(S01E03) "You killed someone for me?" - Chuck
After watching last week's episode, I was as worried as Joel was/is about Pushing Daisies's future. With such a stellar pilot, it was a given that the subsequent episodes wouldn't be as great but that second episode was a letdown. Narration aside (I'll get to this later on), this week's episode reassured me that PD can survive in its current format.
Let's deal with the narration problem first. Being a fan of the movie Amélie, I enjoyed the narration when watching the Daisies' pilot. I thought it was charming and added a nice touch to an already colorful setting. However, while watching "The Fun in Funeral," all I wanted to do was jump in the TV and put tape over the narrator's mouth so he would stop talking! This is the third episode, can we please not be reminded of how Ned's powers work, why/how he revived Chuck, the fact that he brought his mother back to life, thus killing Chuck's father, and how Emerson found out about Ned's gift and teamed up with him? It's not rocket science, we understood how things worked two weeks ago!
I get that the writers probably wrote that in so that new viewers would not be lost but couldn't they have used a "previously on Pushing Daisies" clip instead of inserting that recap within the episode? And if viewers start watching the show after the second episode, wouldn't have said viewers read about the show online or heard about it from their friends and co-workers around the water cooler? I still love the narration part of the show, but the writers need to stop bringing people up to speed every episode and need to find enough to write about to fill an entire episode (see last week's "Hopelessly Devoted" scene for another example of writers not having enough to write about).
Now that my narration rant is over (at least for this week), let's focus on the rest of the episode. I was delighted to see Ned face the consequences of his actions when reviving Chuck. Not that I want bad things to happen to Ned but, no matter how you look at it, the guy did kill at least two people (Larry and Chuck's father) and tons of flies and birds! I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon in the season, though.
At first, I really thought that Emerson didn't want Chuck on the case because he doesn't like her much and didn't want to split the reward in three anymore. Emerson wanted to protect Ned from the shockwave that would be caused when Chuck would discover that someone died in order for her to survive. Ned, being too in love, let Chuck tag along. Of course, it turned out to be a bad decision since Chuck wasn't happy to hear how she was revived. If I had been in Chuck's shoes, I think my reaction to this news would have been the same. Yes, I would be happy to be alive but also sad that someone else had to die. Chuck, being the lovely woman she is, wanted Ned to say he was sorry to Larry and she wanted to thank him. As we all saw, things didn't go exactly as planned, which led to a funny scene where Emerson runs for his life and Chuck and Ned try to open the casket. I wonder if Ned ran tests (like those to find out how long he had before he had to touch the "live again" a second time) to find out how far you need to be to not be victim of the random death.
The case of the week was fun because it brought Ned's powers in a whole new light, at least in Chuck's eyes. I'm pretty sure that Ned will not come forward about the death of Chuck's father but that, instead, Chuck will start asking questions. She is a bright woman and, as she gathers more information about Ned's gift (such as when he first discovered it, etc.), she'll surely suspect that he may have caused her father's death. What I also liked about this week's episode was that not only did we get a case of the week that involved someone we met in the past, but it also featured a bigger mystery (who killed Lewis and why is he trying to frame Ned). The Prince Charming setting was cute but a tad over done (especially when Ned was wrapped in the red drape).
Ned and Chuck are finding new and inventive ways to touch. We could classify them as brave since, every time they try a new trick, they are not sure what they try will work or kill Chuck. Last week, we saw the plastic window with the glove in the car and the use of "going through" or "incoming" so they don't bump into one another. This week, they used plastic wrap to kiss. So we know the power doesn't go through plastic. How about fabric? Probably not because it has tiny holes... What else could they use to touch? Post your ideas below, if you have any!
Olive got a better storyline this week. You can bet that she won't make things easy for Chuck now that Olive thinks she (Chuck) faked her death! Will she be the one revealing to the aunts that Chuck is alive? In any case, the aunts must learn that their niece is not dead because, otherwise, they are of no use to the series in the long run. Chuck can't send them pies until the end of time! Fun fact, Pee Wee Herman's Paul Reubens was set to play the pharmaceutical salesman but ended up getting a different role (we will see him in later episodes).
Overall, the episode was not as good as the pilot. However, this is the type of episode that will have me coming back week to week.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-17-2007 @ 9:46PM
Dorv said...
Ok... While it didn't drive the story much, I would love for the writers to find an excuse for Kristin Chenoweth to sing every week.
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10-17-2007 @ 9:52PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Dorv: Even if I thought she sang for too long, I must agree that it was enjoyable to watch her do so. Maybe it paves the way to a musical episode?
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10-17-2007 @ 9:55PM
Rhomboid said...
I keep thinking of that scene in the first Naked Gun movie where they wear full body condoms.
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10-17-2007 @ 10:30PM
Bart Smith said...
I don't see how someone can like PUSHING DAISIES and hate the narration. The reason the show works is because of the narration—not in spite of it.
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10-17-2007 @ 10:58PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Bart: I don't hate the narration, I actually quite like it. And I agree that without it, the show wouldn't be the same. But tonight, the fact that they told us again about the powers, Chuck's revival, how Emerson found out about Ned, etc., was a bit too much for my taste. Then again, I did watch the pilot episode three times plus watched a lot of ads about the show since I watch a lot of ABC shows... Maybe if I hadn't seen those ads and only watched the pilot once, I would have thought differently about the recap within the narration.
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10-17-2007 @ 11:13PM
tozmervo said...
"Dying has made you really morbid"
Ah, another fantastic episode. I love this show. And yeah, you're not the only one. That Naked Gun scene seems destined for re-creation :)
Now I just need to find a woman to make me some pie.
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10-17-2007 @ 11:15PM
Oreo said...
I agree with you Isabelle, this is the first episode i really enjoyed and the narration is pissing me off!
I understand it's part of the show and is needed for certain things, but it is way over used to the point where I want to scream at my TV "I GET THAT! I'M NOT A DUMMIE!"
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10-17-2007 @ 11:22PM
Eric said...
I really enjoyed this episode, I loved the whole coupon dialog between Ned and Emerson. The whole Emerson as whinnie the pooh, and the I wanted to be a Jedi quote.
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10-17-2007 @ 11:40PM
Ryan said...
I may have liked this episode more than the pilot! I have to rewatch to make sure, but like you I really liked the balance of solving the case-of-the-week, a developing story arc, and exploring the mythology of Ned's powers.
BTW I also love the narration, but I agree that I could do without the within-episode recap. I did like looking at young Ned from time to time. Those firefly experiments were cool. And how funny was tonight's episode? Emerson running had me in stitches!
Basically, more please.
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10-18-2007 @ 12:17AM
shawn said...
i'm losing interest in the show
this episode should have been the second though. it would have made more sense. Because why did they wait so long to bury the body of the funeral guy?
Chuck annoys me. I wish she would accidently touch the pie maker and die. that sounds bad. but i think they should focus more on the murderers and the mysteries.
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10-18-2007 @ 12:21AM
Arclight said...
"What else could they use to touch? Post your ideas below, if you have any!"
After the "kiss a Beaver" joke, I'm gonna go with "Lambskin"!
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10-18-2007 @ 1:35AM
Jim Starkweather said...
Shawn,
If you don't like Chuck I would say give up and start watching something else. Life and Journeyman are both great. For me I liked this episode but yeah the re-hash at the beginning of the eps is getting old.
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10-18-2007 @ 2:41AM
Little Willy said...
Imagine you are Anna Friel and the show does reasonably well and gets a 2nd season renewal. How would you go about asking for a pay raise or better working conditions when the show producers can kill off your character with only a touch of the fingertip (pun fully intended)?
Overall I like last week's episode much more than this one. it's still good but I'm very skeptical to how long they can keep the premise of the show alive (Ned and Chuck love each other but can never consumate their love phsycially) without the fans giving up in frustration. Can the show remains interesting if it is primarily a pseudo-detective drama? There must be some sort of payoff at the end for the Ned-Chuck's 'shippers" but they would spell the end of Chuck, wouldn't it?
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10-18-2007 @ 7:56AM
samarafnp said...
I am really happy they told again in the beginning how it all happened. Last night, I convinced my adult son and my husband to watch and without the narration, they would not have understood. It is cute and funny and someone new coming in which will happen for a few months, will not "get it". I love the narrator, the show etc. My husband was smiling thru much of the show, not something he usually does hating anything but sports on TV and my son called and said, "adorable" and "refreshing."
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10-18-2007 @ 8:02AM
Karen said...
I think they are too risky in their creative ways of touching.
I can deal with all the quirky and unlikely-ness of the series, except for that part.
Just like he bumped into dead people in the morgue, he would likely accidentally bump into Chuck at one point. Add to that their "risk taking" and it just bugs me.
One thing I missed, if he lets someone live for more than a minute, and someone else dies, but then he touches the original dead person again (like Chuck)....what happens to the person that died in their place? If he touches Chuck again, will the funeral person come back to life?
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10-18-2007 @ 9:05AM
Bryan said...
Karen: Sadly all parties remain dead when that happens, as in the first episode. His mother has a heart attack and dies; he touches her and she comes back to life; Chuck's Dad dies since they lived across the street and were in close proximity; Mom gives lil Ned a goodnight kiss; she dies and Chuck's Dad is still dead.
After last week's fairly dull show, I almost gave up but decided to give it another try this week and I was happy I did. It was nice to have a continuation of the first story with consequences shown.
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10-18-2007 @ 9:08AM
julie said...
I do find this show very cute and a change of pace from most everything else out there. And I really don't mind the narrator - it helps to capture even more the fairy tale feel of the show. Very cute
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10-18-2007 @ 9:10AM
Joseph said...
I really like this show - it reminds me of old Gilmore Girls episodes and I appreciate that it's well-made (except the CGI scenes which are just terrible - seriously, my Wii renders better cutscenes than that and that's a $250 console).
I am a bit worried about this show, however. I'd really like to see it do well but they keep doing stuff that will do nothing but make people switch the channel. The musical scene in last week's episode was one such thing: cute idea, nice execution, way too long. I mean, I love this show and even I was fast-forwarding through it when I watched that episode again.
This week's episode wasn't as far out there, IMHO and it seemed like there was less filler but I wonder how they expect to keep going like this. At this pace, they'll be married by episode six and from there on out, it'll just be more of the same.
Still the best new show for me this season.
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10-18-2007 @ 9:58AM
Ray said...
Joseph, I rarely go back to rewatch an episode, but I actually made a point to go back and watch Kristen Chenoweth's musical number again. Her voice is outstanding. I wouldn't mind her singing more in later episodes.
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10-18-2007 @ 10:24AM
Sverre said...
I gave up halfway through this episode, and wiped the show off my DVR. The pilot was cute, but now it's just grating on the nerves. The narration is annoying, the constant repeating of the basic premise of the show (enough already, we get it!), the constant yapping of the characters (I wanted to yell at the TV, enough! Shut up!).
This would have worked so much better as a 2-hour movie.
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