By Lynn Elber
The Associated Press

"Angels don't like getting their hands dirty. You know, upper management types," declares Rube, one of the grim reapers who populate Showtime's new drama Dead Like Me.

A little background: The series' executive producer, John Masius, created and was then ousted from Touched by An Angel because CBS thought his vision of the show overly dark.

So does the dialogue represent a bit of payback? No, says Masius. What about the wisecrack from Rube, "Hey, you don't see Della Reese sitting here"?

"That still didn't feel like a shot," insists Masius. But, he adds, "This is not your mother's Touched by An Angel."

That's for sure. While the CBS series was earnestly uplifting, Dead Like Me, debuting 10 p.m. today, specializes in black comedy, accented by adolescent surliness.

That's because the focus is on Georgia, known as George, an 18-year-old college dropout who we meet in the dwindling hours of her unhappy life - just before a space station's plummeting toilet ends it.

But George remains reluctantly earthbound, tapped to work as one of the reapers who pluck out souls from the dead and send them on to their next destination.

Ellen Muth, an intriguing young actress who appeared in the TV movie The Truth About Jane and the film Dolores Claiborne, plays George. Her fellow reapers are team leader Rube (Mandy Patinkin), Roxy (Jasmine Guy), Mason (Callum Blue) and Betty (Rebecca Gayheart).

Dead Like Me focuses as well on George's family, including the mother (Cynthia Stevenson) with whom she bickered and the sister (Britt McKillip) she ignored. Greg Kean plays dad Clancy.

Death is in the forefront but Masius wants to focus on the show's humor and its capacity to be life-affirming, in a non-saccharine way.

"In our culture, death is looked on as a negative. Part of the show says, 'It's a part of the life process,' which is not a bad lesson," Masius said. As for the conceit that souls are released by caring reapers, that's "a very sweet thought."

Patinkin, the stage, film and TV (Chicago Hope, Alien Nation) veteran, said he's looking on the bright side, too.

"What appealed to me most about the show was that it was indeed about life, not about death, and about how to have fun and embrace it," Patinkin said. "If there's one umbrella the show lives under it's 'Have fun.' Don't waste a minute of this life - or this death, because it's the only death you're gonna get."

Simon says money talks

Mr. Nasty wants a big payday to come back to American Idol.

Simon Cowell, the British record producer known for his caustic comments to contestants, said Wednesday he's negotiating with Fox to return to the megahit talent show next season.

But he made it clear during a radio interview on the Howard Stern show that he wants a boatload of cash.

How much?

While talking to Cowell, Stern threw out a figure of $10 million, and asked him if that's what he wanted.

"Yeah," Cowell replied.

But, talking to the New York Daily News later, Cowell said he didn't know exactly how much money it would take to keep him.

"If he had said $50 million, I would have said yes," Cowell said. "It was 6:30 in the morning. He could have said the Martians had landed."

TV today

Baby Bob (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7). Bob, the talking baby, wants to be a girl when he grows up.

Hack (9 p.m., Channels 12, 7) Mike has a stretch of cab-driver emergencies in this rerun, including a woman giving birth and a man who left $10,000 in the taxi.

Grounded for Life (9:30 p.m., Channels 64 and 26) WB. In this rerun, Sean hires someone he lusted after in high school. His wife is not pleased.

The New York Daily News and Gannett News Service contributed.