Drop Dead Diva
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Sunday, July 12, 9PM, Lifetime
It's hardly a new idea (remember "Heaven Can Wait"?): A less-than-perfect person dies, then gets a second chance at life by coming back in someone else's body. But this new series actually makes it work, with both heart and humor. In this version, a shallow model dies prematurely - and when she comes back to Earth, she lands in the body of a just-killed attorney. Here's the gag: The model, who's kind of a dim bulb, gets the lawyer's brains - but she also gets her plus-size body and the life (and Lane Bryant wardrobe) that goes with it. The cheers must go to actress Brooke Elliott, who plays both the attorney and the ditzy blonde who inhabits her body. Look for Margaret Cho as the lawyer's wise-cracking assistant, a role she was born to play.
More Reviews
V
"This is just like 'Independence Day'," a character says when massive alien spaceships suddenly appear, hovering over all the world's large cities.
"This is just like 'Independence Day'," a character says when massive alien spaceships suddenly appear, hovering over all the world's large cities.
Place of Execution
A British TV journalist (Juliet Stevenson) is at work on a report about the murder of a 13-year-old girl 40 years earlier.
A British TV journalist (Juliet Stevenson) is at work on a report about the murder of a 13-year-old girl 40 years earlier.
Tabatha: Salon Takeover
Tough-love Tabatha Coffey starts a new season of applying her no-nonsense approach to failing hair salons.
Tough-love Tabatha Coffey starts a new season of applying her no-nonsense approach to failing hair salons.
The People vs. Leo Frank
When young Mary Phagan is found raped and strangled in an Atlanta pencil factory in 1913, suspicion falls on the factory superintendent, a New York Jew named Leo Frank...
When young Mary Phagan is found raped and strangled in an Atlanta pencil factory in 1913, suspicion falls on the factory superintendent, a New York Jew named Leo Frank...
White Collar
When an art forger plans to undermine the world's currency with counterfeit bearer bonds, a FBI agent enlists a convicted con man to help find him in the pilot for this new series.
When an art forger plans to undermine the world's currency with counterfeit bearer bonds, a FBI agent enlists a convicted con man to help find him in the pilot for this new series.
Sorority Wars
Lucy Hale stars as a college freshman, expected to pledge her mother's (Courtney Thorne-Smith) old sorority.
Lucy Hale stars as a college freshman, expected to pledge her mother's (Courtney Thorne-Smith) old sorority.
Monty Python: Almost the Truth
Even if you've never seen Monty Python's Flying Circus, you're probably familiar with its members without even knowing it. And their influence is still being felt.
Even if you've never seen Monty Python's Flying Circus, you're probably familiar with its members without even knowing it. And their influence is still being felt.
Nip/Tuck
Back for their final season, Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy find themselves in bizarre situations trying to cope with falling income when the tanking economy starts cutting into their business.
Back for their final season, Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy find themselves in bizarre situations trying to cope with falling income when the tanking economy starts cutting into their business.
Wanda Sykes: Ima Be Me
Sykes, a hilariously outspoken comedian, does a standup show from Washington, DC, talking about everything from President Barack Obama to coming out of the closet.
Sykes, a hilariously outspoken comedian, does a standup show from Washington, DC, talking about everything from President Barack Obama to coming out of the closet.
Stargate: Universe
Oh, those crazy Stargates - who knows where you'll pop out when you walk through one of their watery portals?
Oh, those crazy Stargates - who knows where you'll pop out when you walk through one of their watery portals?
The League
A group of five guys start their annual fantasy football league, with all the trash-talk and mind-games involved when you're trying to crush your best friends.
A group of five guys start their annual fantasy football league, with all the trash-talk and mind-games involved when you're trying to crush your best friends.
Ann Rule's Too Late to Say Goodbye
When the wife of a good-looking Atlanta dentist (Rob Lowe) commits suicide, the dentist doesn't seem all that shaken.
When the wife of a good-looking Atlanta dentist (Rob Lowe) commits suicide, the dentist doesn't seem all that shaken.
Californication
His wife Karen has split for New York - so as Season Three of this irreverent and bawdy comedy begins, writer Hank Moody is playing single parent to his teen daughter.
His wife Karen has split for New York - so as Season Three of this irreverent and bawdy comedy begins, writer Hank Moody is playing single parent to his teen daughter.
Hank
Multiple Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") undeservedly got cancelled in the hilarious "Back to You" - and returns in this sitcom, which isn't nearly as funny.
Multiple Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") undeservedly got cancelled in the hilarious "Back to You" - and returns in this sitcom, which isn't nearly as funny.
Three Rivers
If you're looking for a medical drama where every case feels like life-or-death, well, this isn't the show for you, because it's such a soap opera.
If you're looking for a medical drama where every case feels like life-or-death, well, this isn't the show for you, because it's such a soap opera.
Trauma
Here's a splashy action show about paramedics that is all about the flash, with the drama and characters barely sketched in.
Here's a splashy action show about paramedics that is all about the flash, with the drama and characters barely sketched in.
Dexter
He's TV's most fascinating character - the serial killer who channels his energy into killing other serial killers.
He's TV's most fascinating character - the serial killer who channels his energy into killing other serial killers.
FlashForward
Everyone in the world passes out for six minutes and the ones who wake up - who aren't killed in car accidents or plane crashes - have had a vision of the future.
Everyone in the world passes out for six minutes and the ones who wake up - who aren't killed in car accidents or plane crashes - have had a vision of the future.
Modern Family
Here's the freshest comedy of the year: a multigenerational tale of three couples, all of whom appear to be part of a mock-documentary about family life.
Here's the freshest comedy of the year: a multigenerational tale of three couples, all of whom appear to be part of a mock-documentary about family life.
Mercy
If you're still mourning the lost of "E.R." and have been looking for a show that brings the same blend of wrenching drama and unexpected humor, this could be it.
If you're still mourning the lost of "E.R." and have been looking for a show that brings the same blend of wrenching drama and unexpected humor, this could be it.
