*****SPOILERS IN REVIEW*****

Every once in a while a pilot comes along that completely shocks and surprises you with its dazzling beauty, pitch perfect cast, and its casual ability to create a whole world that you never want to leave.

 

I'm talking, gentle readers, about Pushing Daisies, which ABC recently ordered to series for the fall season. From the fertile mind of Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Heroes), it's unlike anything you've ever seen on television, a Burtonesque vision of mortality, morality, and, er, pies that sucks you in from the very opening scene and never lets go.

 

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family), Pushing Daisies has a super-saturated color palette that jars sharply (and intentionally) with its life-and-death theme: Lee Pace (Wonderfalls) plays Ned, a lonely pie maker who, as a child, discovers that he has the ability to bring dead things back to life, a gift he uses to full effect, when his beloved dog Dibney is hit by a truck in the pilot's beautiful and brutal opening. But this new gift has a few caveats: he can bring something back to life but if he ever touches them again, they die instantly and can't be resurrected again; additionally, if he keeps them alive for more than a minute, someone else in proximity will die. Think of it as the law of conservation: if someone lives, someone else has to die.

 

Just that happens when his mother suffers a fatal aneurysm whilst baking a pie one afternoon. As she falls to the floor, Ned revives her and she pops back to life as though she had been taking a nap. But when Ned keeps her alive, the father of his beloved girl-next-door Chuck (a.k.a. Charlotte) drops dead watering the lawn. As if that weren't enough psychic trauma, Ned's mother kisses him goodnight and then she too kicks the proverbial bucket. What is a resurrecting lad to do?

 

It's a concept with a few inherent problems for Ned. For one, he can't ever touch Dibney again (he pets his beloved pooch with a hand on a stick) and it's made him reluctant to share any human contact with anyone, especially wanton waitress Olive (Kristin Chenoweth). But Ned doesn't have any qualms entering some morally grey areas to exploit his gift with his business partner, an ex-cop named Emerson (Chi McBride). Their business model? They follow the news for any suspicious deaths, with reward money attached, then animate the corpse to learn who killed them, pocket the cash, and go on their merry way.

 

It's a plan that's helped pay for Ned's true passion: baking pies (not too Freudian, huh?) at his own little slice of heaven, The Pie Hole. And everything would have been fine if the latest murder victim hadn't been his loved-and-lost Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, now an adult (Our Mutual Friend's Anna Friel) who has gotten herself murdered on a cruise. Ned and Emerson head back to Ned's daisy-laden childhood home of Coeur d' Coeur to revive Charlotte but Ned finds himself in a bit of a Sleeping Beauty quandary and he can't bear to let Charlotte die again, especially as she never saw who her killer was.

 

What happens next? You'll have to wait until this fall to find out, but let me just say that it's incredibly worth the wait and involves a Fuller favorite (monkeys), a murder mystery, a pair of over-the-hill synchronized swimmers, and a shady travel boutique called, well, Boutique Travel Travel Boutique. It's a mystery, a love story, a quirky comedy, and a drama about morality rolled into one and lovingly filled with a delicious cherry pie filling that's sweet but never saccharine.

 

Pushing Daisies, in short, is the rare television show that actually changes the way you look at television, a dazzlingly lush production that seems more at home as a big budget feature film (think Big Fish and you've approximated the look) filled with charmingly eccentric folk whom you can't wait to meet up with again. (Watch the scenes in which Ned and Chuck nearly touch hands from opposite sides of a wall--or pretend to hold hands by holding their own--and if your heart doesn't break, you're made of ice.)

 

The series' casting is inventive and spot on. Star Lee Pace perfectly captures the pathos of a man unable to touch anything but who channels his love into his pies (we should hook him up with Waitress' Keri Russell); it's a star turn that makes me scratch my head as I wonder why Pace isn't yet a household name. Anna Friel, whom I've adored since I first saw her in the British mini-series Our Mutual Friend, simply lights up every scene from inside herself; she's adorable but also displays a grace and maturity beyond her years, deftly juggling being the lead's object of affection with being a wry modern woman (think Nora Charles) as well as a sensitive soul. It's her Chuck, as the series' moral compass, that comes up with the thought that none of the other characters do: why not ask the deceased for any final words or thoughts? It's an altruistic spin on the crime-solving, reward-collecting business that Ned and Emerson have created. (FYI, the British actor's American accent is absolutely and astoundingly flawless.)

 

Meanwhile, Chi McBride brings a comedic gruffness (and moral ambiguity) to a role that's vastly different than his normal fare and it's wonderful to see him in a more comedic role for a change. Likewise, as Charlotte's reclusive maiden aunts, the former Darling Mermaid Darlings synchronized swimming duo, Swoosie Kurtz (here in a delightfully neurotic role as a one-eyed woman) and Ellen Greene (yes, Little Shop of Horror's Audrey) are endearingly out there. Additionally, Jim Dale (yes, he of the Harry Potter books-on-tape fame) exudes an enchanting blend of gravitas and humor as the story's narrator; in a development season where 95 percent of the pilots had voiceover, this is the rare bird that makes it work.

 

If I have one complaint, it's that I'm not in love with Kristin Chenoweth, who seems an odd choice for the vixen-like role of Pie Hole waitress (and Ned's neighbor) Olive; there's just something... off about her performance that's the sole detraction from an otherwise perfect pilot.

 

Ultimately, I was completely smitten with Pushing Daisies and it's set an impossibly high bar for the rest of this year's freshman drama series to meet. But if there's one thing for certain, it's that I'm already dying with anticipation to see what happens to Ned, Charlotte, and Emerson next.

 

 

 

After the pilot, I'm sold.  Its comedy much in the same vein as Dead Like Me, but is much lighter, and somehow somewhat Tim Burton-esque.  Think Edward Scissorhands.  Great comedy and good grief Jim Dale's voice overs are amazing!  Humor is dry and black for as bright and airy the video is, so be warned, and the occasional zombie conversations make it non-kid friendly.  I'd say 7.75 out of 10

I SO wanted to watch this last night.  But Top Model was on at the same time.  I'll probably watch it tonight via the internet and decide whether I start catching Top Model on Sundays or keep on with the Wednesdays.

Ten great wrap up.... I thought the show was one of the best new premieres I have seen in awhile.  It wasn't laugh out loud funny all the time, but it was great all around. 

 

Here is what the reviewers say:

 

Five things you need to know about ABC's “Pushing Daisies” if you don’t know them already.

 

1) It’s a very dark supernatural comedy about a pie-maker who can raise the dead, but only for one minute. If the subject is not re-killed in less than 60 seconds, dire consequences ensue. While grim and often gory, these short-term resurrections turn out to be extraordinarily useful to anybody trying to solve homicides.

 

2) A whopping 63% of TV critics polled by Broadcasting & Cable last month chose “Daisies” as the best new show of autumn. Runner-up was “Reaper” with a comparatively meager 15%.

 

3) “Daisies” is masterminded by Bryan Fuller, who created “Dead Like Me” and “Wonderfalls” and wrote some of the best episodes of “Heroes” last season, including "Company Man."

 

4) Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the “Addams Family” and “Men in Black” movies, helmed tonight’s pilot.

 

5) All the characters get sharp lines, but I’ll confess particular affection for Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), the weary, leery and opportunistic private detective who puts the pie-maker to work solving crime. “Daisies” is not only the best new show of autumn, it is the funniest.

 

USA Today gives it four stars (out of four) and says:

 

Tonight, a fall too short on joy gets an enchanting lift: Pushing Daisies. … wildly inventive … Solid gold from top to bottom, the cast is almost an embarrassment of riches. Shifting from more serious roles, McBride is a true comic find, while theater veterans Chenoweth, Kurtz and Greene are such constant delights, you have to hope the show will make enough room for them. …

 

 

The New York Times says:

 

… sweetly odd, but also oddly charming. … The series’s saucy tone and bizarre conceit may prove hard to sustain, but the pace is quick, the dialogue is clever, and the casting is perfect. …

 

 

The Los Angeles Times says:

 

… lovely … In a time when it is too easy to show too much, it is quite the most romantic thing on TV. … It is luminous and numinous and ominous, to create a heightened sense of life, and of death. You may forgivably be reminded of Tim Burton, David Lynch and the Coen brothers -- for whom executive producer and pilot-director Barry Sonnenfeld worked as a cinematographer and with whom he shares a taste for altered reality. It is all very beautiful. …

 

 

The Washington Post says:

 

… the show you least want to miss … not only TiVo-worthy but veritably On-Demandable.

 

 

The Chicago Tribune says:

 

… a pilot that seems far more like the first half of an expensive, hollow Hollywood movie than a TV show viewers are expected to care about. Truly, it gives me no joy to rain on the parade of praise for "Pushing Daisies," which has been greeted with wild enthusiasm in many quarters. The broadcast networks should be taking chances and supporting risky, innovative, visionary ideas. In this case, however, ABC may have gone too far. …

 

 

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says:

 

… all the praise heaped on "Pushing Daisies," and every declaration about the dramedy's originality, is merited. There isn't anything else like it on the schedule. …

 

 

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says:

 

… along with the CW's equally busy "Reaper," it's one of the two best network series premiering this fall. … Creator Bryan Fuller got the fantasy genre almost right a few years ago with Showtime's bleakly comic "Dead Like Me" and again with Fox's whimsical, short-lived "Wonderfalls," but here he and producer Barry Sonnenfeld nail it. The production's bright colors offset the black comedy; the tart dialogue prevents the kooky characters from becoming cloying. "Pushing Daisies" shouldn't need a magic touch to keep it alive.

 

 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

 

… Easily the most distinctive pilot episode for a TV series this fall, ABC's "Pushing Daisies" captivates with an emotionally resonant story and dazzles with its bright visual imagery. …

 

 

The Boston Herald says:

 

You’re either going to love or hate ABC’s “Pushing Daisies.” The most overhyped show of the fall season will draw few yawns. … recommended only for those who aren’t getting enough sugar in their diets. …

 

 

The Hollywood Reporter says:

 

… a masterful mixture of life, romance, optimism and youthful exuberance, all played out under the threat of instant death. It is so unique and has such an uncanny charm that it is impossible to watch the premiere without wondering whether succeeding episodes can come even close to the pilot. …

 

 

Variety says:

 

Standing head and shoulders above this fall's other seedlings, "Pushing Daisies" is whimsical, romantic, funny and visually distinctive -- such a delicate mix of ingredients, frankly, you fear for its longevity in the cold, cruel world of primetime. The producers are seeking to offset that fragility by incorporating a procedural element into this tale of love and death, but that only invites skepticism the souffle will collapse by episode four or five. Such commercial considerations, however, shouldn't detract from this beguiling pilot, and credit ABC with taking the season's boldest leap in hoping that love conquers all.…

 

 

 

saw this show and loved it. kinda reminded me of limpony snikit. i know i butcherd the spelling there.  was relly good show.

I watched this online, and it was completely refreshing. The characters are unlike many others around, and the no-touching romance between Ned and Chuck is sweet without being too sugary. I'm going to try and keep up with this, online if not in real time.

I am hoping they keep up the quirkiness of the premiere.  If so ABC has another winner.

I really liked last night's episode and I love Lee Pace.

I  like the narrator.  I found myself laughing through the episode once again.  The most original and funny show on TV atm.