Pushing Daisies Season 1 (2007)

“Life. Death. And life again.”

Pushing Daisies Season 1

Pushing Daisies tells the story of Ned (Lee Pace), the piemaker with the ability to bring the dead back to life. However, he can only revive the dead temporarily for one minute. Any longer than that, and something else must die in its place. However, a second touch from Ned means they will die again, and this time, it will be for forever. This ability has allowed Ned and Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), a private investigator, to investigate and discover the cause of mysterious deaths and pocket the reward, occasionally with the help of Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth), a waitress at The Pie Hole, Ned’s bakery. However, when one of the deaths that Ned and Emerson investigate turn out to be Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel), Ned’s childhood sweetheart, Ned inadvertently breaks the rules and keeps Chuck alive, with unforeseen consequences.

This is a fantastic show. I love all of the memorable characters, and the bright, vibrant colors of the set and the colorful costumes really help create a very unique Pushing Daisies-esque feel. The setting is brilliantly creative, especially the store front of the The Pie Hole! I also love the interactions between Ned, Chuck, Emerson, and Olive. They are an unusual bunch, especially as Ned’s romantic relationship with Chuck is far from typical (as Ned brought her back to life, he cannot touch her again unless he wants her to be permanently dead). There are many other intricacies of this friendship square, such as Emerson’s dislike towards Chuck based on principle, Olive’s confusion as to Chuck’s identity as well as her huge crush on Ned, and Chuck’s insistence that Olive keep in touch with Chuck’s aunts, Vivian (Swoosie Kurtz) and Lily (Ellen Greene), on her behalf. The dialogue is witty, clever, and fast-paced, and the new twists and the variety of the mysterious murders Ned and Emerson are hired to solve always provide opportunities for fantastic guest characters to be part of the show.

Pushing Daisies was one of the many shows affected by the writer’s strike in 2007. The first season only had 9 episodes, the last of which ended on a huge cliffhanger. I really wish Pushing Daisies hadn’t premiered right before the strike, as I think it never really had the chance to capture and hold onto a core audience since its first season ended so early, and it was canceled after a 13 episode second season. Still, I love season 1 of Pushing Daisies. It’s light, funny, and clever, and I very much recommend!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Tags: tv