Drop dead awesome

A new show that I'm enjoying that hasn't gotten much press at all is Drop Dead Diva, which airs Sunday nights on Lifetime. (Tonight, of course, I'll be watching the Emmys, but that's why God made DVRs.) The premise is totally insane--a wannabe model (Deb) dies in a car accident, but winds up in body of a woman (Jane) who stepped in front of a bullet for her boss. The twist (as if the entire premise weren't twist enough) is that Jane is plus-sized. How does a wannabe model live life in a woman who wears a size 16?

And one of the things I love about the show is how they handle that. Deb's best friend knows that it's Deb in Jane's body, and at first tried to get Deb/Jane to lose weight...but D/J isn't worrying about it. She's having that morning donut. It's great to see. And the topic comes up in different ways. For instance, last week D/J sued a couture store for not carrying a chichi dress in her size. Jane would never have entered the store, knowing that they would never carry a dress her size. Deb just assumed that she'd be able to get the dress.

It's also fun seeing Deb mature. After dying, she wound up in sort of a waiting room, where she discovered that she was sort of morally neutral--neither a good person nor a bad person. Every now and then in an episode, we'll see that pop up. She'll see someone and think to help them...but get distracted.

However, the show does have its weak spots. Deb seems insanely not curious about Jane's life. We saw her at Jane's apartment once, but she pretty much just lives with her best friend. Even when she was going to Jane's high school reunion, she studied up on her classmates, but didn't seem to take the time to try to figure out what Jane was like (though she did wind up learning a bit). We haven't seen Jane's family contact her--and since she survived being shot, you'd think they might be around. And if Jane had any friends, they have yet to make an appearance. I understand that the show has set Jane up as a workholic, but that doesn't mean she's completely friendless. Where are these people. Why does Deb not care at all? I mean, geez, if I were in that situation, I'd totally be searching for pictures, diaries, blogs, Facebook, whatever. Who am I now? But that's not what Deb is asking.

Also, the situations in their cases are insane, but I think that's pretty par for the course when it comes to legal shows on tv.

What really makes the show work is Brooke Elliott. Margaret Cho is great as her assistant, too, but Elliott just does a fantastic job of acting the differences between Deb and Jane. It's nice seeing the confidence of Deb shine through in Jane...she's someone that I could probably take a few lessons from.

And the dream sequences are fun. (Though they may want to tone down the guest stars a bit. It's somewhat overwhelming, particularly for such a new show.)