Pushing Daisies was the show I was most interested in seeing from the buzz I'd read by critics on the internet, so when a batch of DVD's arrived on J's desk of some of the new seasons shows, I watched this one first.
The scenario is this: Ned discovers at a young age that he has the power to bring back the dead with just one touch. The downside is, if he touches them again, they go back to being dead, and if they survive longer than 60 seconds, someone else in proximity takes their place on the other side. As an adult, his power is discovered by a opportunistic PI, and they work together solving seemingly unsolvable murders by bringing back the dead momentarily, and asking them who did it.
Rather than being a cheesy, supernatural detective show, this is in fact a charming and quirky love story. Anna Friel, who is destined on the east side of the Atlantic to be forever known as Beth Jordache of Brookside, is a delight as Chuck, Ned's childhood crush, who resurfaces (literally), as a murder victim. Ned brings her back from the dead to find her killer, but cannot bring himself to send her back to the afterlife. Together, they attempt to solve her murder whilst falling in love but keeping their hands of each other. The voice-over narrative and bright colour palate enables a fairytale feel, reminiscent of Tim Burton or Lemony Snickett and we have producer Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, The Addams Family) to thank for that. The casting is spot-on including the wonderful Kristen Chenowith as a Ned's smitten co-worker, and there are some very cute details to the characters - Ned owns his own pie-shop, Chuck's aunts are way passed-their-prime synchronised swimmers. What does the future hold in store for these would-be lovers if they can never touch? We'll have to trust the writers to keep that issue evolving.
Highly recommended.
http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/pushingdaisies/
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