Pushing Daisies is a procedural with a Tim Burton-esque, fantasy twist. The story centers on Ned, a pie maker who has a gift and a curse – if he touches a dead thing once, whether it be human, plant, fruit – it comes back to life. Touch it twice, the thing is dead forever. And, if the reanimated dead thing is alive for more than one minute, the death “passes” to another being.
Ned uses his power to help his best friend, sourpuss Detective Emerson Cod, in solving murders by questioning the victims after they’ve died. When Ned has the chance to restore life to his childhood sweetheart Charlotte, he does. A romance inevitably evolves, but with a twist – they can never touch one another.
The fact that this new show is so premise-heavy is it’s own blessing and curse. A new take on the old murder-detective one-hour is enough to pull viewers in for at least a few episodes, hopefully enough to hook them. It was certainly enough to turn the heads of enough studio execs. However, after the first season, despite being shortened by the writers’ strike, the show is obviously going to have to make some big changes and deliver plenty of reveals to keep its momentum. And the season finale gave viewers just enough hope that this would be the case.
The important lesson to learn from Pushing Daisies is that finding a new way to twist and mix genres will always give you the upper-hand.
