Excelsior: Three TV Shows With Girl Power

Original Article

Remember the good old days of Ally McBeal? When you and your girlfriends would gather in front of the TV, pop open a huge container of chocolate Haagen Dazs, and cheer on a female heroine throughout all her successes and failures.

Well, those days are gone. But today, we have a new generation of girl dramas - with a twist.

1. Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime)

23-year-old Deb has everything in life going for her: a promising career as a model, a cute and successful boyfriend who's crazy about her, smashing good looks. Until the day that she dies in a head-on crash with a truck full of oranges. Instead of going straight to heaven, there's a bit of a mix-up at the pearly gates - and Deb ends up in the body of lawyer Jane. She gets a second chance at life - but has to come to terms with being an overweight, at times socially awkward brainiac. Only her best friend, air headed model Stacy, and her guardian angel Fred know the truth about her.

It seems sad that this must even be mentioned, but it feels great to see a beautiful, plus-size, smart woman as the protagonist of a TV show. Brooke Elliot owns the role; with impeccable comic timing she portrays the shallow model trapped in a new, and very different, body.

Through a turn of fate, Jane works with Deb's - her - former boyfriend, a situation that makes for great dramatic tension. Will he recognize her? Will he fall in love with her again, even though her appearance has totally changed?

"Drop Dead Diva" does a great job at mixing comic and dramatic tones, while almost effortlessly addressing current socio-cultural issues like our obsession with being skinny.

Season 2 of "Drop Dead Diva" will air in summer 2010.

2. Being Erica (CBC/Soapnet)

Erica is 32, still looking for Mr. Right and her dream job. She's anything but satisfied with her life; this isn't how she imagined it would turn out for her. Thinking back, there are a million things she would have done differently. And then, in the middle of running off from a family lunch where everyone outright pitied her, she suddenly gets a chance to do exactly that. Dr. Tom, a somewhat unorthodox therapist, sends her back in time to the points of her biggest regrets. Erica gets to do things over, and, in the process, learns that single events of the past are not always to blame for the present.

In a world where being successful is a big part of people's self-worth, the Canadian show "Being Erica" is a breath of fresh air. The heroine is pursuing her dreams while still struggling with defining them. Slowly, she realizes that this struggle is a part of life.

At the same time, there's the appeal of time-traveling. Who hasn't wished they could do a specific day in their lives over? And, apart from the philosophical implications, it's just plain fun to see the characters dressed up in ridiculous 90ies clothes.

Season 2 is currently airing on CBC, and will premiere on Soapnet January 20, 2010.

3. Dead Like Me (Now out on DVD)

Yes, "Dead Like Me" is old news. It premiered in 2003 and was axed a year later after two seasons. This year, the complete series was finally released on DVD, as well as a movie based on the show. Reason enough to remind everyone of this gem in TV history.

Ellen Muth plays Georgia "George" Lass, a young college drop-out without any apparent ambition in life. That changes when she's smashed to death by a toilet seat from the MIR space station. She becomes a grim reaper, and, for the first time, has to deal with real responsibility.

Muth's deadpan performance and the dark humor with which the subject of death is treated are what make the show. The group of grim reapers meet at a German waffle house to get their assignments and have to hold day jobs as meter maids and secretaries. At the same time, they are responsible to "collect" their clients' souls at the exact right moment, without knowing anything but the time and place of death. "Dead Like Me" raises some big questions, but mostly it's just great television entertainment.

"Dead Like Me - The Complete Series" and the movie "Dead Like Me - Life After Death" are available on www.amazon.com.