While browsing on my favourite discussion boards, I discovered that the ABC's Pushing Daisies has been cancelled. Can we say "tragic"! The show is in its second season, and is a whimsical concoction which I find hard to describe. It is a comedy, but it's also a mystery. It's an hour long and definitely has drama, but it's a fantasy too with magic.
Read more about this wonderful show here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_daisies
Whatever it is, I love all the elements of this show, and no cancellation has hurt this much since Cupid.*
Since it still hurts a lot, I can't talk too much about this. Besides I don't think I can say anything much about this show which has not been said already.
Briefly for those of you not in the know: Pushing Daisies is a show about a sad eyed young man named Ned who has trouble expressing his feelings, and finds some happiness in owning and running a pie shop called the Pie Hole (yup! Don't ya love it!)Ned is lonely and sweet and adorable, and he also has the strange power of bringing people to life by touching them. (Stay with me.) Ned can only bring the person to life for one minute; he has to touch them again and let them die or someone living in the vicinity will drop dead. This brings numerous complications to Ned's life. One of which is the love of his life the lovely and sweet Chuck who Ned resuscitated but whom he cannot bring himself to let die. So, (get this) he can't touch her! Ever! Or Chuck will die. (How can anyone not like this show?)
Despite the angst that his "ability" brings to his life, Ned has also found a way to profit by it. When not working at the Pie Hole, he helps a detective named Emerson Cod to solve murders by simply bringing the deformed (really weirdly) corpses to life and asking them about how they died. Many episodes revolve around Ned, Emerson, Chuck and fun Pie Hole staff member Olive solving murder mysteries. Usually I don't like shows like this, so this demonstrates how well Pushing Daisies captured my heart, because I even love the mysteries. They are just tres bizarre e.g. the bigamist who realized the cup of coffee one of his wives gave him is poisoned, but then dies anyway by slipping on the spilled coffee and stabbing himself to death on a strategically placed letter opener.
As you can tell, this show captured my sense of whimsy. In a TV universe of doctor/lawyer/cop/reality shows, Pushing Daisies was a breath of fresh air. One look at any scene just makes me smile. The sets, the clothes and the scenery are resplendent with vibrant colour. Magic works in this type of environment. Any place that looks like that must have magic seeping in at the seams. The costumes fit the fanciful atmosphere. The dialogue is rapid and quotable. (Like the time Ned, Chuck and Emerson are trying to find their way through a sewer and Chuck suggests that they "follow the yellow thick hose".) The romance between Chuck and Ned is lovely. They adore each other. Just look at them kissing through saran wrap. (They can't touch remember) Awwwww.
Anyway as this post is painful as well as doting I must end it. Instead of giving a show which epitomizes imagination and creativity the arena it deserves, ABC chose to scrap it because of its ratings. I do not care how poorly they imagined this show was doing. It will be a wonderful world if networks ever start putting their support behind good shows and giving them the extra attention they need instead of going for the money all the time. Yes, I know money makes the world go round (blah! blah! blah!) but I am confident this show could have continued to build an audience (and believe me there are many, many other dedicated fans out there), if it was given the opportunity.
For those of you who did not have the chance to get to know this show I am sorry. There are still some episodes left and Season One has been released on DVDs, so I recommend you give it a try. For those who are fans and are pained about this as I am, do not forget to let this network know how you feel. http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html?lid=ABCCOMGlobalFooter&lpos=CONTACT
Do it, even if it's too late. This show deserves as much.
*Very few people know this 1998 show, but it was also excellent and unusual and cancelled. I still mourn for it. Ironically this show was also on ABC. Great job guys.....Read about Cupid here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(1998_TV_series)
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