There are some television shows that are just doomed from the start. If it’s quirky, odd or out of the norm, it’s pretty much over.
Such was the case of the cancelled-too-soon series, Pushing Daisies, it’s last episode airing on ABC in June of 2009 after only two seasons.
Describing the plot of the show is almost pointless because it sounds too silly to be believed.
Pushing Daisies relates the story of a pie-maker named Ned, played by Lee Pace, who since childhood has been able to wake the dead with one touch.
Ned discovers an unfortunate caveat to this gift when he brings his mother back to life after she has a massive brain aneurysm, only to lose her again when she leans in for a goodnight kiss. Thus Ned learns that a second touch to his resuscitated subject will render him, her or it dead forever.
Also, if he doesn’t re-dead said body within one minute, someone in close proximity will drop dead. The first victim of Ned’s gift is his neighbor, Charles Charles.
Determined to use his gift only for good, Ned uses this ability to make pies from rotten fruit, solve murders with snarky detective Emerson Cod and raise his childhood sweetheart from the dead.
Typical stuff. Like I said, it sounds completely insane. But it completely works.
Despite the slightly morbid premise, Pushing Daisies is actually a very sweet, bright and optimistic series. A lot of the “warm-and-fuzzies” comes from Ned’s romance with his recently deceased/risen girlfriend Charlotte Charles, affectionately known as Chuck, whose father, unbeknownst to her, was that same neighbor Ned accidentally killed.
While they can’t physically touch, Ned and Chuck have one of the sweetest cuddly romances on TV. Normally that’s not really my thing, but in this show’s strange universe, it works.
The show also frequently utilizes puns and strange naming conventions, featuring a character with two first names, a pie shop named The Pie Hole and a mean, spoiled kid with a terminal heart problem (He’s heartless. Get it?).
And that’s just the tip of the quirky iceberg.
The show has a really strange combination of earnestness and irony, between cynicism and optimism. Whenever things are so sweet you might get a toothache, Ned’s detective partner Emerson will snark about the case at hand, or focus will shift to Olive Snook, a singing waitress at Ned’s pie shop, who has a long-standing and unrequited crush on him.
Despite their undeniable quirks, these characters are relatable due to excellent performances and writing. But what really makes the show is the surreal, dream-like setting. It’s a world that is a lot like ours, with the Internet and modern ideas.
But it is also a tribute to the 1950s, with old-fashioned clothes and cars, bright colors and other-worldy eccentricities, like dandelion-powered cars, fields of windmills, and very competitive cooking contests, all with English narrator Jim Dale commenting on the proceedings.
This description hardly serves to describe the oddball nature of the show. There is so much going on, with characterization, with wordplay, and especially with visuals, that you just might have to see it to believe it.
Unfortunately, the over-the-top nature of the show may have also been the nail in its theoretical coffin.
While it may have died a quick death, Pushing Daisies can still bring viewers to life with just one touch.