(S01E07) "The mere smell of it made him feel, if only for an hour, exactly like he wanted to feel: safe and warm and loved, which is why he became the pie maker." - Narrator
ABC lost a good and fun opportunity to offer Pushing Daisies viewers a chance to get up close and really personal with the show and maybe attract new people who would have been interested in a scratch 'n' sniff event! Yes, it would have been pretty much a copy of what NBC did last year with My Name Is Earl, but having a scratch 'n' sniff card to use throughout this olfactory episode would have been just as magical as the episode itself! Okay, maybe the smell of the sock and the sewer would have been terrible but it would have been interesting to smell Ned, Emerson, and "honey and death" (aka Chuck). Okay, maybe that would have been a bad idea. Let's move on to the episode instead.
Ned, the traditional pie makerAs pretty much everyone expected, Ned became a pie maker because of his mother issues. As the narrator described it, Ned wanted a way to reconnect with his mother, feel safe, warm and loved. Ned must have made pies with his mother when she was alive because, for a 9-year-old, he sure made tasty-looking pies.
These "safe, warm, and loved" feelings resonated all through the end of the episode when Ned caved in and changed his traditional pie menu to include Chuck's cup pies. That was a big step of Ned because allowing non-traditional pies on the menu was also a way for Ned to move on. As he tried to explain to Emerson and Chuck, he never really made connections with anyone (no real girlfriends) before because things got in the way... he lived for his pies, his mother's memories. He is now at a point where he's ready to move on... allow cup pies to enter his life.
Olive and the aunts
Oscar
Paul Reubens was supposed to play Alfredo Aldarisio, the traveling homeopathic traveler we saw a few episodes ago, but the creators decided to reshoot the scenes with another actor and have Reubens play another character. This week was his first appearance of.... well, depending on how the writers' strike goes, the number of episodes he'll be in can change. But, as the final scene of "Smell of Success" hinted, expect him to turn up again before the end of the current streak of episodes.
The storyline involving Oscar was unlike anything else I've seen on TV. It was a little bit predictable (I started pointing the finger at Napoleon when we learned that the new publishing date was not that great) but I don't recall the last time I've seen scent experts be the focal point of an entire episode. The writers clearly exploited that unusual job to its fullest because the episode was filled with references to smell and olfactory (Napoleon's last name, Lenez, means "the nose" in French). Kudos to the props department for that really cool "Smell of Success" book, I would definitely buy one as long as it doesn't explode!
Napoleon told Ned, Emerson and Chuck that a smell tells much more than the speaking word. He was able to smell death on Chuck, lust for someone (Chuck) on Ned, and the fact that Emerson was a knitting detective. Now, Emerson is a pop-up book detective! No matter, smell is powerful and Oscar won't stop investigating until he finds out what Chuck really smells like.
Other tidbits of interest:
- It was fun to watch Chuck plan her honey harvesting expansion. I'm not sure other people would have liked to have bees flying all over their rooftops though!
- The show paid homage to the Wizard of Oz by having the characters "follow the yellow thick hose!"
- Olive and Chuck are growing closer and closer but, as Olive warned Chuck, they have not reached the stage where Chuck can cry yet. Oops! Too late. Chuck cried!
- "I was a surprise, you made room for me." - Chuck to Ned
- "A slice of pie can't save all their problems." - Olive to Chuck
- "I don't always say everything I think." - Lily
- "I'm canceling my pre-order." - Olive to Napoleon
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-22-2007 @ 12:25AM
Midnight13 said...
Phase three has to be reunite them with Chuck. Since its their grief over her death that has caused the aunts' unhappiness. We got more singing, which I know some viewers seem to not enjoy. I'm fine with it, wonder when we'll get a full on musical episode of "Pushing Daises". Have I just mentioned some viewers' nightmare? I enjoyed Paul Rebuens guest-star, and would be happy if he was a re-curring character. I think they should give Olive a boyfriend. There's nobody pining for her, and she's the cutest thing on the show. While Ned and Chuck only have eyes for one another.
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11-22-2007 @ 12:56AM
Mari said...
God I love the Cheno. Seriously, she's freaking awesome. And I agree with the above comment, someone should pine for her.
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11-22-2007 @ 1:32AM
Bill said...
I'm iffy on the singing. The first one with Olive in the diner was waaaay too long. The birdhouse in your soul bit was short and sweet. Morning has broken went a little long for my tastes, too. But the thing for shows to do these days is to have some indie pop song playing over a montage, so it's not that big a deal to swap the indie pop for a character singing.
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11-22-2007 @ 3:31AM
nickmagoo said...
good lord, chenoweth looked SMOKING tonight. my eyes were popping out like a tex avery wolf. that mermaid outfit or whatever she had on...va-va-freaking voom. she totally needs a love interest to get pie man into more of a quandary regarding his platonic love vs physical needs...and why the hell don't chuck and pie man wear, say, latex gloves??? then they could at least do...something...to relieve their, uh, frustrations.
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11-22-2007 @ 8:35AM
fred said...
I for one never really liked the aunts, and I did not really enjoy that whole plot...
That said, the rest of the episode was good enough to have me only focus on and remember it, and it was nothing but goodness.
I loved the way smell was described, as a strong force and quick access to someone's soul, in a way. Felt quite close to how it's done in Perfume, which I love, and I really liked that.
I also really enjoed Oscar and I'm glad he'll stick around for a bit. I do like his interpretation of Chuck's smell more than Lenez's, cause I really didn't like that she would smell death, at all. If anything she should be smelling life, I think.
I've forgotten all about the aunts, and I'm only left with what was a great episode ! I really like that show.
http://88.191.26.34/i_watch_tv/2007/11/22/pushing-daisies-smell-of-success/
PS: have to mention my favorite quote of the episode, had me laughing out loud for a while :
"
- Do you really think people could change their lives by smelling the right smell ?
- If so I’m gonna get me some cash potpourri !
"
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11-22-2007 @ 9:08AM
Philip said...
Good show, but as for the whole "cup-pie" thing... uh, aren't those called "tarts"?
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11-22-2007 @ 10:16AM
edgore said...
I can't believe that you didn't mention the bear skin rug line - that cracked me up, and made me think about the wide range of possible problems that Ned has to deal with.
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11-22-2007 @ 12:26PM
alison said...
In the range of possible problems: can Ned wear leather?
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11-22-2007 @ 12:47PM
Ryan said...
Hee hee. I love how most episodes peope inevitably bring up the "how does Ned get it on?" question.
Anyways, I loved the episode as per usual. Man, I love Wednesdays this year!
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11-22-2007 @ 1:40PM
Veronica said...
Knitwit magazine (for knitting humor) had me rolling with laughter for a good couple of minutes :)
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11-22-2007 @ 11:29PM
bluekidcory said...
YES! the bear skin rug was hilarious. I couldn't believe it wasn't mentioned either.
TOODLES
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11-24-2007 @ 1:39PM
greg said...
Olive does have a smell.......Dog
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11-24-2007 @ 4:13PM
clgbutterfly said...
I have to say that Vivian's version of "Morning has Broken" was one of the most beautiful versions of this song I have ever heard. It was melodic, full and sweet. It made me cry.
Yes typically you would call Chuck's cup-pies tarts, but they are slightly different. They are made in muffin tins not tart tins and the name has more allure.
This episode was solid and I've grown to enjoy the Aunts, especially now that Olive is connected with them. I also love that Ned is panicking at Olive and Chuck's blossoming friendship.
Favorite moment when Emerson walked in where the sock was and put his finger over his mouth to keep from hurling. He's often very girly for such a butch man. Knitting, pink shirts, weak stomach. I love it!
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11-25-2007 @ 10:40PM
Gardenwife said...
This show is one of the most brilliant bits of eye candy I've ever seen. It delights my mind, brings me to tears, and makes me laugh aloud. The "Jews for Cheeses" picture the sisters viewed in the stereo viewer tickled me to pieces. What was the event where it was taken? I didn't quite catch that.
There are very few series I would watch repeatedly and therefore own on DVD; this is one of them.
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11-25-2007 @ 10:42PM
GW said...
Oh, and I love the musical numbers. "Morning Has Broken" brought me to tears, too, even as the humor of the Chinese lantern hats made me laugh. It's such a great combination, this show.
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11-27-2007 @ 7:17PM
Jack said...
To me, the funniest comment by anyone on TV this year was Emerson's response to Chuck's diatribe about the eating habits of C.H.U.D.'s - "Well, I hope they prefer white meat." I ROTFL my butt off at that! :)
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11-28-2007 @ 10:24PM
Scott said...
I loved the whole "Morning Has Broken" sequence. When the singer is that talented (Ellen Greene, or Kristin C.), why the heck not??? It adds an audio richness to a show that's already so much fun to look at (as does the clever dialogue).
But my favorite joke, not mentioned here, has to be "The Pop-Up Book of Sports Related Deaths", seen when they're first in the popup book shop. Unfortunately, we only see the cover!
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