"Drop Dead Diva" Back From the Grave and "Army Wives" Mourn One of Their Own

Lifetime redeemed itself a bit this past week by pulling Drop Dead Diva from the ashes and granting the show a fifth season thanks to a little budget cutting.  While there is no word when the new season will air, the show will most definitely be must-watch television when it returns, most likely this summer.

So much on the air is serious drama, police procedurals, reality ridiculousness or edgy comedy.  This dramedy has its share of drama and can pull at the heart strings, but in that great Sleepless in Seattle way.  After all, the premise is pure fluff...hot vacuous model named Deb dies by running her car into a fruit truck and comes back in the body of a smart lawyer named Jane who isn't a size zero. 

But it's this premise that gives the show its heart and soul.  Seeing Deb adjust to life while her ex-fiance and family move on without her provide the biggest moments of impact because of the central conceit--if Jane tells anyone that she is actually Deb, bad things will happen. Although thankfully this rule does not apply to her model best friend and confidante Stacy, the only one besides her guardian angel who knows her secret.

However, it never gets too soul searching--the point is not to solve any giant life problems, but to provide the audience with some cotton candy in a world that can be a carnival of errors.

The cast is game with the biggest name being gay icon, Margaret Cho, who does funny supporting work as Jane's assistant.  The show has attracted a who's who of kitschy celebs including Joan Rivers, Rosie O'Donnell, Paula Abdul, Kim Kardashian, and Brandy.  Plus the men seen below...Jackson Hurst, who plays the object of Jane's affection; Josh Stamberg, who plays her boss; and Ben Feldman, who plays her guardian angel.

I am, of course, saving the show's best asset for last.  Brooke Elliott, who plays the titular heroine, is a marvel.  It would have been easy to play this character too broadly.  But Elliott somehow walks that tightrope of playing up Deb's vapid personality with an effervescent charm and heartbreaking sweetness and strength while proving her crack comic timing time and time again without reducing the character to caricature.  Plus she can sing.  The proof is in the pudding below.

The biggest mystery since the show premiered is why the actress didn't become a bonafide star as a result of the show.  It's not because of her size--witness the heights that funny lady Melissa McCartney is currently climbing in Hollywood.

But I digress.  If Elliott decides to not take on another project, we will always have the lasting joy of this show and her magnetic performance.  Kudos to Lifetime for giving it a chance.

Be sure and catch the revamped Army Wives this weekend.  The promo is below.  Just don't make the mistake of finding out the reason Kim Delaney is leaving the show.  This actress's fall into darkness is heartbreaking and this episode, in which the characters mourn the death of Delaney's Claudia Joy, promises to be a doozy.