Should Angels Really Do That? (A Protest Against Season Three of Drop Dead Diva)

Drop Dead Diva is a one-hour Lifetime “dramedy” about a wannabe model named Deb who dies in a sudden accident.  However, her soul reanimates in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney, Jane. Brooke Elliott plays the main character so brilliantly that – in spite of the strange, implausible plot – the show has heart.  It also brings up interesting topics about weight, femininity, and being comfortable in one’s own skin, as Jane grapples with her new, bigger body.  I’ve watched some episodes with my twelve year old, when I found the episode interesting enough to re-watch in order to have a “girl’s night” of television, popcorn, and interesting conversation.

The only people who know Jane’s secret – that she’s really Deb – are her best friend Stacy (April Bowlby) and her new guardian angel Fred (Ben Feldman).

In Season Two, these two fell in love – a romance that was particularly sweet since Fred was so innocent and clueless.  After all, what does a guardian angel (who sometimes talks about God as “his boss”) know about romancing a woman?

As Season Three began a couple of weeks ago, the show seemed to have a different flavor -- focusing more on the soap opera antics of Jane’s law firm and infusing as many sex jokes as possible per minute.  I told my disappointed daughter, after viewing the first episode, that I doubted there would be many episodes this season fit for her to see.  Still wanting to keep my Sunday night date with Lifetime, however, I settled onto the couch and tuned in to see how Jane would handle Deb’s former love’s impending marriage.

Fred, the angel who’s supposed to keep Jane walking the straight and narrow path, naggingly intervenes in Jane’s relationships.  However, in last night’s episode, perhaps he needed a little heavenly guidance himself, because he lost his virginity to Stacy.

"Jane actually has to become Fred's sex coach because he's never had sex before," the show’s creator Josh Berman says with a hearty chuckle in this Seattle PI article. "So Jane literally has to teach Fred how to have sex with a woman."

Maybe I’m expecting too much theological correctness for a silly Lifetime show.  However, couldn’t Berman have allowed the angel to be just a tad more… angelic? Wouldn’t it have been an interesting twist for Fred to avoid falling into bed with Stacy because of maintaining a certain level of holiness?  Or, maybe they could’ve had a frank discussion about his moral code – since Stacy doesn’t know he’s from above – which would’ve been an interesting comedic way to introduce a serious subject: when it’s appropriate to have sex with others. In the same episode, Jane goes to bed with a doctor on the first date.  Couldn’t this have been a good time for Fred (who advises her about other moral choices) to have a conversation about what “The Boss” says about sex outside of marriage?

Far from being an intentional slight to those of us who appreciated Fred because he represented something other-worldly and holy, the show's creators probably do not think of extra-marital sex as anything that would raise eyebrows amongst the heavenly crowd.  Would they have Fred rob a bank if Jane had financial trouble?  Certainly not.  But unmarried sex does not register as an offense to, well, "the Boss."

That's why Drop Dead Diva, which started with such promise, has turned into every other show on television. Fred has morphed into a spineless, toothless advice-giver, which makes me wonder, "Who needs an angel, when Dr. Phil is still on in the afternoons?"

Sadly, even heaven can’t pull this season up from the depths to which it has already fallen.

Update: Regina on Facebook reminded me that love makes you do funny things.  In Season Two, Fred gave up his angel wings, because he was in love.  However, do you think a former angel (who is still called her "guardian angel" on the show's intro) might have a pang of conscience about his decision about consumating the relationship?  Would a former nun?  Would a former priest?   Almost certainly! I think my point -- however clumsily made -- is that extra marital sex is so common that shows don't even make waiting until marriage a consideration...  even for angels!  Is there hope for mere mortals?