new show review: Pushing Daisies
October 4th, 2007 by screenwriterguy
In this charming new offering from ABC, we meet Ned, a man who was born with the extraordinary ability to bring things back to life. In the clunky opening, telling the story of Ned’s childhood, a narrator feeds us all the rules to Ned’s abilities. He can resurrect people with a touch. However, if he ever touches the person a second time, they drop dead, instantly, forever. Meanwhile, Ned only gets a minute to decide, because if he leaves a recently reanimated person alive longer than that, someone else in the vicinity will kick the bucket. If that seems like too many rules to hit us with at once, it is. But, remember that the best mythologies come with their intricate details. Plus, we forgive the show thanks to its sweeping, comforting storytelling style–somewhere between a Dr. Seuss book and a Tim Burton movie.
Minor spoilers in this paragraph! As a child, Ned had a crush on the girl next door, whose name is Chuck. Sadly, when first exploring his powers, Ned brought his mother back from a heart attack. Not aware of the one minute rule yet, Ned inadvertently caused Chuck’s father to bite the big one. Years later, he has never told Chuck his awful secret. In case the set-up isn’t dark enough yet, Chuck gets murdered on a cruiseliner. Ned, working as a P.I. who solves crimes by questioning the dead, brings Chuck back. Only at second 59, Ned cannot go through with returning her to the grave. And so the show has created the ultimate in sexual tension. Our hero and the love of his life cannot so much as brush pinky fingers, or she’ll die.
The cast is fun, and the narration whooshes us around with whimsy through a dark, modern fairy tale. At times, the more saccharine aspects of that storytelling choice threaten to go too far. But overall, the show is solid. One can see both regular one-off episodes and a few ongoing storylines presented. There’s a chance that it’s a decent pilot and the series will fizzle out. They’ve set a high degree of difficulty. But they also have all the proper ingredients in place, and have earned a second look.
Best aspect: Whimsical, fairy-tale tone.
Worst aspect: Whimsical, fairy-tale tone.
Verdict: Worth visiting again.
Odds of success: Decent. On Wednesdays at 8, it faces slim competition. It’s also easily the most original new offering so far this year.
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Oct 7th 2007 at 11:31 am
I love this show. Instead of Dr. Seuss though, I picture it as a Roald Dahl/Douglas Adams type of writing. The witty dialouge works, especially in a Sonnenfield pilot as it fits in with his other films (Get Shorty, Men in Black, Big Trouble) that had me laughing when I don’t imagine my other people would. I really hope this continues as it’s very enjoyable.
Oct 11th 2007 at 8:04 am
Fun, new show. TiVo is set. Second episode veered a little off-track from fun whimsy to just plain goofy/silly, but what a fun premise — a guy who can’t touch the love of his life.
Very Edward Scissorhands-y and unique.
Oct 13th 2007 at 7:55 pm
I too found this to be fun - and I totally am on board with the Roald Dahl idea. The narrator is perfectly voiced, and I love how he always says “the pie man” or “the detective” in the narration. It’s charming. The ultra-saturated colors are very appealing and it is what so many of the shows on tv currently are not - it’s actually FUN! And appears to not take itself too seriously. Last episode, I loved the Dandelion promo girls - the costumers on this set must have a BLAST.