Pushing up Daisies comes out smelling like roses
In the second season of the popular show, we start to see some storylines wrapping up. In this season you’ll see the Pie Maker help out is dead girlfriend, Chuck, bring back her father from the grave. You’ll also get to see each character’s own back-story wrapped or semi-wrapped by the end of the season; which is the best thing you could ask for in an entertaining and successful show such as this (successful in terms of actually entertaining and involving).
Here’s a show list:
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz! – A bee girl is murdered; Chuck must go incognito to infiltrate the company that the ‘bee girl’ worked for. She must also avoid becoming dead (again). A delightful way to open up the season, and as a bonus you get to see a different side to French Stewart’s acting (who would have imagined!?). The first season ended strong and this episode certainly picked up where it left off. Not the strongest of the bunch, but still damn entertaining.
Circus Circus – There is a term for terrifying and nasty, but I can’t think of it right now. Dead clowns can scare anyone; for people who hate clowns to begin with; good luck. One of the more amusing episodes, but a bit drab in some areas. I’m not sure if it was the writing or directing, but the pacing wasn’t quite on par with the rest. Still, good dialogue overall and a good sense of characters.
Bad Habits – Olive is a nun now, trying to forget about Ned (Pie Maker) and her undying love for him. While she’s trying to forget about him, she gets into a bit of situation when her friend Emerson takes a nosedive off a belfry. It’s pleasant to see Olive getting some love (not literally) in an episode. She plays such an outlandish character that she is sometimes forgotten in the writing. Thankfully, they give her plenty of attention. Very good episode, sort of dark (but aren’t they all?).
Frescorts – This is quite possibly one of the more disturbing episodes in the bunch. When an employee of My Best Friend (friend for hire) named Joe ends up dead, the boys investigate and uncover a grizzly discovery. When I say ‘grizzly’ I mean ‘grizzly’. Not for the weak of stomach or the heart. A frightfully good episode, probably in the top three for this season.
Comfort Food – Famous award winning chef Colonel Likkin (nice name, eh?) gets a bit deep fried in his own crisper, the boys and girls try to find out who done it. This episode revolves around a food contest and the conclusion is less than celebratory. The writing seems to have trapped the crew inside of a small contest that doesn’t provide the same amount of essence and girth to the story as most of the other episodes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but out of the bunch it’s certainly the weaker.
The Legend of Merle McQuoddy – When a lighthouse keeper gets his light burnt out, the crew must find out who did it and uncover a spooky local legend. That sounded like a description of a Scooby-Doo episode, didn’t it? It was a good way to end 2008, but not the best episode of the bunch.
The Norwegians – While I certainly didn’t explain, in past episodes, the existence of Stephen Root’s Dwight, he gets very involved in the story here. Dwight is an old army buddy of Chuck’s father, who has come back into town in search of a watch that Chuck was buried with (and now has in her possession). He manipulated Vivian (Chuck’s aunt) through love so that he could get the watch. When Dwight ends up missing, Vivian attempts to track him down (he’s dead — sorry to give it away) by hiring a crack-team of Norwegian investigators to find him. Olive plays a huge part in the episode, plus it ends on a very interesting high note. One of the best episodes in the bunch, hands down.
Window Dressed to Kill – This is the first episode in which Ned refuses to use his gift of reanimation. It’s interesting to force the supporting cast to take the lead and it’s one that works out extremely well. There is a frozen, murdered girl in the main fountain in town (she’s encased in ice) and Emerson and Chuck have to team up to figure it out. One of the more interesting episodes and a different take in the series; top five of the season easily.
Water & Power – Did I mention that David Arquette is in episodes this season? No? He popped in during Frescorts as a taxidermist who falls in love with Olive. He’s strange (who in his family isn’t?) in the show, but necessary to hold the attention of Olive. This episode focuses on a murder at the local water/power company and develops the missing daughter that Emerson’s character is longing to find. You get a nice story with an awkwardly okay ending that starts to wrap-up the loose ends of the characters. Arquette’s Randy Mann tries to court Olive in this episode.
Kerplunk – The episode is the last of the season and the series. It is three-fourths a murder mystery and one-fourth of a show quickly wrapped up. You get the resolution of the two aunts (Vivian and Lily) who have been hired to do their old mermaid water show for a traveling water circus (in a sense). Along the way, Lily’s secret about cheating with Vivian’s fiancee’ is uncovered along with about everything towards the end of the episode. It is respectfully the best of the season, but it is a bit unraveled because you know when the show was informed of its cancellation. You’ll understand what I mean; it’s terribly sad to watch.
I can imagine that there was two reason this show was cancelled: Writer’s strike and money. The writer’s strike was very unfortunate because it completely killed some fantastic storylines (see Heroes for proof). Regretfully Pushing Daisies would be headed into its third or fourth season by this point and the story could continue. The delay of writing and producing brought such a gap between seasons that the story couldn’t be hooked into the minds of viewers for that period of time. On the flipside to that coin, the show itself is magical, strong and worth keeping. Though it might have lost advertising for ABC, I’m sure that the network could have found a way to keep the show going. Sure at the end of the day the bottom line counts in business, but ABC is rich enough (aren’t they Disney?) where it could have sustained and backed the show 100 percent.
Too bad.
Feeling a bit blu
Much like the first season on Blu-ray, this show really benefits from the high definition upgrade. Pushing Daisies is vibrant with colors; it’s like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meet Alice in Wonderland. You get this 60s sort of color scheme that never let’s up from episode to episode. On a 1080p or 720p set you’ll have a tasty candy buffet on your screen to satisfy your visual eye candy hungering. In other words, the show looks damn good on Blu-ray. It also sounds damn good on Blu-ray. Quirky music, fast moving dialogue, you’ll be in heaven.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– The Master Pie Maker: Inside the Mind of Creator Bryan Fuller
– From Oven to Table: Crafting a Script Idea into Reality
– Secret Sweet Ingredients: Spotlight on Composer Jim Dooley’s Work
– Add a Little Magic: Executing Some Giant-Sized Visual Effects
Not many here, but very in-depth pieces of how the show is put together from idea to effects. It’s great insight to what main parts went into making the show.