This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the series premiere of "Pushing Daisies."
I think if there was one show that I was especially looking forward to this fall season, it was the latest from Bryan Fuller.
I know, I wasn't the only one as this was a critics darling from the start. But Fuller always provided some of the more quirky and fun stories on "Star Trek: Voyager," and his work since then has been phenomenal.
Of course, who would expect less from the new ABC series with his name on it, "Pushing Daisies"? I sure didn't, and I love it.
Beginning with the childhood of Ned (Lee Pace), we fall into a very stylized world of the pie-maker who has the golden touch ... well, the touch of someone who can bring people back to life and kill them again. He discovers this gift in a strange way when his dog becomes roadkill, only to be resurrected. Ned then tries it on a dead fly, but finds out there's a cost ... someone has to die if he keeps them resurrected too long, and it begins with his mom. Wanting to keep his mom alive, he touches her, but it kills the father of his neighboring love, Chuck (Anna Friel), and so it goes.
Fast-forward to the present, and Chuck has his own pie shop. His dog is still alive. He has a quirky employee, Olive Snook (Kristin Chenowith) and suddenly has a private investigator as a partner, a very strong and scene-stealing character named Emerson Cod played by Chi McBride. Is it just me, or did anyone else realize that the two most active people in Ned's life have last names borrowed from fish?
In any event, it might be easy to compare the universe of "Pushing Daisies" -- complete with its perfect non-Tim Burton environment complete with narrator Jim Dale -- as something borrowed from "Desperate Housewives." But au contrare. "Desperate Housewives" likely borrowed it from Fuller's earlier project, "Dead Like Me," so nice try.
Ned discovers that his power can be useful not just for solving murders, but also for making money -- something Emerson makes sure he can cash in on. But when it comes to Chuck -- the first girl he ever kissed -- he breaks the rules (and kills a bad funeral director again). And just as a sidenote ... you have to love Emerson Cod ... "I was in the vicinity, bitch!" I love Chi McBride!
In any event, some faceless guy is trying to steal some golden monkeys that Chuck was supposed to smuggle on a cruise ship, and he ends up getting a bullet in his chest thanks to Chuck's aunt, Lily (Swoosie Kurtz).
This is your typical pilot where it's more about introducing characters than having a major plot ... but for me, it's a pilot that definitely works, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
What Worked
The dialogue was excellent, and this is a premise I think is crazy enough to work and gain viewers. There was a lot of hype of this episode and series over the summer, and I think it was fully deserved.
My favorites out of everyone, however, have to be the crazy aunts ... Lily and Vivian (Ellen Greene). I hope they go back to being hermits, because that's a fun aspect of them. But they are creepy and fascinating all at the same time.
What Didn't Work
I know Bryan Fuller likes to use the narrator, and I'm OK with it to a certain extent. I felt the joke about giving people's ages right down to the second was funny in the beginning, but it became very distracting in later narrator interactions. Narration should move the story or entertain, just as it did in "Dead Like Me," not make you ask the loud man to shut up.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
"Pie-lette" was written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. It stars Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride and Kirstin Chenowith. "Pushing Daisies" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
About the Author:
Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.