Drop Dead Diva – Grayson’s Anatomy

Ending the first season on a spectacularly high note, Drop Dead Diva’s finale dealt with no less weighty issues than: Are we destined to have one true love?  Are our lives predetermined by destiny?  Or is it all simply a matter of fate? These were the questions delicately and quite humorously addressed and, unfortunately, left hanging in this episode.  For Deb (Brooke Elliott) had begun to wonder about her life as Jane and whether it meant that she must live the life old Jane carved-out, or if she can change her life and live as a new Jane.

Fresh off her inadvertent date with Grayson (Jackson Hurst) in the prior episode, after Tony (David Denman) had canceled at the last minute due to work and Kim (Kate Levering) had broken up with Grayson, we got a glimpse into Grayson’s inner thoughts as he awoke from a dream about nearly kissing Jane.  The expression on his face clearly showed his confusion about the dream and what it meant.

But, in Jane’s world, things are going smoothly with Tony (David Denman) who thoughtfully brought Jane lunch at the office and invited her on a romantic getaway to Napa.  Grayson could only watch in the background contemplating how he felt about Jane.  Later Grayson inadvertently admitted to Stacy (April Bowlby) that he was having trouble sleeping because he had been dreaming about Jane.  Predictably, Stacy told Jane about Grayson’s revealing disclosure and that put Jane in a quandary:  does she continue to pursue the relationship with Tony or take the time to find out whether Grayson feels something for her?

In the end, Jane made her decision.  It was time for her to live her life as “new Jane” and no longer as “old Jane.”  She is not Deb anymore and she is not Jane either.  Thus, she needs to figure out who she is as the “new Jane.”  This meant no clinging to the past and wishing for things to be as they had been with Grayson.  It was time to put the past in the past — and Tony promised a new future.  However, just as Jane made that firm decision, there was a knock at the door and low and behold if it wasn’t a new romantic entanglement:  Jane’s husband, Ethan (Devon Gummersall).  Talk about a major cliff-hanger?!

Paralleling Jane’s dilemma, we watched Jane struggle with a case involving an aging minor-league baseball player, Eric Hayes (Bryce Johnson), who had undergone rotator cuff surgery only to find out the surgery had been botched and it left him unable to play baseball anymore.  In a huge display of faith, Parker (Josh Stamberg) invited Jane to be first-chair with Kim acting as second chair on the case.  While Terri (Margaret Cho) and Jane wanted to credit the star-treatment to the “partner pen” that Terri had gotten for Jane, it was a smart move for Parker to allow Jane such an opportunity to shine.  Despite the typical bickering and tug-of-war on legal strategy regarding whether to pursue the sloppy doctor’s history or the injured ballplayer’s background, the case was ultimately a slam-dunk victory to the tune of a $15 million settlement.

But it was a shallow victory once Jane realized that she had been duped into helping defraud the doctor’s malpractice insurance carrier.  It had been Dr. Dumont (Alicia Coppola) and Eric Hays’ plan all along to retire young and rich.  They had carefully concealed their affair so that even Jane was not suspicious until that one slip up by Eric when he mentioned that he would be taking a few weeks off to relax at the Kona Coast in Hawaii after receiving the settlement money.  That was when Jane remembered that Dr. Dumont had a home on the Kona Coast and then dug up the credit card receipts to verify the affair.  With the evidence staring her right in the face, Jane immediately took it Parker and Kim to share the bad news, “This whole case was a scam and we just helped them steal $15 million.”

But to Jane’s dismay, Parker rebuked her and said, “Forget the money.  If word gets out we turned on our clients, we’ll have no clients.  You’ll say nothing because you’re not allowed to – attorney-client privilege.”  Faced with Parker’s unyielding stance, Jane said in horror and astonishment, “So everyone gets to be ethical but me?!”  Contemplating her predicament, Jane later told Terri, “If my career goes up in flames, yours does too and that’s not fair.”  However, surprisingly, Terri said, “Six years ago, I took this job, yes – because I believed you were going places – but now I’m working for you because of who you are, not where you’re going.  Do what you have to do.”  Backed with this unexpected support, Jane played a reverse scam of her own on the wily Dr. Dumont to make her believe that Eric had only used her so that he could get the money and then cut her out of the deal.  Thus, Jane was able to get a full
confession from her on tape – a tape which Jane determinedly put in the mail to the District Attorney’s office along with a note for Parker.

This was a make or break point for Jane.  Does she turn her back on the fraud committed with her unwitting aid, or does she do the right thing?  In the end, she just could not live with it and did the right thing.  She had to expose the fraud – even at the cost of her law license.  So just like with Grayson, she had to let go.  She had to let go of her life as Deb and her life as old-Jane.

With both her career and love-life hanging in the balance, it remains to be seen how the second season will resolve these dire predicaments.

WHAT WORKED:

Back-dropping the episode was another legal case involving a model who was fired after a lingerie company discovered she was a cancer survivor.  Upon first discovering this deplorable treatment, Jane vowed to “make them cry.”  But it fell to Grayson and Stacy to be the legal champions while Jane was tied up on the medical malpractice case.  Thus, there were some delightful comedic moments with Stacy trying to conquer the mind-bending legalese, but in the end it was Stacy’s insight that helped them prevail.  Employing some sexy black lingerie worn by the model as she disrobed on the stand, Grayson good-naturedly asked, “So who’s thinking of cancer now?”  Clearly, no one was thinking about cancer after that!  It was a clever way to provide some levity and make a point that women are beautiful no matter what they may have gone through or experienced.  It was a classic “Drop Dead Diva” storyline to emphasize women-empowerment.

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

“Grayson’s Anatomy” was written by Alex Taub and Jeffrey Lippman and directed by David Petrarca. Drop Dead Diva stars Brooke Elliott, Brooke D’Orsey, April Bowlby, Ben Feldman, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg, and Kate Levering. Drop Dead Diva airs Sundays on Lifetime Television.

The Anatomy of Drop Dead Diva

On October 7, I attended a Paley Center for Media event saluting the Lifetime hit series Drop Dead Diva with several friends. It was a wonderful night as all of us in the audience had the opportunity to not only see the cast and crew in person, but also to watch the season finale called “Grayson’s Anatomy” prior to its official airing this past Sunday night.

The evening started out with the airing of the finale to a packed house with the cast – Brooke Elliott (Jane Bingham), Jackson Hurst (Grayson Kent), Margaret Cho (Teri Lee), Ben Feldman (guardian angel Fred), Josh Stamberg (J. Parker) and April Bowlby (Stacy) – as well as creator and executive producer Josh Berman and producer Alex Taub – in the audience.

After enjoying a wonderfully entertaining finale with a surprising twist ending, Mr. Berman announced that Ben Feldman would be joining the show as a series regular next season and that new episodes will be back on the air in June. He also shared that the inspiration for the show was his 4 foot 11 inch grandmother. As Mr. Berman spoke of his grandmother, you could easily see the love and admiration he has for her.

The question and answer session brought forth talk of all the fantastic guest stars the series has had, including Sharon Lawrence, Liza Minnelli, Delta Burke, Nia Vardalos, Ray Wise, Rosie O’Donnell, Gina Torres, Gregory Harrison, Chris Carmack, Teri Polo, Kathy Najimy, Elliott Gould and Jorga Fox among many others. Mr. Berman hopes to get Cher on the show at some point and explained that Rosie O’Donnell and Paula Abdul have both expressed interest in returning.

Moderator Janice Littlejohn, entertainment journalist from the LA Times, asked about finding the right actress for the lead role of Jane Bingham. Mr. Berman stated all of the United States was searched for just the right woman with a number of really great actresses coming in for auditions, but until Brooke Elliott, Broadway star of The Pirate Queen and Taboo, walked in the door. Once that happened, Mr. Berman said he could only “hear Brooke’s voice as Jane.”

Ms. Elliott then explained she feels the show has a wonderful message attached to it and in order to balance between her character’s two “personalities” (if you will), takes a lot of focus. Ms. Cho stated she fell in love with Josh and the show and believes it is deeper than just a romantic comedy series. She also joked that, “our personalities are (the) people (we play).” And, since Mr. Feldman plays guardian angel Fred, he was asked what he would like to be able to do as an angel. He kidded that he would love to fly.

Audience questions included asking about the colorful wardrobe, which Mr. Berman explained is discussed in their “tone meetings” with the wardrobe supervisor who is always changing it up each episode, allowing it to evolve. There are no signature looks as of yet as designers were initially hesitant to provide clothing to the show, but that could potentially change now that the show is confirmed to return for a second season.

Much joking was made about their filming in Georgia, especially their “like of peaches” – since they film in Peachtree (although some of the cast has severe pollen allergies) and that they have “the biggest, most luxurious, most functional sets” more so than anything they could have in Los Angeles. Also, Mr. Berman stated he thought there were too many dream sequences, but the goal was to balance out how many there were within each episode.

Mr. Berman stated they hope to see more of Deb (outside of being inside Jane’s body) in future episodes; that their cases are collected from as many places as they can, including legal consultants and scouring the paper for thematic stories; getting 13 episodes for season two and Jane probably getting more songs in the future to which Ms. Elliott got excited about being able to sing in season two.

In the DVD for season 1, a longer pilot will be featured including seeing original Jane going to heaven. The reason for guardian angel Fred being “missing in action” twice during the first season was not fully addressed except with Mr. Feldman saying it was “boring silly things” and Mr. Berman stating “a lot of people wanted to work with (him)” that caused those absences to take place. One of the closing comments was “memories remain with the soul” when Mr. Berman and Ms. Elliott were asked about how much of Jane is left over and how much of Deb returned from heaven.

If you would like to revisit the show or watch it for the first time, please visit http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/drop-dead-diva.

Summer TV Surprises

A number of good series returned this summer like Burn Notice, Eureka, In Plain Sight, The Closer and Leverage. Along with these and numerous other returning shows, a handful of new shows debuted over the summer. The ones that stand out the most to me as surprise hits of the summer are:

1. Drop Dead Diva – This comedic drama on Lifetime has the most unusual premise: Deb (Brooke D’Orsay), a beautiful-but-vapid model wannabe, dies in a car accident and finds herself before Heaven’s gatekeeper. In her attempt to return to her life, she is relegated to the body of recently deceased Jane Bingham, a brilliant, thoughtful and plus-size attorney. Now, Deb’s soul is inside Jane with all of Deb’s memories but all of Jane’s intelligence.

The story itself sounds preposterous until you see the delightful and perfectly cast Brooke Elliott in the lead role, surrounded by her guardian angel (of sorts) Fred (Ben Feldman), her loyal assistant Teri (Margaret Cho) and Deb’s best friend Stacy (April Bowlby). At her law firm, Jane works with Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst), who was Deb’s boyfriend; Kim Kaswell (Kate Levering), a tough-as-nails (and rather unlikeable) attorney and boss man Parker (Josh Stamberg).

The series airs on Sunday nights at 9 PM with its finale set for October 11. You can get caught up on the first eight episodes at mylifetime.com then join in the fun for the last five episodes starting this Sunday. And best of all the show has done so well this summer that the network has renewed it for a second season.

2. Warehouse 13 – After only eight episodes, this Syfy original has already made its way into the hearts of viewers, combining humor, intrigue and adventure all into one terrific package. After saving the life of the President, two secret service agents – Peter Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) – are transferred to Warehouse 13 a “massive, top-secret storage facility in South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government.”

Pete and Myka work with warehouse caretaker Artie (Saul Rubinek) and young techno-wiz Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) to track down these artifacts in order to “snag, bag and tag them” and place them, forever, in the warehouse. Also along for the ride is Leena (Genelle Williams), the proprietor of the bed and breakfast where Pete and Myka live; their former boss Daniel Dickson (Simon Reynolds) and the mysterious Director of the secret organization that runs the warehouse, Mrs. Frederick (C.C.H. Pounder).

With only four more episodes to air on Tuesday nights at 9 PM, you can catch up on the past episodes at http://www.syfy.com/warehouse13/ and watch the remaining episodes, leading up to the finale on September 22. Then make sure to tune in next summer, as the show has been renewed for another season.

3. Being Human – This BBC America series is already a hit in the UK while American audiences got to experience this unique telling of a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf sharing a house in Bristol over the summer. The story centers on John Mitchell (Aidan Turner), a vampire who was turned during WWI but now works as a hospital porter; George Sands (Russell Tovey), a werewolf, who while being extremely intelligent works alongside Mitchell as a porter, leaving behind his family, fiancé and friends due to being afraid of hurting them; and Annie Sawyer (Lenora Crichlow), a ghost who died in the house where George and Mitchell live and where she refuses to leave.

While there were only six episodes and the pilot in the first season, this supernatural dramedy with classic British humor grabbed onto the audience and didn’t let go until its final scene with viewers clamoring for more. Season 2 is supposed to be filming as of August and is expected to air in the U.K. in 2010. Those of us on the “other side of the pond” will have to wait our turn to see the new season once BBC America sets the airdates. In order to get caught up on this exciting drama, please visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/beinghuman/.

4. Royal Pains – This new medical drama/comedy has become the hit of the USA Network, starring Mark Feuerstein as Dr. Hank Lawson, a rising star in the New York City medical community who loses everything after fighting for the life of a patient (and allowing a prominent benefactor of his hospital to die). With his life and career in shambles, his younger brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo) takes him to the Hamptons for a Memorial Day get-away, which ends up allowing Hank to become a new kind of MD – a concierge doctor.

With his invaluable physician’s assistant Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty) on hand and his brother Evan, who is a certified public accountant, along for the ride, Hank Med is up and running in the Hamptons. The series also stars Jill Flint as Jill Casey, administrator at the local hospital and on-again/off-again love interest to Hank.

The series just wrapped up its first season on August 27, but you can check out the 12 aired episodes via http://www.usanetwork.com/series/royalpains/ and you can tune in next summer when its recently announced second season will air.

What new summer shows did you enjoy most? Please share.

Nice Boy of the Week: Jackson Hurst

Jackson Hurst plays Grayson Kent on the Lifetime original series Drop Dead Diva. Hailing from Texas and a graduate of Baylor University, Jackson is making his presence known on both television and film, appearing with such talent as Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Hardin, Eva Mendes and Lara Flynn Boyle. Lifetimers are familiar with his gorgeous face from Living Proof and Inspector Mom. The powerhouse team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron obviously thought highly enough of Jackson from working with him on Living Proof, to bring him on board for Diva.

Drop Dead Diva has just been picked up for a second season, and Jackson’s fans couldn’t be happier. Neither could the Nice Girls.

Warehouse 13, Drop Dead Diva Renewed! Leverage Adds Two!

Two of our new favorite shows, SyFy’s Warehouse 13 and Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, have been renewed for a second season by their respective networks. Meanwhile, TNT is so happy with Leverage’s performance that they’ve added more episodes to the order for the current season.

Warehouse 13 is SyFy’s most watched show, averaging 3.7 million viewers a week. Almost 50% of those viewers are women, quite a significant change from SyFy’s normal demo. The network ordered 13 new episodes to air next summer, but says there’s a chance that the number of episodes will increase in future seasons.

Lifetime’s new show, Drop Dead Diva, has been a strong performer for the network. The show has averaged 2.6 million viewers so far in its first season, and in its most recent airing last Sunday, hit a record of more than 3 million viewers. Another thirteen episodes will be coming our way next summer when Drop Dead Diva returns to Lifetime.

Meanwhile, TNT has been so pleased with Leverage’s second season that they’ve ordered two additional episodes to air in September. The new season finale will air Wednesday, September 9. I’d hazard a guess that this means we can expect a third season to be announced soon!

Defining Sci-Fi: Is it Genre, Fantasy or Something Else Entirely?

Because I watch so much television, I am frequently asked what kinds of shows I watch.  This question usually perplexes me as it is nearly impossible to classify the kinds of shows I watch under one label.  But in the interest of being succinct, I usually just respond:  sci-fi shows.  For, after all, the “sci-fi” label does cover a multitude of types of TV shows.

However, when looking up the definition of “science fiction,” I found that it can be defined as:

“Fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals, or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component.” (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)

“A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.” (American Heritage Dictionary)

“Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations on current or future science or technology.  Science fiction can also be synonymous with the broader definition of speculative fiction, which includes:  fantasy, horror, and related genres.  Science fiction is largely based on writing entertainingly and rationally about alternate possibilities in settings that are contrary to known reality.” (Wikipedia)

Thus, upon further research, I found that the very question of “what is sci-fi?” has confounded much more intelligent and articulate minds than mine.  “Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and subgenres that it is notoriously difficult to define.  This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became clearly separate from other genres.”  (Wikipedia)  (See Wikipedia’s category on “Definitions of Science Fiction” for a more detailed analysis.)

So with this much confusion as to what is science-fiction, I feel pretty comfortable in saying that nearly everything I watch on TV is science-fiction in some form or another.

To help you identify what category shows that you may watch fall into, I have compiled a list of sci-fi shows of 2009 broken down by category as follows:

(1) Classic sci-fi (involves: future science, the future, time travel, space travel, space-western, space-opera, alternate reality, alternate history, space-military, apocalyptic)

“Battlestar Galactica” (space-opera, space travel, future science, the future)
“Caprica” (space-opera, space travel, future science, the future)

“Day One” (apocalyptic)
“Doctor Who” (time travel, space travel)
“Dollhouse” (future science)
“Eureka” (future science, time travel, alternate reality)
“Flash Forward” (the future, time travel)
“Fringe” (future science, alternate reality)
“Kyle XY” (future science)
“Life on Mars” (the future, alternate reality)
“Lost” (future science, time travel)
“My Own Worst Enemy” (future science)
“Stargate SG1” (future science, time travel, space travel, space-military)
“Stargate: Atlantis” (future science, time travel, space travel, space-military)
“Stargate: Universe” (future science, time travel, space travel, space-military)
“Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles” (time travel, future science, apocalyptic)
“Torchwood” (future science, time travel, space travel)
“V” (space travel, future science)
“Virtuality” (space travel, the future)
“Warehouse 13” (future science, space travel)

(2) Fantasy (lost world, sword and sorcery, mystical, theological, past life)
“Drop Dead Diva” (theological, past life)
“Eastwick” (mystical)
“Eli Stone” (theological)
“Ghost Whisperer” (theological, past life)
“Kings” (theological)
“Legend of the Seeker” (lost world)
“Past Life” (theological, past life)
“Primeval” (lost world)
“Pushing Daisies” (theological, mystical)
“Reaper” (theological, mystical)
“Sanctuary” (lost world)
“Saving Grace” (theological)
“Survivors” (lost world)

(3) Horror (gothic, ghost, monster, occult, slasher, survival, supernatural)

“Being Human” (monster)
“Dexter” (slasher, monster)
“Medium” (occult)
“Supernatural” (ghost, monster, occult, supernatural)
“True Blood” (monster, supernatural)
“Vampire Diaries” (monster, supernatural)

(5) Comic (superhero, superhuman)
“Chuck” (superhuman)
“Heroes” (superhuman)
“Human Target” (superhuman)
“Smallville” (superhero)
“The Listener” (superhuman)

As you can see from the above list, there are really quite a few ways to define what is “science fiction” or what constitutes a sci-fi show – particularly, as we frequently tend to lump anything outside of our current known existence as “sci-fi” for the lack of a better or easier way to describe it.

It really is startling to realize that so much of what is on television can fit into the sci-fi category.  For even “Desperate Housewives” could be considered a member of the sci-fi family simply because of the voice-over narration which is done in each episode by a dead person.  (Though I imagine that is Marc Cherry’s worst nightmare to have his beloved show called “science fiction.”)

Despite the proliferation of TV shows crossing over into the sci-fi genre, there are still some distinct categories that do not mingle with the sci-fi realm, such as medical dramas, cop shows, soap operas, games shows, reality shows, family drama, sitcoms, and teenage angst.  But it still feels that there are so many modern shows that offer some kind of sci-fi element.

So the next time someone asks you which kinds of television shows you watch, think carefully.  You just might be watching more sci-fi than you know!

Recap: Drop Dead Diva – “The Chinese Wall”

Little White Lies

There is an obscure legal concept known as an ethical-wall, which is more commonly known as a “Chinese Wall.” This is a legal theory that allows lawyers from the same firm to represent two clients on opposite sides of a case. Courts frown on it, but so long as the “Chinese Wall” is maintained, it will be permitted.

In this week’s episode, it was under the guise of this theory that Deb (as Jane) decided it would be appropriate for her to represent her mother in a divorce action, while her ex-boyfriend, Grayson, represented Deb’s father. While Deb’s heart was in the right place wanting to mediate a possible amicable resolution between her parents, it was clearly not in her parent’s best interests. Try as she might, Deb was forced to realize that her parents had only stayed together out of love for her and had been maintaining a sham of a marriage for 6 years. It was just a few “little white lies” they told her in order to maintain the façade of their marriage. In truth, Deb’s mother had found someone else to share her life with and her father was trying to do the right thing by not telling her upon the request of Grayson – who wanted Deb to not be distracted by her parent’s divorce when he proposed. But the best intentions did not prepare Deb for
the pain she felt anyway: the pain of knowing her parents had maintained a sham-marriage; the pain of knowing that her boyfriend knew that her parents were getting divorced and did not tell her; and the pain of realizing that she no longer had a place in their lives. Her life now was that as Jane, not Deb. So Deb opted to gracefully bow out of the divorce case and move on – as everyone else was trying to do with their lives.

This left Deb free to work with Kim on the David Beckham case – not THAT David Beckham. In this instance, David Beckham was a dog; a cloned dog to be exact. Jane and Kim had been retained by the owner who was unhappy with the cloned version of his prize champion dog. He wanted his money back because the dog was untrainable and would not follow the most basic of commands — apparently, there is no guarantee in cloning that the cloned version will be an exact duplicate, for such personal traits as personality type and training cannot be duplicated. While not able to persuade the court that their client deserved to get his money back because he was dissatisfied with the product he purchased, Deb did manage to find another way was to persuade the company to give him his money back. For a little online surfing had revealed that this year’s current dog champion looked exactly like David Beckham and, with DNA tests to prove it, Deb and Kim unearthed a
scheme whereby one of the cloning company employees had created a litter of pedigree pups using their client’s dog’s DNA – without his consent and certainly without paying for the privilege of using his dead dog as a stud in order to create the cloned pups. After this potentially criminal activity was revealed, the cloning company quickly offered to return the cloning fee and take the dog back. However, when suddenly faced with the prospect of having to return the dog and get his money back, Deb’s client was suddenly taken aback for he realized he had grown attached to the clumsy, untrainable dog and, while David Beckham the 2nd would never be a prefect champion, he was his best friend and he realized, “there is no price on unconditional love.”

This episode was about how lies of omission can unintentionally hurt us and the lies we tell ourselves can hurt even more. For Deb was forced to see that she had been lying to herself that her parents’ marriage was fine; and the dog owner discovered that in the end he valued love much more than a monetary prize. Love and truth are priceless.

WHAT WORKED:

It was a bit heart-tugging to hear Deb tell Fred gently as he was lecturing her on the pitfalls of representing her mother in a divorce case: “What I need is a little less guardian and a little bit more angel.” It was her way of reminding him that she really just needed a friend, not just a guardian angel.

Another tender moment was when Deb’s father caught “Jane” trying on Deb’s beauty pageant tiara and he was generous enough to tell her: “For what it’s worth, it looks nice on you.” It was a compliment freely given and showed a level of compassion that gave us a glimpse of the father the Deb loved and cherished.

It was also adorable watching Fred try to figure out which classic romantic film to try to emulate in order to woo Stacy. His ultimate choice of the John Cusack classic “Say Anything” was fitting and inspired. Plus, it kind of worked. For as Fred happily exclaimed at the end, “she remembered my name!”

Finally, it was great seeing the nicer, kinder side of Kim. Up until this point, she has been a hard-as-nails type person who has her laser-sights on Grayson. In this episode, she seemed to have let go of that relentless pursuit and began to actually focus on the case at hand. It made her appear to be more a real person who may ultimately be a good friend for Deb.

It was also very comedic to watch Deb realize that Jane’s former boyfriend (a court bailiff) wanted to rekindle their romance and she had to gently break it to him that “there is someone in my life right now.” Those scenes were hysterical for Deb had not yet felt like an attractive and desired woman in Jane’s body before. Plus, her grace in handling Jane’s boyfriend’s awkward attempts to jump-start their relationship again were delicately done. It was nice to see that she could be so considerate of someone who loved Jane.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

Deb was a little to quick to hug her parents and it did not seem believable that she would feel so comfortable to act so rash and inappropriate. It was done purely as a laugh joke, but should have been avoided. It took the viewer out of the tender moment of her seeing her parents again, but this time as Jane.

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

“Drop Dead Diva: The Chinese Wall” was written by Thania St. John and directed by Lawrence Trilling. “Drop Dead Diva” stars Brooke Elliott, Brooke D’Orsey, April Bowlby, Ben Feldman, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg, and Kate Levering. “Drop Dead Diva” airs Sundays on Lifetime Television.

Review: Drop Dead Diva – Do Over

Traveling in the Land of Oz

Following the theme of “The Wizard of Oz,” last week’s episode felt like Deb was Dorothy appearing before the Wizard and pulling back the curtain to find it was all a sham. For Deb had just found that she had to re-try a case that Jane had previously tried and won, and it was proving to be a bit trickier than Deb anticipated — particularly when one of the star witnesses suddenly recounted his earlier testimony. It was only through employing a bit of wizardry herself that she was able to save the day. Fortunately, her dream/nightmare had shown her that she needed to rely on her own strengths as Deb in order to truly be the advocate that her (Jane’s) client needed. The game show theme was to remind her that a bit of showmanship can be useful in persuading a jury (and a lying witness) that justice will come through in the end.

The cold legal theory that the old-Jane had posited to the judge (fabulously played by Rosie O’Donnell) was that the “system is about due process, if you want fair, you should go to a fairground.” Yet that cynical viewpoint was shown only to be true if you were not willing to do whatever it took to win your case. Deb’s indignation over the injustice of a perjuring witness in the face of a family about to be kicked-out of their home, was just the motivator she needed to push her into doing everything she could to ensure she won her case. Even if it meant getting her best friend to pose as a potential customer to get him to agree to break the law to meet her demands and thereby putting the noose around his own neck.

In a parallel case, it was actually cool to see Kim and Grayson take on a therapist who was hired to eradicate a second personality out of woman’s husband, but who extinguished the wrong one. The alternate theories of malpractice turned wrongful death was inventive and funny to watch.

It also gently hinted at the possibility of Grayson one day realizing that Jane is exhibiting signs of Deb’s personality. It is rather cool to see all of Deb’s personality traits slowly tickling at his brain as if to nudge him in the right direction. Perhaps we do really fall in love with another person’s soul.

WHAT WORKED:

In a funny bit of physical comedy, it was adorable watching Fred first catching sight of Stacy and falling in love at first sight; and we were just a bit crushed watching him struggle to understand why she would not be in his league. It further tugged at the heart-strings to watch Jane try to explain to him that he was “in a league of his own” and Fred forlornly responding, “I’m new here. You’ll have to be my guardian angel too.”

On another note, it was cheer-worthy to watch Stacy overcome her audition fears and embrace the challenge of playing a role to help Deb win her case. Stacy may be a bit shallow, but she does seem willing to help out a friend in a pinch.

It was also comical watching Deb realize that Stacy could be seen at any moment by Grayson at her office, when she exclaimed, “Grayson didn’t see you, did he?!” Just the thought of explaining how “Jane” knows Stacy is hard to envision, but I am sure it will be priceless when it happens.

Then the final “aaah” factor was at the end of the episode and seeing that Grayson had found Deb’s obituary notice without her photo and had submitted the photo that Deb had liked from his office for the re-print. That was particularly touching.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

I still find it calloused and annoying that Kim is so openly pursuing Grayson. For even Grayson called her on it by saying, “I lost Deb less than a month ago. I don’t want to be manipulated right now.” It feels too soon and rather appalling that she would blatantly hit on a man still grieving for his lost love.

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

“Drop Dead Diva: Do Over” was written by Alex Taub and directed by Michael Lange. “Drop Dead Diva” stars Brooke Elliott, Brooke D’Orsey, Apil Bowlby, Ben Feldman, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg, and Kate Levering. “Drop Dead Diva” airs Sundays on Lifetime Television.

Drop Dead Diva: Heaven’s Computer Glitch

In a clever twist to the classic body-swap storyline (think “Freaky Friday” meets “Heaven Can Wait”), we are introduced to two young women traveling parallel paths to an untimely demise. For one, there is an unexpected second chance and she returns to life-as-we-know-it  – with the unexpected caveat that she is returned into someone else’s body. And so we meet Deb, the shallow, beautiful aspiring model who mistakenly hits the “return” button on the computer while awaiting her fate at Heaven’s gate. Unfortunately, this accidental “return” sends her back as Jane, a highly intelligent, plus-size lawyer. (While not thoroughly explained, it is presumed that Jane entered Heaven, and her body was thus left vacant for Deb’s re-entry into this world.)

Accordingly, we are invited to share in Deb’s experience in acclimating to living her new life as “Jane.” Initially, it is monumentally confusing for Deb as she grieves for the loss of her former physical self, the loss of her boyfriend and friends, and the life she had before. But as her personal guardian angel, Fred, explained, living as her former self, she was just a “zero/zero” – meaning she was neither good or bad, having not done a single good or bad act. Thus, becoming Jane now allows Deb the chance to become a better person and ensuring that she will not get stuck at Heaven’s gate the next time she must account for her life.

In many ways, living as Jane, Deb is freer since she has inherited Jane’s keen intellect, prestigious job, personal assistant, and even Jane’s worldly belongings, which includes a cool, silver Porsche (much to Deb’s delight). So without having to worry about getting a job or income to live on, Deb slowly begins to adapt. However, to counter-balance the perks of Jane’s life, Deb also has to accept: (1) the responsibility of Jane’s cases and (2) the new physical differences.

For as she find out, as Jane, she now has clients who rely on her to stand up and represent them in a multitude of complex cases. While initially it is a good thing that Deb can rely on Jane’s natural intelligence to assist, Deb discovers it is her own instincts that really win the cases for her clients. (In particular, her closing argument for a client who lost his wife was especially touching and poignant based on the five stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – which were something Deb could intimately relate to as this is exactly what she was experiencing in mourning her old self and life.)

And last, but not least, Deb must come to terms with her new body type. She is no longer a size 2, slim figured blonde who can crook her finger and every guy will come running. She is a full-figured, raven haired woman who, while professional, is not yet confident in her own body. She must adjust to the fact that she has different food cravings, wears a different size of clothes, cannot do a standing squat, and must have a window in her office or she feels like she’s going to overheat. These physical changes are a huge adjustment and yet she embraces the challenge with more perseverance than most people would have in her shoes.

The comedy of watching Deb meld her two lives together is simultaneously hilarious and touching:  for example, watching her steadfast refusal to give up her best friend, Stacy, shows loyalty and common sense as she needs at least one touch-stone in her life; watching her react to having a guardian angel who both works with her and lives in her house, which is delightfully funny and yet reminds her of the challenge she must face in pursuing a life as a better person; and feeling her mixed reactions upon encountering her boyfriend who was just hired by her firm (and who naturally does not recognize her as Jane), which felt heart-breaking and yet hope-filled all at once.

At the end of the 2 hour pilot, I knew I had found a “keeper” as I discovered myself wishing for more and, thus, I am only too happy to have been invited on Jane’s journey of self-discovery.

WHAT WORKED:

Casting of the two Brookes as Deb and Jane is spot-on-brilliant. Both bring their best work to the show and you find yourself rooting for them no matter whoever is on screen. Special kudos to Brooke Elliott for deftly meddling both personalities into one body in such a fun, likable and relatable way. Shout-outs should also be given to the rest of the cast who are just as phenomenal in their roles and which make Jane’s world such a fun place to visit.

I also loved the cute and delicate resolutions to each of the legal cases and the care given to how sensitive the subject matter may be. In depicting legal cases, sometimes writers forget there are actual people who are ensnared in those legal messes and their only wish to get out with some dignity and justice.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

Bringing in a snide, insecure, competitive co-worker who immediately starts hitting on Deb’s boyfriend so early on in the series seems unnecessary. It feels like “Jane” is being unnecessarily kicked while she’s already down. That is a story that could easily be played out later with a bit more humor and thoughtfulness. Bringing it in so early just feels mean-spirited, as Deb deserves just a little more time to learn what her life is like as Jane.

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

“Drop Dead Diva: Pilot” written by Josh Berman and directed by James Hayman.  ”Drop Dead Diva” stars Brooke Elliott, Brooke D’Orsey, Apil Bowlby, Ben Feldman, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg, and Kate Levering. “Drop Dead Diva” airs Sundays on Lifetime Television.