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Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Gregor Cameron & Noor Razzak (20th December 2008). |
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The Show
 "Pushing Daisies" is as fresh as "Chuck" (2007-Present) is derivative. It holds many similarities to the other but manages to mix these formulas up in ways that bring an endearing smile to the viewer’s lips. "Pushing Daisies" has a character named Chuck (Anna Friel) but in this case she is not the lead however much of the lead’s motivations spring from her provocations. In New Zealand "Pushing Daisies" played on a Monday at 9:30pm- a slot that was taken over by "Ghost Whisperer" (2005-Present). Each episode ran the commercial hour, which in DVD terms works out at approximately 40-42 minutes. Each episode contains a complete story with some serialization to hook the series together. However in "Pushing Daisies" case the lines of serialization are greater than the typical. Each episode runs to a clear formula based around the classic three act narrative structure. But here is where this series comes into it’s own. Contrary to the typical formulaic show it is more difficult to quite know where this show is going to go and the pleasure is all in the permutations that the creators bring to it. Series creator Bryan Fuller, a "Star Trek" alumnus ("Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) and "Voyager" (1995-2001)), has previously tickled the fantasy genre with "Wonderfalls" (2004) and "Dead Like Me" (2003-2004) both of which were critically well spoken of but, like "Pushing Daisies," have failed to quite hit the much needed ratings points. As Joss Whedon found with "Firefly" (2002-2003) it is not enough to have a great central conceit if the demographic don’t get it and embrace it- hopefully these series will enjoy a better fate on this DVD format, allowing a greater number of potential viewers to gradually discover them. "Dead Like Me" was a teenager’s grim imprisonment in Reaperville but "Pushing Daisies" looks at death from the other angle. In common with "Dead like Me" the new show reads as a dialogue on responsibility and the consequence of action. In this it joins a number of shows such as "Six Feet Under" (2001-2005), "Ghost Whisperer" (2005-Present), and such shows as "Touched by an Angel" (1994-2003) in delving into Judaic/Christian theology with the presumption of life after death and a possible end point for the spirit. Clearly there is also the connection to the crime drama as well. However I suspect that Fuller’s shows would be much more comfortable alongside "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) or "Angel" (1999-2004) in the way they flirt with the subject. Young Ned (Lee Pace) discovers that he has the power to bring back living things to life. But there’s a price-first touch life, second touch death (final). He learns this as, when his mother dies and he brings her back to life, the payment to balance things must be paid and Chuck’s father falls down dead. Chuck (Anna Friel) is the girl next door whom Ned is in love with- she loses her father so that Ned’s mother may live- all the way to that night when his mother kisses Ned good night and dies again. So far so complicated. The series really begins as Ned, now a pie man living with an undead dog that he cannot touch, begins a difficult partnership with Private Eye Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) who has discovered Ned’s secret. Together they now can solve murders by asking the dead who killed them- Ned has one minute before the balance makes someone else dead. This conceit has been used in variant ways elsewhere in "Tru Calling" (2003-2005) and "Torchwood" (2006-Present). Their lives become complicated when a young woman is killed on a cruise ship and when Ned, finding himself talking to Chuck’s corpse, falls in love with her again and cannot bring himself to touch her again causing final death. Thus she finds herself undead- but this in turn causes another innocents death. Thus each episode in true formula style features a murder to solve but is also about the growing conundrum of the impossible love, and the desperate situation that being undead places Chuck in. "Pushing Daisies" manages to bring together a dream cast that fits into this world of magical realism without ever trying to fool us into thinking that it is anything other than a staged entertainment. It would not be far from the truth to see this show as a stage show as it makes great use of the interior studio sets, ever so cleverly just out of kilter with reality- full of lush, vibrant colour. The cast occasionally burst into song (and it would be great to have more of it) and the generally slightly over the top performances that the creators have given the actors permission to use all add up to a wonderful spirit that draws one into this mystic realm. All the actors seem to have the stage as a career highlight but some of the supporting ensemble particularly stand out. Ellen Greene (Chuck’s aunt, Vivian Charles), Swoosie Kurtz (Chuck’s other aunt, Lily Charles) and Kristin Chenoweth (the waitress at Ned’s Pie shop, Olive Snook) all have incredible careers behind them on the Broadway stage- most familiar to me would be Chenoweth’s Glinda in "Wicked" and Greene’s Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors." Olive Snook’s long-term unresolved sexual tension (LUST) over Pie Man Ned works a treat against the impossibility of Chuck and Ned ever being able to requite their love. Bryan Fuller, in contrast to the creators of "Chuck," brings to the table a wealth of creativity- Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz' only previous work seems to be "The O.C." (2003-2007) and "Gossip Girl" (2007-Present), which speak heavily to the demographic they are trying to reach. Fuller is inviting a much more sophisticated audience- one that is able to read the cultural text with much more of an educated eye. He expects more from his audience but judging from the fact that this series has been cancelled failed to reach. "Pushing Daisies" has that sense of guilty pleasure to it as if to love it would be to admit to something not quite in line with how we would like to be perceived. However such indulgences are all the better to be given into, gorged on and come out the other end refreshed- real life is all too serious to not enjoy the odd indulgence. "Pushing Daisies" the first season is made up of nine episodes and thank goodness there are some more "Pushing Daisies" to come. It would be a shame if these gems were all there was. And it is always disappointing how the lesser often works in America better than the greater. The nine episodes featured in this collection are: - "Pie-Lette" - "Dummy" - "The Fun in Funeral" - "Pigeon" - "Girth" - "Bitches" - "Smell of Success" - "Bitter Sweets" - "Corpsicle"
Video
Presented in the show's original broadcast ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is rather splendid, each disc only contains three episodes which allows them all to breath, so to speak. The series is nice and sharp and the image displays some excellent detail. I was impressed with the bold, striking and vivid colours. The show simply pops off the screen and looks good. I only wish I can see this on Blu-ray as I'm sure it would enhance the already excellent DVD image to full 1080p. Warners has done a terrific job with this show, the image is solid.
Audio
A single audio track is included in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The US Region 1 release features a 5.1 soundtrack and this show certainly needs one, with all the fantasy elements going on. The stereo mix is adequate but it could be much better, range and depth are limited and these are things that would not have been a problem had Warners included a 5.1 soundtrack. The dialogue is clean and distortion free, the series' score and music cues are well presented. That's about it really, it's an average stereo mix. Optional subtitles are included in English and Dutch only.
Extras
Warner Brothers has released this series without a single extra, nada, nothing, zippo! That is quite a shame as the US Region 1 release included a decent amount of extras that could have easily been ported over...
Overall
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