Pushing Daisies: Pielette review

Another reviewer does a much more distinct and better job in reviewing this show than I will. Nevertheless, I will give my quick first impressions of ABC's new show, Pushing Daisies. It is, almost exactly as I had predicted earlier, a fairy tale of sorts into the life of a pie maker who can bring the dead back to life. I don't think it's worth watching more than once or twice though. Some spoilers and my overall take on the series follows.

The main character, Ned (Lee Pace), has the ability of bringing the dead back to life. If he touches them again, they die. If he doesn't, they live until he does, and someone else dies to take the place in the great balance that must be exist between life and death. Ned supplements his income as a pie store owner by working with Private Detective Emerson Cod (Chi McBride, who played the principal on Boston Public). Together, they reincarnate murder victims, just long enough to find out who killed them, and collect the reward money. Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) plays a waitress that takes care of Ned's dog and has a crush on him. Not sure exactly where this part of the story is going, and it is unimportant to the show. Similarly unimportant is the storyline with the two reclusive aunts.

When Ned was younger, he discovered his ability the same day he realized that he had a crush on his neighbor, British hottie Charlotte "Chuck" Charles (Anna Friel). In what will certainly be a plot line in an upcoming episode, Ned and Charlotte are connected because Ned brought his mother back to life, for longer than a minute, which led to Charlotte's father's untimely death. Ned's mother died that same day when she kissed him goodnight. Young Ned and Charlotte kissed each other at their parents' funerals, and that was the last time they touched or saw each other until Charlotte's untimely death by strangling/drowning years later.

Basically, Ned brings Charlotte back to life, and because of his child crush, decides to keep her alive. The trade off, and what drives the story, is that they now have an unspoken connection, which they cannot physically express. Unfortunately, I think that's the part of the show that will ultimately be its undoing. But it's certainly a unique storyline that will probably last six or twelve episodes. I may watch a couple more, but probably not regularly.

If you liked the show Dead Like Me (which is also produced by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller), you'll probably find that this show has similar themes. It also has very Tim Burton-esque use of color and storytelling, which is also rare on television. I just don't think it has the same plot that can make it into a viable romantic drama. I can tell you with near certainty that the show will end with Ned dying, and the girl kissing him, which kills her again, so they ultimately wind up together. Or, they will cop out and he will lose his power and they will get together. In either case, the inability of them to actually get together without sacrificing the premise of the show will preclude the viewers from being able to truly relate. This will translate to low ratings and a change in timeslot before the show ultimately is laid to rest in DVD land or in a made-for-DVD movie that wraps up the show and ties up all loose ends. Neither does this show have the "Ugly Betty" factor that could lead to surprise ratings and success.

I would recommend you to watch this show once or twice to get a perspective of creative writing, but not for much more. It does give me hope that someday I'll be able to meet a British hottie though, since they seem to be appearing more and more on tv (e.g., Michelle Ryan as the new Bionic Woman). If only I can find such a smart, pretty British national on the east coast...

Tags: pushing daisies review, pushing daisies pielette review, pushing daisies pilot review