Snappy and sassy, ‘One on One’ finds ratings success the quip way

It looks as if the father-and-daughter sitcom “One on One” has come of age in this, just its second season on UPN. The show is among the network’s top ratings-grabbers each week, and last month, one episode racked up UPN’s highest numbers for the 8:30 p.m. Monday time slot in six years.

So what’s the secret ingredient? In a word, it’s sassiness. The dialogue, the attitudes, the relationships, it’s all sassy squared. Everyone’s a hipster-quipster here, and even when the lines pack something less than a punch, the actors keep flinging ‘em just the same.

In tonight’s show, Breanna (Kyla Pratt) turns 16, but the tone is anything but sweet. She wants a car as her gift, but because of the limited budget of her single dad, Flex (Flex Alexander), they must take their chances at Big Sal’s discount lot, where Flex has an old pal he thinks he can squeeze for a good deal.

But Breanna and Flex are the ones who lose out when (as sitcom formula demands) the car breaks down the very next day. Flex returns to the lot and demands satisfaction from his buddy Duane (Kelly Perine), but he runs into a stone wall.

“I haven’t seen a travesty like this since Mariah Carey in ‘Glitter,’ ” says a disgusted Flex.

Realizing that only one person could possibly possess the wisdom and skill to resolve the heated dispute -- syndicated TV’s legal heavyweight Judge Joe Brown, in a fun guest shot -- the warring parties adjourn to his courtroom to have it out once and for all.

Directed by Brian Roberts from a script by Arthur Harris, tonight’s snappy birthday episode shows a series doing what it does best. And at UPN, it takes a back seat to no other show in that regard.