Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season (2008)

3 Discs DVD

One of my favorite columnists, Mark Harris, wrote an interesting editorial in Fall of 2008 explaining that the writer's strike has brought an end to good television. At first I didn't believe that television, which seems to have been at its peak for the past five years, would drop its edgy ideas to go back to the boring and mundane. But Mr. Harris could not have made a more accurate observation. There was once a time when the cop show was redefined with corruption and violence on the now-cancelled The Shield. Instead we now get the standard "boy in blue" drama Southland (Who wants to see cops doing standard, heroic deeds? Boring!). There was also once a time when television programs dared to go inside the mafia, a funeral home, and a polygamist cult. While there are still some edgy shows left behind (this includes the must-see Breaking Bad on AMC), the writers strike took with it a majority of the shows that actually dared to be different. One of these oddities was the undeniably likable Pushing Daisies.

When initially walking into the middle of a Pushing Daisies episode on ABC, I felt turned off. There was something repellent and cheery about the show that did not have me coming back for seconds. But it turned out my problem was unfamiliarity. After recently being sent the first season to review, I decided to give this show a chance from the very beginning. Low and behold, I found myself charmed by this whimsical series. The main character Ned (Lee Pace) has a special ability. When he touches dead things, they come back to life. This is very useful considering that most of us fear death and would kill to see the things we love resurrected. Unfortunately, there are cons to his abilities. Whenever Ned touches that life form a second time after resurrection, it dies again without the ability to return to life. Also, if Ned does not re-kill what he brought back to life within a minute, something alive within close proximity will die instead. After a traumatizing realization of these things as a boy, Ned decides to use his powers to run a pie shop where he fills dead fruit with life and stuffs them into his sugary pastries.

However, making pies is not the only thing Ned partakes in. Private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) uses the shyster to bring corpses back to life so they can identify their killers and the two men can split reward money 50/50. Ned is faced with a predicament when, in the pilot episode, he brings back from the dead his childhood sweetheart Chuck (Anna Friel) and decides to keep her alive. The two strike up a romance that consists of no touching and making out with a sheet of heavy duty Saran wrap between them. This relationship does not settle well with Olive (Kristen Chenoweth), the petite and perky waitress as Ned's pie shop who is madly in love with her employer.

Every episode in the first season essentially revolves around the gang of characters as they talk to new corpses and attempt to solve their murders. One of these corpses is even played by Talk Soup's Joel McHale as a dog-breeding polygamist. These episodes deliver a variety of tones and can be best compared to a fairy tale. The look consists of bright primary colors, and the setting looks like something stolen from the set of Amelie. At the same time, there is plenty of room for innuendos and morbidity. After all, the main character talks to corpses who have been comically run over, burnt to death, or stabbed.

The performances in the show are what really seal the deal. Lee Pace has undeniable charm as anti-hero Ned. He is not a muscly man's man, but rather a bashful and reserved fellow of lanky stature who we can't help but root for. And do not even get my started on Kristen Chenoweth and Anna Friel. These two are amazingly desirable and it is almost painful as a guy to face Ned's triangle with these two hotties. Clearly his relationship is invested in Chuck, but sometimes one can't help but wonder why he does not chose Olive. Annoying at times? Yes. But Chenoweth is such a petite bundle of sexiness that couldn't help but wish I could put her in a suitcase and take her home with me. Yikes, I hope that didn't come off too creepy.

The DVD comes equipped with one feature that could technically be defined as many features. Viewers have access to a menu the consists of multiple pie slices. By clicking on a slice, they get thought-nugget pieces that clock in at approximately two minutes. What these are specifically about is a surprise to the viewer. I dig the gimmick, but the information does not add up to very much.

I have to give high recommendation for the first season of Pushing Daisies. The show is the right balance of humor, darkness, and the absurd. Sometimes it makes me feel cheery while other times it dares to be morbid. What is even more important is that the likable characters give a sense of staying power that had me coming back for more every time. The show is short lived, but should not die in one's collection. I highly suggest giving this a purchase.