Pushing Daisies: A Wonderful Treat
I just finished watching the pilot of a new ABC show called Pushing Daisies, and I have to say that I’m trying very hard not to gush about it.
Pushing Daisies has a very interesting plot in that lead character Ned, played by Lee Pace, can bring the dead back to life. When he touches a corpse, the person springs to life. When he touches them again, they go back to being dead. There is a caviate however. If he leaves a formerly-dead person alive more than 60 seconds, someone in their proximity dies instead. Quite the double-edged sword, that.
Ned grew up to be a pie baker, due to series of events one learns in the first episode, but puts his extraordinary talent to work by reviving the murdered to find their killers, and collecting the reward (split with his P.I. partner played by Chi McBride).
Don’t be fooled, friends, for this isn’t just another tired TV show with a flashy plot! I don’t even know where to start with how great this show is. There is a strong undercurrent of a star-crossed lovers story in at least the first episode that had me tearing up and awwww-ing. The rest of the time I was laughing or just terribly entertained.
The characters are both endearing and wonderfully acted with Anna Friel playing Ned’s love interest Charlotte Charles, and Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene (who played Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors) playing her neurotic aunts (I shouted in delight when I saw Ellen).
This show has amazing visuial styling that looks as if tim burton himself designed the sets. There is a definate flavor of excentricity and morbid flare, and you can definately see the Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls in the overall feeling of the show.
As if all of this just was not enough, actor/singer/vocal worker Jim Dale MBE, the voice of the U.S. Harry Potter Audio books, does the narration in that wonderfully musing and sing-song tone. He adds a fairy-tail like quality to the whole show, and if you think I’m overstating how good he is, he’s won a Grammy Award, 4 Grammy nominations, and 7 freakin’ Audie Awards!
I may seem like an overanxious promoter of this new series, but I really have just fallen in love with this show and cannot wait to see the next episode. Please do give it a watch.
Pushing Daisies airs Wednesday nights at 8e/7c on ABC in the US, and on CTV Canada and ITV1 in the UK.
Jesse, 
B and one other person are discussing.
Doody 7:20 pm on 10/11/2007 Permalink
That does sound interesting. I will have to check it out, I am very picky when it comes to TV, it takes something really good to get into it, so if it keeps me, then it definitely is something special. If it doesn’t, that doesn’t mean its bad, it just means it didn’t capture me. It sounds like an interesting plot though. I hadn’t even heard of it until your discussion.
B 7:17 pm on 10/15/2007 Permalink
we made doody watch the second episode heheh
definitely is awesome
i’m not sure if it will live up to ‘dead like me’ in my eyes but we’ll just wait and see (i sure do like the trend of pretty gals with guys names – george and chuck haha)
euicho 8:38 am on 10/18/2007 Permalink
Yeah I don’t think anything will live up to Dead Like Me, but it’s a nice standard to hold other shows to. And I totally didn’t pick up on the George/Chuck thing, very good point heheh.
Jesse 1:00 pm on 10/18/2007 Permalink
I liked the comical style of this show quite a bit. I miss George’s potty mouth and cynical view of reality, being the bhudist that I am.