Push the Little Daisies, make them Pop Up!

While I have been very busy as of late, I am quite the couch commando in the darkest of night. Sorry books, no time for love.

Over the last couple of months, I have mentioned a couple of shows on TV (Dexter, Meercat Manor) that I am really enjoying, and now it is time to add to the list. There is a single show on network television deserves my snarky attentions, and it goes by the name of Pushing Daisies.



If RoaldDahl and and Edward Gory had a literary lovechild,(Think James and the Giant Peach vs The Gashlycrumb Tinies) this would be it, as narrated by Lemony Snicket. Every character, even the most mundane never-will-see-again wallflower has a deep back story.

The main character, Ned (a.k.a "The Piemaker") discovered at a tender young age that he had a special gift. If he touched a dead thing, he could bring it back to life. If he touched it again, it would stay return to being dead, and nothing could bring it back. However, if he allowed it to live longer that sixty seconds, something else would have to die in it's place to restore the balance.

And so when his Mother died unexpectedly, he brought her back. Unfortunately this act killed his best friend's Dad instead. Then, his mother touched him and died again, so his efforts were for naught. Bummer.



Skipping ahead to adulthood, Ned now owns a pie shop, but really pays the bills by going halfsies with a crafty private investigator (love watching Chi Mcbride) on solving bizarre deaths. Ned brings them back, questions them on how they die, and then they split the cash. All is going well in their morally gray scheme when Ned gets the news that his childhood best (well only) friend Chuck (a.k.a. "Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles") has been murdered.



When Ned revives her to find out what happened, he finds he cannot bring himself to let her slip back into death, and so Chuck lives on to join their team, at a price. However, as their love grows deeper, so do the many complications, as Ned can never, ever touch her again. Comedy ensues.



Besides the decent chemistry between our lovelorn leads, the narrator is a brilliant part of the show, with his lightly delivered deadpan announcing what is going to happen, right before it does. Even the most gruesome death is rather hilarious when an off camera narration foreshadows the goings on on-screen.

This show has everything Mr. SA needs: snarky, cynical, dry, creative, witty and sweet. Oh, and the best named clubhouse to hang out in:



It even inspired me to re-read James and the Giant Peach and defy my parents and corporate masters at every turn. I see that ABC has just picked it up for a whole season, lets hope the writer's strike doesn't crimp it.

While I wholeheartedly encourage you to watch this show, be warned! I too have a gift and a curse. While I have the eye to spot really good television, and the creative talent to advocate for it, I also have the uncanny ability to enjoy shows that are DOOMED!!!

So many litter that cemetery of not-on-the-air-long-enough shows, Profit, Briscoe County Jr.(hey I liked it!)Wiseguy, Firefly, etc. The only exception being Northern Exposure, which really should have been done two seasons earlier.

This earns my Snarky Seal of Approval (I'll make one in Photoshop)and time will tell if the curse stays true to form.

SA

P.S.

Trivia bonus! You to could earn said seal if you can tell me where the title of this post comes from.

P.P.S.
It is my goal to have a fresh post every weekday this week, to get some of the post ideas rolling around out of my head, finally, and to reward my loyal fans who patiently wait for me to recover from life burnout. Let's see together how that goes, shall we?