously. Some of the scenes are great, including when Deb first sees herself as Jayne, Jayne trying to get into Deb's clothes - I won't spoil it for you. Since Deb has inherited Jayne's brain power, she's thrilled that she's now smart, and certainly knows how to deal with competitive women, which Jayne did not. I love how Elliot incorporates Deb's bubbly personality beneath the person of Jayne.

Very well cast, with Margaret Cho as Jayne's assistant and Kate Levering, a talented Broadway actress, as Deb's friend Kim.

Great fun, and I'm so happy that Lifetime has been branching out from its women in jeopardy theme.

Even though I'm not among the typical target group of this show I like "Drop Dead Diva" season one. From my perspective this show did a lot right, starting with a more than just likable, talented cast and nicely written often touching stories.

"DDD" is a show trying to prove that there's always more than meets the eye. For example on the one hand we got Jane. She's not the type of woman who meets typical TV beauty ideals. Her body in combination with the personality of Deb - at first sight the "typical" young blonde woman - two stereotype extreme's meet. But when you learn to know her better, I'd say it's hard not to like her(especially during the second half of season one, when she's becoming emotionally more stable). Then there's Stacy. At the first glance I didn't like her. Turns out this is a truly wonderfully written character, getting funnier with every episode. In my opinion the best character of the show. I can't imagine "DDD" without her.

As for now female characters are definitely leading the show. I think that male characters could use a little more space to develop beyond their surface. Another aspect bothering me: "Drop Dead Diva" starts with this angel/heaven/return button plot. A Setup where anything seems possible. Unfortunately most of the time the show doesn't make use of these possibilities. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed many of them very very much but if it goes on like that it might risk to become like other lawyer TV-shows or remind of films like "Legally Blonde".

In short: "Drop Dead Diva" is lovely, positive and life-affirming. Good people doing the right thing, while confronting prejudices, stereotypes and other social injustices. Sometimes it reminded me of "Ally McBeal" - probably not as great and funny as Ally during it's best times, but it's doing quiet a fine job!

Like Tom Hanks, Brooke Elliott has "that certain something", that very few actors have. It has to do with Likability. She exudes a very pleasant charm. She makes it easy to believe that a sweet, model-aspiring airhead has inhabited a high power attorney and has access to her rapid-firing brain cells. I like it that the Jane Bingum character has a golden moral compass and yet is playful like a Sex in the City girl. Kudos to the creator and writers for creating a character that is like a real person. The Jane Bingum character reveals great sensitivity and vulnerability along with areas of great strength and fortitude. This is no "one note" character like the many that usually populate series TV shows. Drop Dead Diva is both high drama and wry comedy by virtue of its excellent writers. But, where would this show be without Brooke Elliott? It will be interesting to see what she does next. I predict a smart producer or director will cast her in a movie on the big screen very soon.

Between the excellent cast that seems to mesh so well together, the clever, poignant and fast-paced fun scripts, and constantly interesting subject matter, this show is ready to become Classic TV.

Jane is so cute, and such an excellent actress, Stacy is just adorably ditzy, and such a great co-star/supporting actress. She just seems so genuine, like anyone would want her as a friend, and so true to Jane.

All of the acting is superb, and how they jive with each other seems completely unscripted, and real.

Every episode catches me, so I mourn when it's over. It's the perfect mix of light and fun, with deep and thought-provoking. Please don't make us wait so long for the next season!!! Lifetime should advertise this more in other forums, and on other channels, this show could really make them money.