Pushing Daisies Season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

[Jonny P]

I really liked "Pushing Daisies"...

It has the Tim Burton oddball fairytale vibe that made movies like "Edward Scissorhands" such a success.

The question is whether or not the show can keep it going for 20 some odd eps...and keep going over multiple seasons.

This show follows a long line of what I consider to be these high-concept "gimmick" shows in recent years.

Every show has a situation to create drama (and comedy), but there have been many shows the past several years that have very defined structures to them.

For example, "My Name is Earl" is essentially pigeonholed into having Earl find ways to cross names of people he wronged off of a list. They have tried to get away from that gimmick, but they are pretty much stuck with a really, really defined concept.

This show has its own gimmick -- touching people, bringing them back to life (short term) to solve a mystery, then touching them again to take life away.

In some respects, it is a quirkier and cuter version of "The Dead Zone" that has firmly planted itself in the Tim "Burtonverse."

Audiences typically end up liking shows with "less" structure that have more generalized setups -- the CSIs and Law & Orders of the world.

The good news is that the show isn't serialized, but I can't help but feel that some viewers who tune in after the premiere will be left saying, "huh?"

I hope the show lasts because we need more of the "avant garde" fare on network television. It has a nice/sweet vibe that we don't always see a lot of on television these days (and it looks great in HD).

But like "Chuck," the show feels like it might've made a better movie than a multi-year series. Both shows are well crafted and have very likable cast members, but the question is whether or not the general public will stick with it.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

This is what I am afraid most people are going to think of the show. Not ordinary enough.

 

[Nelson Au]

It was a great pilot and kick-off. Someone above said off-beat, I think that's apt.

There was also mention about Desperate Housewives and Tim Burton. When DH premiered, it almost had this same vibe as Daisies, the Burton kind of music score, the hyper-real sets. This show takes it to next level. I kind of compare it to the way Batman hit the screens in 1966. Bright and colorful and full of fun.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Mikel, are you merely agreeing with me about my assertion that most won't embrace it because it's so off the beaten track or are you saying that I feel that way? I can't tell from your post.

Believe me i'm all for new concepts, i'm sick of all the same stuff on television now.

My only problem with the show is it's visual style and that's rooted in my "Burton demons" as I like to call them, it's my problem not the shows, if I can get by that than the show is just fine.

 

[Chris]

 

[Greg_S_H]

That was actually incredible. I didn't like what I saw of Wonderfalls, but loved what I saw of Dead Like Me, so I wasn't sure which way this one would go. Turns out it's the best TV I've seen in a while, and definitely the best pilot. Can it sustain this level throughout an entire season, I don't know. I hope it keeps its charm and underlying sweetness. I don't remember specifics right now, but there were several moments where I was barking with laughter, which is kind of rare for me. The comedies I've seen lately only get me to muster an occasional smile. One example was when the Kurtz aunt blasted the guy out the window, followed by Chuck kicking him.

I've never seen Anna Friel before, but how cute is she?

There's no question that I'm coming back next week. It's almost the spiritual successor to Big Fish. To think that I had zero plans to watch this show, and just set up a recording at the last minute. Well, I could go on raving, but that's enough for now.

I may have to track down Wonderfalls and give it another chance.

 

[Brian^K]

Both made it to air.

This is definitely the best new show of the year. :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Brian^K]

The "Pie-lette" will be rebroadcast tomorrow (Friday) night, on ABC.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Anna Friel reminded me of a young Barbara Hershey and yes she was pretty cute.

I have a question, did Ned's mother drop dead because Ned neglected to re-kill the fly within a minute? If she died because of a fly than that's pretty damn funny, sad but funny lol.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I'm having a hard time thinking of a show with more structure than Law & Order.


I really liked this, although I worry that some folks might shy away because of how deliberately off-putting it is. It wants you in an odd place and doesn't back away from that.

I'm also a little worried about whether or not TV directors will be able to work within the style Bryan Fuller and Barry Sonnenfeld established for the pilot. Clearly, a lot of time went into making this, and I'm not sure it's possible to maintain on a weekly schedule.

 

[JohnS]

Well, we won't know until the third episode as the second episode Dummy is again directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.

and a heads up.
Oct 31st is a Wednesday and is a Halloween episode titled Girth

 

[Jerome Grate]

The one thing about this show is that it's different from the standard crime scene, investigation then crime solving shows. Very original and I like it. Some good humor, loved the line when the woman went to pinch his cheek and she died, and his partners comment, you couldn't have scooted back a little bit was rich. I'm hooked, the wife thinks that it's a little dark and I'm glad the kids are in bed, because when they caught the opening when he was a kid and touching everything that was dead was coming back to life, they grasped it immediately and was kind of intrigued. I forced them to bed to avoid the nightmares (5 and 6), anyhoot a really good show, which means for me Mondays and Wednesdays are a lock for me.

 

[seanOhara]

I think you have it backwards. The CSIs and L&Os have templates they never deviate from, whereas shows like this (Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me being the obvious examples, though also things like Angel) are usually free-form. Some episodes will have the mission as the central storyline, while others will focus on personal interactions with the task at hand relegated to a B-story. You'll never see an episode of L&O about Sam Waterson harassing his assistant while the case they're working on takes a back seat.

 

[Lucia Duran]

I just rewatched that scene and it does seem that she was killed off because he didn't re-kill the fly. The narrator says right when he reanimates the fly " The terms of use weren't immediately clear, nor were they of immediate concern" 'Then the mom drops dead of a burst blood vessel.

So yeah... I think she died because of that.

 

[Jonny P]

What I am saying (and perhaps I worded it wrong) is that "Pushing Daisies" is a "gimmick" show like "My Name is Earl" and "Chuck".

They are very "defined" in what they do. "Pushing Daisies" would have been different if it'd been "grounded" in the real world relatively speaking (like "The Dead Zone").

Instead, it is a fairy tale where things are named redundantly like "Boutique Travel Travel Boutique" and it tries to be like a Tim Burton movie or a Lemony Snicket novel.

But the show is only successful as long as people think the gimmick is "cute" -- and that might be asking a lot of viewers.

Am I making sense or not?

What I am saying is that a show like this asks audiences to "willfully suspend their disbelief" more than say an average crime or medical show.

If you had a guy in modern-day New York who learned at a young age he could touch dead people and bring them back to life (but with consequences) and it effected his relationships in life, it'd be a more "accessible" show with a more "general" setup.

"Heroes" is a comic book show with fantasy elements, but it tries to "feel" grounded in the world we know (same for "Lost").

The cutesy fairy tale aspects make "Pushing Daisies" more of a "gimmick" and less accessible (with less room for the show to expand).

You're asking a lot of an average viewer.

They like fantasy, but this tries to be a children's book with grisly murders. Any time the writers hit a snag, they can merely pull out the Danny Elfman-esque music and explain it all away with some sort of new fantasy element.

I like it, but don't expect it to catch on big with average viewers.

 

[Lucia Duran]

I think more people will take to this show over the stuff that is on now or has been on in the past. I think more and more people are finding the quirky type shows more intriguing than the same run of the mill detective crime shows that they air 24/7.

I loved it. I've been telling all my friends and family to watch it. I think we need more shows like this one. Television now a days is so over saturated with crap that shows like this make me want to actually WATCH tv.

 

[MikeH]

This is the kind of show that people are going to loathe or love. I loved it and hopefully it lasts (but I don't have that much faith in the general viewing audience).

I think Lucia is right the fly wasn't re-killed in time and then flew away. Someone need to take its place and that was Ned's mom. Then Ned revived his mom and after the minute elapsed someone had to take her place and the was Chuck's dad. Later that night when Ned was going to bed his mom kissed him goodnight which counts as a Ned touch and she died again.

Mike

 

[Chris]

I think it was nailed above. I think this will be a show that will be very, very difficult to maintain forward momentum. This is the kind of show that I'm struggling to think of how they will do 10 episodes of and stay cute before they have to start changing significant rules (Oh! Now he can touch these people or this).

Don't speak ill, I really enjoyed it more thinking about it the next day. But this is a show that seems like it would have been great as a mini-series or movie event. But I have a feeling that the writing on this, just because of the premise, will quickly paint itself into a corner.

 

[pitchman]

According to Zap2it, Pushing Daisies scored an 8.3/14 for ABC last night, which was more than enough to win the 8 p.m. hour. Its closest competitor, Deal or No Deal, had a 7.1/12. So, at least early reports for Pushing Daisies look promising.

 

[ScottH]

It's all about the second episode to see if viewers will come back.

By the way, what was up with that scene at Ned's apartment where the waitress girl looked like a midget? I know she's very petite to begin with, but in that particular scene she looked about 4 feet tall standing next to Ned. In a later scene standing next to Chuck she looked about the same height as her (maybe a bit shorter).