A perfect conversation with a stranger at a party—engaging, funny and a wonderful experience. Then somehow, through the course of text messages, bathroom breaks or the occasional spilling of a drink, the dialogue breaks up through a shuffling of people and can never fully be recreated.
The above scenario is much like what happened to Pushing Daisies, one of the greatest shows killed off far too early. In fact, it’s already showing up on critics lists of programs cancelled before their time.
The show debuted to strong numbers in the fall of 2007, only to be sidelined by the writers’ strike and never regained what it once had ratings wise.
For those of you who missed out (which is really the only way to phrase it), the show was centered on Ned (Lee Pace), a pie maker who had the ability to bring the dead back to life with a touch, but only for a minute or someone else would die.
Long story short, the love of Ned’s life, Charlotte, or “Chuck” (Anna Friel) is murdered. He brings her back to life and keeps her alive, where they solve murders with private investigator, Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) who knows Ned’s secret, while Olive (Kristin Chenoweth) secretly swoons over her pie making partner.
This all plays out in snappy, beautifully written dialogue in a period world that looks like what Tim Burton may dream up for the perfect sitcom.
Pushing Daisies was cancelled only 13 episodes young into its second season; ABC only aired 10 episodes. The final three episodes were withheld until the past three Saturday nights, ending with the most unsatisfying series finale in recent television history; a rushed series of events from what was once a thoughtfully produced, well paced program which deserved several more seasons.
While there is talk of the series finding a far more suitable end via comics and possibly a full length film, the storyline as it stands now evokes the same feeling you get when you walk into a Septa turnstile and your token didn’t actually make all the way into the slot.
However, the final, optimistic narration of Jim Dale seemed to give some hope to those of us who long the see someone give a Ned-like touch to the dead series: “…the end is just the beginning.”
You can contact Steve Mohimani at artsculture@campusphilly.org
