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PUSHING DAISIES |
Series Overview
Ned - Lee Pace Chuck - Anna Friel Emerson - Chi McBride Lily - Swoosie Kurtz Olive - Kristin Chenoweth Vivian - Ellen Greene Narrator - Jim Dale 
OTHER PUSHING DAISIES SEASONS Season 1 OTHER CHEERFUL SHOWS Chuck Eureka OTHER AFTERLIFE SHOWS Afterlife Haunted Ghost Whisperer 
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Season OverviewThe surreal, dreamlike world of Ned the Pie-maker with the power to bring the dead back to life (though only for a minute or somebody else dies) returns to the screen for a second season of whimsical, oddball, but strangely affecting tales of murder, mayhem and pie. The show that is truly a love it or hate it show hasn't changed its look, style or manner, although it has added a season plot arc, a story about Chuck's father and an old friend who is determined to get a watch belonging to him and isn't too worried about the methods that he uses. This plot arc is muddled and doesn't go anywhere near anything like answers since the series was cancelled after the initial 13 episode order. As a result it is the more stand alone episodes that work the best. The season gets off to a rocky start as Olive (still impressively played by chirpy Kristin Chenoweth) is packed off to a convent for a few SOUND OF MUSIC spoof moments that don't add up to much, but as soon as the gang's all together again it reaches its balance again and gives us some sublime moments of unexpected delight. Chenoweth singing are two, but there are wonderful dialogue moments, sight gags, character tics and just an overarching sense of fun. The cast continue to make it all work with Chi McBride's Emerson Cod providing the eye-rolling balance to Ned and Chuck's ongoing romance. Circus,Circus gives us some great Big Top humour, Dim Sum, Lose Some sees Olive and Chuck turning Japanese and The Norwegians gives Cod some detective rivals who are...erm...Norwegian. It's all still off-kilter, you still have no way of knowing which direction it's going to go off in next and it's still wonderful. Small screen cotton candy, delicately spun, sugary as hell, great tasting and short-lived. We are going to miss it. TopBZZZZZZZZZZ!Ned, Chuck and Emerson investigate the murder of young female representative from a beauty firm whose products are based on honey. Chuck's expertise in the world of beekeeping takes her undercover, but there is the fear that she too could end up dead from thousands of bee stings. Anyone with an aversion to bee stings might want to stay away from this opening episode of the second season of PUSHING DAISIES. After a quick reminder of the basics of the set up provided, as ever, by the voice of Jim Dale, it's straight in at the deep end with a story that pokes fun at the beauty industry and its obsession with youth. All of the quirky tics that made the first season such a delight are present and correct, but there is something more forced abut the pace of the dialogue that undermines the offbeat charm. There's still plenty of that, but it's a little less settled and easy than before. Splitting off Kristin Chenoweth from the rest of the cast is also a dubious choice. Whilst having her do a whole SOUND OF MUSIC pastiche is funny and gives her more deserved screen time, it distracts from the main plot and somewhat isolates her. Anyone who wasn't seduced by Season 1 certainly isn't going to be convinced by this, but it gets by and we can hope that the rest of the season picks up from here. TopCircus,CircusEmerson takes on the case of a missing girl, reminding himself of his own personal situation. This girl, however, ran off with a mime and ended up with the clowns at a travelling circus. That mime and those clowns are now dead. Meanwhile, Chuck has decided to make a new start in her life, but has to keep dodging the aunts who still don't know she's alive again and Olive is still struggling in the convent with all the secrets that she is being asked to keep. The ambience of the travelling circus is purpose made for the quirkiness of PUSHING DAISIES and this episode makes the absolute most of it. With moments of undiluted comic joy such as the parade of dead clowns (we know it shouldn't be funny, but it really is) or the reanimated mime interview and lines like 'I think that human cannonball was meant for us' the show regains our trust after last week's shaky start. It's still strange to have Olive exiled away from the main action, but it does allow the changes in the relationship between Ned and Chuck to breathe more easily whilst Emerson's cynical take on it all ('You did not say that') and the inherent ghoulishness of raising the dead keeps battles back the sweetness to the carefully managed balance that keeps the show great. All of the cast are well up to the witty script and their comic timing is flawless. In fact the only false note is the flashback to Ned's youth, something that the show has grown beyond needing. TopBad HabitsOlive makes a friend at the convent in the shape of an unconventional nun with a passion for truffles. When this nun takes a tumble from the belltower, Olive calls in Emerson to investigate. The combination of nuns and truffles is exactly the kind of souffle-light melange we have come to expect from this show. It's all beautifully balanced with the oversweet edge shaved off by the hard line in cynicism just below the surface. Whilst Olive considers a life in the convent, the other nuns are smuggling in the earthly pleasures from outside. The identity of the killer comes completely from out of left field and there is enough sparkling dialogue to keep a smile on the face throughout, if not the outright chortles of Circus,Circus. There are even some spot on winks tipped in the direction of VERTIGO. TopFrescortsEmerson's mother arrives on the scene and asks for help in solving the murder of Joe, a man who worked for a company providing paid for friends. Chuck and Olive go undercover to uncover the company's secrets whilst Emerson finds that the secrets he has been keeping causes rifts in his family relationships. The plotting of this week's episode is very clever and contains the usual twists and sudden changes of direction, but the recipe isn't quite as successfully blended this time around, feeling a bit more forced and less fluid. There aren't as many one-liners that hit home and the emotional subtexts are less subtle than usual. That said, the resurrection scene involving a man already embalmed is perfectly balanced between funny and gross. TopDim Sum, Lose SomeA man who knew Ned's father comes into the Pie Hole and asks for help in finding him. Ned comes up with an address that Chuck and Olive check out and find that Ned has brothers. Emerson gets them all involved in a case where a chinese restaurant is doubling up as an illegal gambling den. Forget the family dramas, it's the story around the restaurant case that provides the pleasures for this episode. For one thing it means we get to see Anna Friel and Kristin Chenoweth masquerading as chinese waitresses and the look really suits them. On top of that we have Chi McBride pretending to be Shaft and Lee Pace trying to be JR Ewing. And if that wasn't enough the episode brings back a woman who can make Emerson obey like a puppy on a lead. The dialogue isn't quite as frothy as we've come to expect from the show and the magical musical outbursts have gone, but the performers are still top notch and the talking to the dead scenes are still very funny. TopOh..oh..oh It's MagicNed's absent father used to do magic, so it doesn't make Ned happy that his half-brothers are magicians themselves. It makes him even less happy that they want to introduce him to their surrogate Dad who is also a magician. Happiness is farthest from his mind, however, when the magic man fails to escape from his escapology trick and there's a murder to be solved. The fragile pleasures of PUSHING DAISIES are maintained in this episode that takes magic and family as its themes. The witty script is once again to the fore and the cast play it to perfection, something that is critical when the last scene, had it been done wrong, would have resulted in a sugar overdose that could easily have proved as fatal as being sealed in concrete. The plot arc of the man sneaking about looking into Ned and Chuck's father's lives continues to give hints and is as bizarre as the rest of the show (they were all UN peace keepers on camels at one time), but stays just the right side of whimsical. TopRobbing HoodA rich man is killed and Emerson's money is on the young trophy wife as the person who did it. It turns out that there was a burglar, though, a burglar who might be connected with a charitable organisation. The only way to flush out the real killer is to use the house belonging to Chuck's aunts as a trap, but how can the team do that without revealing that Chuck is still alive. Once again a slight plot is only the basis for a wonderful souffle of humour, bright direction and lively performances. There's a wonderful skit on dialogue from the STAR WARS saga and any number of witty lines, all delivered with precision comic timing and a real warmth with just enough edge of cynicism to keep the thing from falling under the weight of its own sugar. We've no idea how they do it, but we're glad they do. TopComfort FoodNed and Olive take part in the annual comfort food cook off competition, but the hot favourite is Colonel Likkin with his Likkin Chicken. When he is found crispy fried, however, the pair take on the murder investigation alone. Chuck, who has sneakily kept her reanimated father alive, goes to Emerson for some much needed help and cynicism. Welcome back Kristin Chenoweth's musical interludes. True,her rendition of the Bangles' Eternal Flame is a straight rerun of Totally Devoted to You in Dummy, but it's still good enough to be enjoyed over and over. The murder they investigate is very funny as well as having an underplayed message about obesity (underplayed to the point of almost not being there) and plays to Chenoweth's strengths, especially in her competitive shouting matches with the owner of Mammoth Muffins. The reanimation of Chuck's father furthers the ongoing plot arc and will be interesting to see how it plays out. TopThe Legend of Merle McQuoddyAs Ned and Chuck come to terms with the changes in their relationship now that her father has been reanimated, Emerson and Olive take on the case of a lighthouse keeper who was apparently killed by her long-lost and now refound husband. After the shaky start to the season, the show is getting better and better and back to its old brilliance. This is the show at its best, full of brilliant throw away one liners, references and plain silliness all wrapped up in a delicacy that always threatens to shatter, but manages to be held together by the quality performances from all involved. It is hard to imagine this working with any other cast, but then it is hard to imagine this working at all. It is a credit to everyone involved that it remains so delightfully watchable. The melted remains of the lighthouse keeper and the understated menace of Chuck's father are acidic enough to keep the sugar at bay. TopThe NorwegiansChuck's Aunt Vivian asks Emerson to take on the case of finding her paramour, the villain who had been set on killing to obtain Chuck's father's watch. When he refuses, she calls in the crack Norwegian private investigation team and they set about investigating a path that is likely to uncover both Ned and Chuck's secrets. This show is so quirky that there is never any way to guess in which direction it's going to go and this episode is no exception. Following on the plot arc involving Ned and Chuck's fathers, it is packed with all the usual nonsense (why Norwegians for heaven's sake and what's all this stuff about buttons?) that divides the audience between loving it and hating it. The surreal setting continues to be as delightful as the characters and the acting is, as ever, comic timing in a near perfect form. Of course, if you don't get it then you will hate it. TopWindow Dressed to KillWindow dressers at the local department store are being murdered, but Ned has sworn off touching dead things, so whilst he accompanies Olive and a couple of ageing cons towards the Canadian border, Emerson and Chuck try to solve the mystery the old fashioned way. Any episode that allows Kristin Chenoweth to showcase her singing talents wins our support and here she gets to sing about her love for the pie-maker (so no surprise there). It is the mock engagement between Olive and Ned that provides the heart of this episode and Lee Pace is marginally less wet than usual as he enters the false relationship with Chenoweth's peppy (there really is no other word) waitress Olive. Both of these actors fit their roles perfectly. They are supported by Richard Benjamin and George Segal as the escaped cons from Olive's childhood, but we're left to wonder why they chose to take the parts as they are given precisely nothing to do by either plot or script. The actual murder mystery is fun enough and this is a solidly entertaining instalment that is lifted up by Ms Chenoweth's singing. Can we have a duet with Ellen Greene now please? TopWater and PowerThe founder of the local dam is killed and all clues seem to point towards the woman who ran away with Emerson Cod's daughter. She, however, says she didn't do it and if Cod can prove it he will get to see his daughter. It isn't often that Emerson Cod gets to be the centre of attention (although he always gets the best lines and Chi McBride has the character timed to perfection). It is, therefore, nice to see him in the spotlight and in Gina Torres (FIREFLY) he is given an adversary every inch his match. The plot is simplicity itself and the quirkiness is dialled down a notch, but the requisite quota of witty lines are present and the main cast (along with Torres and semi-regular David Arquette) are on song. TopKerplunkTo celebrate Chuck's half birthday, her aunts go to the Aquacade to see the latest water show. What they see instead is one half of their rival synchronised swimming team eaten by a shark. Emerson Cod is paid to clear the shark's name and the aunts go undercover to take the place of the now halved swim duo. Will the killer target them? Will Chuck be discovered? Will Lily's secret be revealed? The fact that this is the last ever PUSHING DAISIES makes it hard to review objectively, but from the moment that the shark leaps up to swallow the swimmer it is a glorious example of the quixotic, fairly tale, surreal, whimsical show that has certainly caught our hearts over the last two seasons. The scene where the dead woman is interviewed from within the belly of the shark is worth the effort of watching alone. The supporting characters are a little less well defined than in previous stories and the murder mystery is a bit flat, but that is because of the need to feature the characters of Lily and Vivian. Not seen nearly enough this season, Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz, make up for it by shining throughout as the good-hearted and stone-hearted sister respectively. It is thanks to the Lily and Emerson Cod characters that the show has managed to anchor its cloud-light whimsy to the ground. Their cynicism (surface deep though it may be) has kept the whole thing from imploding under its own whimsy and both make for a good showing. This isn't a finale in the true sense as the plot is simply the plot of any other episode, but the makers of the show at least saw their way, knowing that they had been cancelled, to tacking on a short epilogue that, in the true nature of the show, ties things up for each character as far as things could be tied up. Top |
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