The Division

Lifetime outdid themselves by giving The Division another year on the air. Lifetime has proven that they as well as Viacom can produce such outstanding shows like The Division. The new add ons to the cast really brighten up the second season and the scripts have been as a whole excellent. Keep the current cast as it is and don't change a thing!

The Division is an awesome show!!! Each actor and actress does a great job bringing their character to life. Sure, Nancy McKeon is my personal favorite on the show, but they are all good. Lisa Vidal, as I recently learned (I did not recognize her when I began watching The Division in February), was on my other favorite show ER playing yet another very spunky yet different character than Magda. I have recently been impressed by how well they have put together the very intense shows that they have had this season especially that season finale. It was really cool having Kim Fields guest starring in that episode or rather episodes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a 5th season.

I watched quite a few of these because looking at San Francisco is no huge challenge to my sensibilities. Unfortunately after almost no time at all you realise that the windows are blinds drawn or strongly backlit the outdoor scenes are shot at a low angle to obscure any horizon details and indoor locations abound, in fact the sum total of SF location in these seems to be cable car bells and words painted on restaurant windows. The show itself has some of the most PC plots I have ever seen - the white guy Always did it, cheer as the peppy black cop shots the villain three times in the chest. The captain looks like a particularly cheerless transgender experiment. Basically a dreary feel-bored family hour that looks much less attractive than Nash Bridges (hence very little merit that I have spotted so far).

Dean Cain's (Jack) performance in this series is taken to a whole new level(this is partly due to Deborah Joy Levine(writer) who worked with Dean on Lois & Clark) when he teams up with Nancy McKeon (Jinny).Both actors give a powerful performance and bring great sympathy and understanding to the subject of substance abuse and alcoholism. Nancy McKeon is a great actress and working with her has added a new dimension to Dean Cain's acting abilities. They also had great chemistry which made their scenes together so totally believable. It would be good if the writers could expand the Jack & Jinny story next season, but this would only occur if they could persuade Dean to return for further guest appearances.

It's great to see Lifetime branching out into stronger material. The "Women in peril" theme gets old after awhile - even for women viewers!

I like that Lifetime continues to pay attention to its core demographic without pandering to us. Well-made dramas like this and "Any Day Now" would be a credit to any network, and definitely strengthen the Lifetime lineup.