The Lifetime television series “Drop Dead Diva” was one of the happiest television series surprises of 2009. As it returns for a second season, the first is out on DVD and I have one copy to give away.

It’s the story of a young woman who gets a second chance at life when she finds her soul in a new body very different from the one she knew. Deb is a pretty model who takes for granted all the good things that come to her because she is young, blond, and conventionally beautiful. She has a best friend, Stacey (April Bowlby), also a model, and a handsome fiancee Grayson (Jackson Hurst), a lawyer.

Deb is killed in a car crash. In Heaven, she is evaluated as a “zero.” She has not committed any major sins but she has not made any great contributions, either. So, she is sent back to Earth, this time in the body of a just-deceased size-sixteen lawyer named Jane (Brooke Elliott).

And so a woman who lived on her beauty has to become a woman who lives on her brains. Deb learns what it is like to be dismissed and marginalized based on the way she looks. She learns how much she can accomplish with knowledge and understanding. And she realizes how much she misses Grayson, who works in Jane’s law firm, and wonders if she can make him fall in love with her even though she is no longer blonde and slim.

The show is delightful, with a strong writing, a terrific cast, and some well-chosen guest stars, including “Project Runway’s” Tim Gunn and real-life divas Paula Abdul and Rosie O’Donnell. But in every way the heart of the series is Elliott, who is utterly charming as Deb/Jane. Can’t wait to see what she does next.

Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com and tell me your favorite “Drop Dead Diva” moment. The first to respond will get the DVD set of the first season. Enjoy!