Pushing Daisies

[Mike McC]

I think I found my favorite new show of the season, and it's only a quarter of the way through the first episode. Anyone checking out this new show on ABC? I especially love the style it's presented in.

[Fifthfiend]

So I saw the description for this and was expecting "procedural cop drama with a wacky twist," but instead I got a Tim Burton-esque fantasia of weirdness and bittersweet charm and bittersweet charm laid on so thick that it twists into entirely novel forms of weirdness all by itself.

And pies.

So did anyone else happen to catch this totally inexplicable show?

[42PETUNIAS]

I think Fencer (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=24581) might have.

[Mike McC]

Yeah, way to not even notice what threads have been posted last night, Fifth. You bastard. Stealing my thunder. You suck. Put yourself on probation, thunder stealer. Blah! Okay, I'm done.

But otherwise, it's got that Edward Scissorhands/Willy Wonka whimsicalness and colorful vividness, plus the dark yet not dark style... Plus, the actors are all good, and the show's sense of humor is spot on. It's, as I already said, my favorite new show of the season (Heroes is still my favorite overall, probably).

[Fifthfiend]

It's hypothetically possible that I started this thread because Fencer's wasn't spoiler-titled and I felt deeply that Pushing Daisies fans needed to be able to discuss this program free of the burden of writing out spoiler tags. And if you think about it, hypothetically possible is really pretty much the exact same thing as being actually true!

[Lumenskir]

Would it be audacious of me to put forth the idea that maybe all threads about ongoing shows in this particular forum be presumed spoiler-filled? I don't think I've read a post in any of the recent topics where somebody came in three pages late and still hadn't caught the most recent episode. All the black space and spoiler boxes could then be reserved for actual still-in-the-pipelines spoilers, as opposed to this-just-happened spoilers. I dunno, just a thought.

Anyways on to this show, which frankly is tearing me apart. On the one hand, I adore Dead Like Me, and taking the soul of that show and supplanting it into a Big Fish wonderland creates literal wellsprings of joy inside...

But then the realist in me struggles forth, and I realize that while this is probably the best pilot of the season, I don't think the surrounding series can manage to keep the steam pumping. I love Fuller like a creative deity, but I can't help but feeling that he's written a great start to a middling story. Aside from the proceduralness I know is forthcoming, the heart of the show (Chuck and Ned) is of the "Problem that can never be solved unless the show is ending" variety; Whatever progress the two make will inevitably be shunted back to square one.

And yet...the show is just fun to watch. None of the characters dipped below charming, and the main leads are perfectly cast (although Chuck looks like some fraternal twin of Zooey Deschanel (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0221046/) at points). The narration is perfect, the production design is great, and the quirkiness is at that just-below-diabetes-inducing level that makes it supremely endearing.

So I guess I'm left with cautious optimism. Bryan Fuller has pretty much earned a nigh-infinite supply of free passes just from Dead Like Me, and I really want this show to be everything the pilot promised.

[Mike McC]

It's hypothetically possible that I started this thread because Fencer's wasn't spoiler-titled and I felt deeply that Pushing Daisies fans needed to be able to discuss this program free of the burden of writing out spoiler tags. And if you think about it, hypothetically possible is really pretty much the exact same thing as being actually true!... You can edit thread titles though. You just wanted the glory for yourself. So, I shake my fist at you.But then the realist in me struggles forth, and I realize that while this is probably the best pilot of the season, I don't think the surrounding series can manage to keep the steam pumping. I love Fuller like a creative deity, but I can't help but feeling that he's written a great start to a middling story. Aside from the proceduralness I know is forthcoming, the heart of the show (Chuck and Ned) is of the "Problem that can never be solved unless the show is ending" variety; Whatever progress the two make will inevitably be shunted back to square one.

And yet...the show is just fun to watch. None of the characters dipped below charming, and the main leads are perfectly cast (although Chuck looks like some fraternal twin of Zooey Deschanel at points). The narration is perfect, the production design is great, and the quirkiness is at that just-below-diabetes-inducing level that makes it supremely endearing.Yeah, but the optimist in me is saying that he'll constantly defy the proceduralness of the procedural. This might just be the shot in the arm the crime drama needs. The pilot exceeded all my expectations, and I have faith that he'll be able to exceed it further, if he manages to get a season in before it gets canned, which is what I fear most.

[Fifthfiend]

Yeah, the writer doesn't seem terribly interested in crime drama itself, so much as crime drama as a springboard into a vast ocean of delightful weirdness. I mean in that the whole hook is that the guy solves crimes by walking into the morgue and asking the dead guy who murdered him, it's hard to see where they'd be able to make that an overriding concern of the show.

The whole thing plays like the writer - Fuller? - just wanted to write a show about a guy who can touch dead things and make them come back to life and then go back to being dead, and just figured that solving an occasional crime would be one activity in which such a person would logically be engaged.

Would it be audacious of me to put forth the idea that maybe all threads about ongoing shows in this particular forum be presumed spoiler-filled? I don't think I've read a post in any of the recent topics where somebody came in three pages late and still hadn't caught the most recent episode. All the black space and spoiler boxes could then be reserved for actual still-in-the-pipelines spoilers, as opposed to this-just-happened spoilers. I dunno, just a thought.

It is probably worth making a distinction between aired events and in-the-pipeline stuff, though as far as blanket open-spoilering for the former, I really don't know. I'm actually probably not the person to ask about this; I should probably refer this to Meister as he tends to be more circumspect about spoilering issues than I am.

It's also worth noting that it's not even necessary in all instances, I mean looking at this thread nothing spoiler-ey has even been discussed. Although really I guess with something like Pushing Daisies spoilers are almost incidental one way or the other, as you're not watching so much for this or that particular plot reveal so much as to be immersed in the overall sea of weirdness.

... You can edit thread titles though.

What, and abuse my position as a moderator for my own benefit? Why I would never!

Ha ha okay but no seriously threads merged. Heck I even left it as spoilers-covered.

[Mike McC]

Old Post: My major fear is that the sheer amount of whimsy distilled into this show will drive off a chunk of the audience. However, it did manage to pull an 8.3 in the ratings last night (highest rated in it's timeslot), and it is in a rather strong spot, with nothing really of note compeating against it (Deal or No Deal, Kid Nation, Fox's lamentable sitcoms). If it can keep those numbers up, that will be just peachy.

New episode discussiony one: Man, I love this show even more now. There's so many little touches that make it great, like the flaming box of laxitives after the car explodes. And did I mention I love the narration? I love the narration.

But, I think they showed just how inventive and creative the storytelling can be here, because, if this is a procedural, it's the least procedural procedural of all time.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Just caught this show tonight, or at least part of an episode, and I think I'll be checking it out in the future. What got my attention initially, was the fact that the narrator (Jim Dale) is the same guy who reads for the Harry Potter audiobooks.

And while it wouldn't work on this show, I almost wish he'd do the narration in his Hagrid voice for one episode. Or maybe Dobby.

SWB

[Lumenskir]

But, I think they showed just how inventive and creative the storytelling can be here, because, if this is a procedural, it's the least procedural procedural of all time.
It still has all the procedural trappings, they just did the right thing and used the typical plotline as an excuse to peer into the weirdness of the world they live in.
I too really liked this episode. High points included the pie shop girl's "Oh no." before smacking into the wall and the entirety of the carmaker's tour with the Japanese. I don't know how I feel about the prospect of musical interludes for each episode (I know Chenoweth established herself as a singer/stage actor before, but I can never seem to connect with musical numbers on any level), and the show is starting to lean towards the wrong end of the Burton weirdness spectrum (The pilot was a good example of Big Fish "weird for a purpose"-quirkiness while too much can land in the Wonka "weird for sake of weird"-groaniness), but I trust Fuller to maintain the appropriate atmosphere.

Also, if George or Daisy or (please God) Rube/Mason from Dead Like Me show up reprising their roles...I mean, would it be too early to call "Best Show Ever Created"?

[Jeneralissimo]

I got a phone call 10 or 15 minutes into last night's episode, so I was watching on mute. I'm sad now that I missed out on Kristin Chenowith's singing though.

I thought Chuck and Ned kissing through the body bags was kinda gross. Are they going to find some way for them to kiss in every episode? Last week it was the monkeys. (What the heck happened to the monkeys, btw? I mean, wouldn't they have sold them or something, since the aunts wound up getting the reward money?)

Also, Chi McBride knitting = win.

[Mirai Gen]

It's like Rogue and Gambit, all over again, except even better with some crazy Tim Burton-style twist.

It is, however, very overwhelmingly bittersweet to the point of being pretty sad. Spoiler'd just for the hell of it. The fact that he's completely unable to touch her despite their being intensely in love bites pretty hard, especially since they are eerily engaging characters whom you just kinda end up wanting to be happy.

And I'll be damned if that narrator wasn't put on the earth specifically to narrate stuff like this.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

I got a phone call 10 or 15 minutes into last night's episode, so I was watching on mute. I'm sad now that I missed out on Kristin Chenowith's singing though.

While the video isn't the highest quality, you can stream the episode here (http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing). (And its the official ABC website, so don't worry.)

And I'll be damned if that narrator wasn't put on the earth specifically to narrate stuff like this.

I still want him to whip out his Hagrid voice. Come on Jim Dale, you know you want too! (If you missed my earlier post, Jim Dale is also the narrator of the Harry Potter audio books.)

SWB

[Mike McC]

Yeah, this show keeps getting better and better. I love how they slipped in a They Might Be Giants song, of all things. And the bird surgery part was great.

And, in other good news, Pushing Daisies has been (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7478) given a full season order (http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-abcpicksuppushingdaisies,0,520177.story). Very good news indeed.