ABC has struck gold with their new fall show PUSHING DAISIES which hands down had my jaw on the floor, my tongue in my lap, and my undies a little wet for the entire hour long pilot! It’s that good folks, trust me!

Creator Bryan Fuller, one of the masterminds behind the 13 hours of perfection known as WONDERFALLS, has created a whimsical fairy tale of tragedy and love, destiny, dead bodies, detective work, and a pie shop.

It’s one of the best hours of television I’ve seen since the premiere of Twin Peaks in 1990, My So Called Life in 1994, Buffy in 1996, Felicity in 1998, Freaks and Geeks in 1999, Alias in 2001, or Lost and Battlestar Galactica in 2004. All of the shows mentioned changed how I viewed television. They moved me, blew my mind, make me laugh or cry, put awe in my life and did things I never expected that shiny box to do.

While I can’t write an official review of the pilot because the final versions have not been released for review, I can give you some background information on the show and some general thoughts I had. They’re coming up, after the jump.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Pushing Daisies is about a man named Ned who as a boy learns that he can bring things back to life by touching them. First its his dog, then his beloved Mother. As amazing as it is, he quickly realizes that his gift comes with a price. Ned can only bring someone back to life for one minute. If after that minute is up, the original thing is not dead, someone or something in proximity takes its place. A hard lesson to learn with incredibly tragic consequences, believe me.

As an adult, Ned runs a pie shop called THE PIE HOLE (brilliant in name and decor) and has a little side business going with local detective Emerson Cod (played hysterically by Boston Public’s Chi McBride). Emerson witnesses Ned’s gift one day and decides to use him in his scam to collect reward money from relatives of the deceased looking to catch the killer or clues as to what happened. Harmless enough, right?

Harmless until their next job and Ned realizes that the girl he’s about to bring back to life to find the killer and collect the reward is his unrequited first love, his first kiss, and his old next door neighbor Chuck (it’s a girl, more specifically the incredibly cute and Zooey Deschanel-esque Anna Friel).

Chuck is the perfect match for Ned. She’s odd, alternative, and accepting of her circumstance and his. Oh, the chemistry between them is simply superb and makes me all gooey inside. SQEEEEEEEEE!

I won’t go into the rest of the plotline for the pilot. I’ll say though that more quirky eccentric characters come into play. Notably the always wonderful Swoozie Kurtz as Chuck’s Aunt Lily (the Eye Patch is worthy of Lynchian love) and the still loving her after Little Shop of Horrors and her recent stint as Sylar’s Mom Ellen Greene as Aunt Vivian.

The pacing of the pilot is dead on as is the mix of dark comedy and tragic romance. The narration blew my mind and the way in which the narrator speaks is something out of this world! The use of the English language is mesmerizing as is his measure of time. You’ll see what I mean when you watch it. Jim Dale (of Broadway and Harry Potter books on tape fame) adds this element of old tyme movie house feel mixed with Rankin Bass Sam The Snowman whimsy from my childhood that almost makes me swoon.

There’s a nod to Twin Peaks in one of the Pie Hole scenes that had my skin jumping. If only Peggy Lipton worked behind that counter instead of that midget Kristin Chenowith.

Lee Pace is hands down my new TV Boyfriend and noone is going to bump him from that seat this year. I’ve been in love with Lee since before Wonderfalls and one day he will be mine. Let it be known.

EXTENDED PREVIEW:
Want an extended peek at Pushing Daisies? Watch the extended Pushing Daisies Preview online.

ADVANCE SCREENING:
Also, if you’re in one of the following cities (Orlando, Atlanta, Lexington, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, or Seattle), click here to see how to watch an Advance Screening of Pushing Daisies.

Pushing Daisies will air Wednesday nights on ABC.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 7:38 am and is filed under Premiere, ABC, TV Boyfriends, Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies, Ducky Does TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.