"DOA" is a welcome return to the dark and exciting world of Vicki Nelson and crew. It's sharp and hilarious and poignant by turns, while remaining cheesy good fun. A pretty good balancing act, don't you think?  

Lifetime is calling "D.O.A." the first episode of season 2, but don't be fooled, this episode is definitely part of the first season. It still has that new show smell. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.  

"D.O.A." starts with a killer teaser, one of the best I've seen in a while. I hate to admit it, but I squealed like a little pig when "Dirty" Deeds walked through Vicki's office door. Nicely done.  

I think what this episode did best was reacquaint viewers with the ties between the main characters. Vicki is unable to either commit to or give up either Mike or Henry and it showed here.  

And she doesn't just need Mike for his police ties. I was thrilled to see Mike get a chance at vindication--it seems like most of the episodes so far featured Mike being skeptical...and then proved wrong. But here Mike gets a chance to remind Vicki that she can't always take the spooky stuff at face value; she needs to use the instincts that made her a great cop.  

I also liked what we saw of Henry and Vicki's relationship: the way he's so arrogant and sure of himself, but he preens when she compliments him. And Vicki really cares about Henry, but isn't quite sure what to do with him. (Well, I strongly suspect she has some vivid ideas, but she tries not to think about them except very late at night.)  

And it's very nice to see Mike and Henry not at each other's throats (so to speak). They'll probably never be buddies, but they're certainly agreed about protecting Vicki. Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll get some resolution of the events of "Heart of Ice" and "Heart of Fire."  

Lastly, I don't want to forget the fourth corner of the love triangle. (No, that's not a typo.) It seems as if the writers are setting up a storyline for Coreen concerning her obsession with Henry, but it's hard to say right now where it's going. All I can say is that her attempts to get him to feed from her in previous episodes were funny, but the way she looked at him here seemed almost sinister.  

The story itself wasn't the most brilliant thing, but it was enjoyable and serviceable as a vehicle for moving the characters along in their interaction. Steve Bacic was fabulous (and extremely sexy) as both Paul "Dirty" Deeds and the monster of the week, and it was especially fun to watch him in the latter role. Bacic obviously had a fabulous time chewing the scenery (and the raw meat he was supposed to be eating).  

The take-home message of "D.O.A.," as I see it, is that Vicki needs to start thinking about which side of the line she's on...and how she intends to stay there. I'm glad we'll be along for the ride!