When I first heard of Pushing Daisies, about a man who could bring back the dead, I reminisced about one of my favorite shows, the HBO series Carnivàle. Ben Hawkins also had the power to revive the dead. Carnivàle was full of mystery and intrigue. Pushing Daisies however, while having an interesting concept is trapped in a typical TV series formula, spinning it wheels and not really getting anywhere.
In Pushing Daisies, Ned (Lee Pace) had the ability to bring back the dead. However, there are a few rules. He could only bring them back for 60 seconds without any consequences. If the dead are revived for longer than 60 seconds, then another person’s life is taken. If Ned touches the person again they are dead, forever. He cannot revive them. Ned discovers all this as a young boy when his mother dies. He revives her, and in turn the love of his life, Chuck ( Anna Friel), father who is just outside is taken.
That same night, when Ned’s mother kisses him goodnight, she drops dead. One touch life, second touch dead. Ned is sent to a boarding school. The next time with see Ned he is a man and the owner of The Pie Hole. He works with a private investigator named Emerson Cod (Chi McBride). Ned’s ability comes in handy when needing to talk to the dead. When Emerson is hired to investigate the death of Chuck, Ned revives her but cannot let her go. This is the second time he has given a life and taken a life. Now Ned much deal with his unusually relationship with Chuck who he loves, but cannot touch.
There are some interesting concepts on this show that could really be explorer to give us some very good stories. However, the writers tend to focus each episode around a murder which by the third episode becomes quite boring. The only thing the show has going for it, is that it is extreme funny. The whole cast is excellent, but Chi McBride is superb. He pretty much steals ever scene he is in.
This TV series was made for the Blu-ray format and each episode looks speculator on high-definitions. The colors look vivid and make Ned’s world look like a true fantasy. There are virtually no imperfections to be found. This series was cut short due to the writers’ strike and this first season only features 9 episodes. Much like Dirty Sexy Money the series feels a little empty because of the way the character arcs are left. I only hope that both of these series have a better season 2.
Review by Brad Peterson
Blu-ray Release Date: September 16, 2008
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