¡Ala... Dina! was a Spanish comedy-fantasy series created by Paco Arango and aired on TVE between 2000 and 2002, starring Paz Padilla (and later Miriam Díaz-Aroca) as Dina Alá Alá, a clumsy genie who was accidentally freed from the lamp she had spent four centuries locked in by Álvaro, the son of publicist Tomás García (Gary Piquer), whom she starts working for as a maid.
After a really good start, the departure of Padilla ─who was and still is a very beloved and charismatic comic actress on Spain─ following Season 1 really took its toll on the series. Although it had 4 more seasons, they had an enormous deduction in episodes, and TVE ended up cancelling the series without premiering its last three episodes.
Kind of an unofficial Spanish adaptation of I Dream of Jeannie.
This show provides examples of:
- As Himself: Aristocrat Alessandro Lecquio, news anchors José Ribagorda and Lorenzo Milá, swimmer David Meca and singers Juan Camus, Carlos Baute and Natalia all made cameos playing themselves at different points of the show.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: No actual time travels involved, but spending four centuries locked in a magic lamp without any contact to the outside had pretty much the same effect on Dina.
- Inept Mage: Dina, big time. In fact, it's what got her locked away in the lamp: wanting to help King Philip II's Armada, she cast a spell to grant the ships a good weather that instead intensified the wind and caused the mission to fail, so the king, furious, sentenced her to confinement. And judging by the chaos that ensues any time she casts one of her spells, her magic skills haven't improved one iota since that incident.
- Love Triangle: During the first season there was one involving Dina, Tomás and Paloma (a co-worker of his). He chooses Dina.
- The Nth Doctor: When Paz Padilla exited the series and was replaced by Miriam Díaz-Aroca in the lead role, Dina's change of appearance was explained as her body transforming through The Power of Love.
- Pun-Based Title: An obvious reference to Aladdin.
- Really 700 Years Old: Dina's exact age is unknown, but it's known that she has spent about 411 years locked in her magic lamp.
- Romancing the Widow: Dina and Tomás fall in love with each other.
- Scullery Maid: Dina's job at the García León household.
