Escape Artists
PodCastle => Fantasy Discussion => Topic started by: eytanz on November 04, 2008, 07:33:08 PM
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I'm not normally one to advocate TV shows - I just figure others are better at it - but since my current favorite show is struggling in the ratings, and since it is on-topic for this forum, well, please check it out. A wonderful fantasy drama/mystery/comedy about a guy who can raise the dead, who uses his superpower to solve murders, his undead girlfriend, and a show-stealing supporting cast.
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It really is good, and smart, and funny.
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I'll put season 1 in my ever-expanding DVD queue. Preferrably, close to the top. I've heard really good things about this show.
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It really is good, and smart, and funny.
Seconded.
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I'll put season 1 in my ever-expanding DVD queue. Preferrably, close to the top. I've heard really good things about this show.
Season 1 was great, but season 2 so far is even greater.
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I'll put season 1 in my ever-expanding DVD queue. Preferrably, close to the top. I've heard really good things about this show.
Season 1 was great, but season 2 so far is even greater.
But I'm guessing it's one of those things where I'll benefit from watching season 1, right? Or can I just jump into the beginning/middle of season 2?
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Season 1 has lots of funny plot.
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I'll put season 1 in my ever-expanding DVD queue. Preferrably, close to the top. I've heard really good things about this show.
Season 1 was great, but season 2 so far is even greater.
But I'm guessing it's one of those things where I'll benefit from watching season 1, right? Or can I just jump into the beginning/middle of season 2?
As the show itself would put it, the facts are these:
Ned is a well meaning young man who found out he can raise the dead. This pleased him, especially when he brought back both his dog and his mother. It pleased him significantly less when he found out if the person resurrected lives long than a minute, the nearest person to them dies.
Ned runs The Pie Hole, a pie shop where he uses his talents to save a tremendous amount of money on ingredients and his skills as a Pie Maker to make his customers happy. He's assisted by Olive Snook, his waitress, a former professional jockey and a woman who carries a torch, of sorts, for the Pie Maker.
Ned supplements his income through solving murders and splitting the reward with craft-obsessed private detective Emerson Cod. The system is simple; they resurrect the victim, ask who killed them, Ned touches the victim again (Which kills them finally) and the reward is claimed.
The system is complicated somewhat when Ned resurrects Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles, his childhood sweetheart and...well...more than a minute passes. Emerson is less than happy, Olive is furious, Digby the dog is very happy to not be dead again and Ned and Chuck find themselves rekindling their romance in ways which are incredibly endearing and involve no touching whatsoever.
There is much more to it but fundamentally, Pushing Daisies is the oddest and arguably one of the best shows on TV at the moment. It's equal turns funny and horrific, sweet and twisted and it has, flat out, tthe best overall cast on TV at the moment (And given how much fun Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are on Supernatural, that's saying something.)
Jump into season 2. You won't regret it:)
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Actually, ABC pre-empted Pushing Daisies yesterday and as far as I can tell it's doing it again next week, so if you want to catch up and can spare a few hours, now is a great time to do so. There's only 9 episodes in seasons 1 and 5 so far in Season 2, so that's just about 10-11 hours to watch, entirely doable in a 2 week period.
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Actually, ABC pre-empted Pushing Daisies yesterday and as far as I can tell it's doing it again next week, so if you want to catch up and can spare a few hours, now is a great time to do so. There's only 9 episodes in seasons 1 and 5 so far in Season 2, so that's just about 10-11 hours to watch, entirely doable in a 2 week period.
Score. I will bump it all to the top of my netflix. Thanks, everyone.
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Dear giddy goodness I love this show. It's enchanting and strange, colorful and cute. There's an innocent charm that seems inherent in the whole project. The main actor manages to be cold, charming, sweet, and odd all at once. Brilliant! This show is going to break my heart, I just know it. When I get this caught up in something it almost always does. At this current time Pushing Daisies is my absolute favorite thing on (non-bbc) telivision.
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The TV rumor mill (http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b68886_pushing_daisies_really_dead.html#comments) is strongly implying that if ratings don't pick up over the next week or two, the show is cancelled. So, please, if you live in the US - watch Wednesday's show. Even if you've never seen the series before, you'll probably enjoy it - it has an ongoing story, but most episodes are self-contained.
I wish I could help, but I only get it via torrent from the uk, which doesn't really help anything, so I'm trying to pass the word instead.
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The TV rumor mill (http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b68886_pushing_daisies_really_dead.html#comments) is strongly implying that if ratings don't pick up over the next week or two, the show is cancelled. So, please, if you live in the US - watch Wednesday's show.
How does that help if I'm not one of the Nielsens? Or has the American TV rating system changed since the last time I bothered to wonder how it's figured?
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The TV rumor mill (http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b68886_pushing_daisies_really_dead.html#comments) is strongly implying that if ratings don't pick up over the next week or two, the show is cancelled. So, please, if you live in the US - watch Wednesday's show.
How does that help if I'm not one of the Nielsens? Or has the American TV rating system changed since the last time I bothered to wonder how it's figured?
If you have a cable box they sell that data to Nielsen. But yes, the Nielsen rating system is notoriously bad.
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If you have a cable box they sell that data to Nielsen. But yes, the Nielsen rating system is notoriously bad.
I have DirecTV; does that count? And what if I have the DVR record it to watch later?
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I'm not 100% sure, but I think DVR/Tivo-ings are counted separately; as in, the networks know you recorded it, and take it into account, but it doesn't factor in the same as live watching.
Never heard anything one way or the other about DirecTV; I'd assume it gets calculated the same as cable, but I don't actually know. If not, DirecTV exclusive channels don't get any ratings feedback at all.
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I'm not 100% sure, but I think DVR/Tivo-ings are counted separately; as in, the networks know you recorded it, and take it into account, but it doesn't factor in the same as live watching.
Never heard anything one way or the other about DirecTV; I'd assume it gets calculated the same as cable, but I don't actually know. If not, DirecTV exclusive channels don't get any ratings feedback at all.
Something interesting but not really on-topic: from watching Chelsea Handler's show, I do know that NBC cancelled Friday Night Lights but DirecTV picked it up and is running the new season as an exclusive -- and furthermore, NBC will re-air the season next year.
But I don't watch Friday Night Lights.
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I'm pretty sure Pushing Daisies is as dead as Neds mom. FOR SHAME. That show ruled. I really liked the sets they used...plus that narrator was hilarious.
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I'm pretty sure Pushing Daisies is as dead as Neds mom. FOR SHAME. That show ruled. I really liked the sets they used...plus that narrator was hilarious.
There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
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I'm pretty sure Pushing Daisies is as dead as Neds mom. FOR SHAME. That show ruled. I really liked the sets they used...plus that narrator was hilarious.
There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
ABC.
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I'm pretty sure Pushing Daisies is as dead as Neds mom. FOR SHAME. That show ruled. I really liked the sets they used...plus that narrator was hilarious.
There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
ABC.
Right, that one.
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There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
I hadn't heard the part about contractual obligation, and I've been following reasonably (but not perfectly) closely. Got a citation for that? Given how often shows get axed with eps in the can, I'll be surprised if that's the case, especially when they went into this season knowing that it was both very expensive and a bubble show in the ratings.
I just checked Wikipedia (far from perfect, but not a bad first stop when looking for news updates on things), ABC are negotiating for web non-broadcast rights, so that they could put the remaining three on their web site without airing them.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if we don't see them until the DVD release.
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There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
I hadn't heard the part about contractual obligation, and I've been following reasonably (but not perfectly) closely. Got a citation for that? Given how often shows get axed with eps in the can, I'll be surprised if that's the case, especially when they went into this season knowing that it was both very expensive and a bubble show in the ratings.
I don't know what the citation with me, but the series creator mentioned it in an interview I read, so at least I've heard the same thing Heradel did. Note that this is seperate from the fact that they discontinued the show - the three episodes have already been filmed, so the production cost doesn't matter anymore.
I just checked Wikipedia (far from perfect, but not a bad first stop when looking for news updates on things), ABC are negotiating for web non-broadcast rights, so that they could put the remaining three on their web site without airing them.
The fact that ABC has to negotiate here is another indication that they have some sort of obligation - otherwise, they could just do what they want, as with many other cancelled shows.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if we don't see them until the DVD release.
That's still a possibility, of course, and I wouldn't find it surprising either.
Note that ITV has started showing the second season here in the UK, and I'm hoping that they will broadcast all the episodes, including the final three.
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There are three episodes left that NBC apparently has a contractual obligation to air, but hasn't yet. After that it's dead.
I hadn't heard the part about contractual obligation, and I've been following reasonably (but not perfectly) closely. Got a citation for that? Given how often shows get axed with eps in the can, I'll be surprised if that's the case, especially when they went into this season knowing that it was both very expensive and a bubble show in the ratings.
I don't know what the citation with me, but the series creator mentioned it in an interview I read, so at least I've heard the same thing Heradel did. Note that this is seperate from the fact that they discontinued the show - the three episodes have already been filmed, so the production cost doesn't matter anymore. [...]
I saw it here (http://blog.al.com/scene/2009/02/good_news_for_pushing_daisies.html).
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And now Bryan Fuller is back at Heroes. Man, life just isn't fair.
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And now Bryan Fuller is back at Heroes. Man, life just isn't fair.
Le sigh
And.. Darn it I knew pushing Daisies would break my heart. After the first ep I remember saying "This show is brilliant, funny, sweet, and amazing. It'll never last"
Bah. Now it'll be bought on dvd and put on the shelf I keep for failed series that I loved.
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I just hope the writers found out in time to give the show a real ending.
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I just hope the writers found out in time to give the show a real ending.
From what I read, they did.
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Bah. Now it'll be bought on dvd and put on the shelf I keep for failed series that I loved.
Make room for Dollhouse. I guarantee you it doesn't last more than three weeks on Fox TV.
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I'm pretty sure Pushing Daisies is as dead as Neds mom. FOR SHAME. That show ruled. I really liked the sets they used...plus that narrator was hilarious.
The narrator is Jim Dale, who also read all of the Harry Potter books on audio. He does a great job of giving each character an individual voice.
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Bah. Now it'll be bought on dvd and put on the shelf I keep for failed series that I loved.
Make room for Dollhouse. I guarantee you it doesn't last more than three weeks on Fox TV.
At least it looks like they've shot/are finishing shooting the first 13, plus the pilot. So if they cancel we'll at least have as many episodes as Firefly had.
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Bah. Now it'll be bought on dvd and put on the shelf I keep for failed series that I loved.
Make room for Dollhouse. I guarantee you it doesn't last more than three weeks on Fox TV.
At least it looks like they've shot/are finishing shooting the first 13, plus the pilot. So if they cancel we'll at least have as many episodes as Firefly had.
I'm really tempted to not bother watching it. I've already had to take "Murder, Mal Wrote"* out of my lineup, even though it hasn't started yet. I just don't have the time.
* "Castle"
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Bah. Now it'll be bought on dvd and put on the shelf I keep for failed series that I loved.
Make room for Dollhouse. I guarantee you it doesn't last more than three weeks on Fox TV.
At least it looks like they've shot/are finishing shooting the first 13, plus the pilot. So if they cancel we'll at least have as many episodes as Firefly had.
I'm really tempted to not bother watching it. I've already had to take "Murder, Mal Wrote"* out of my lineup, even though it hasn't started yet. I just don't have the time.
* "Castle"
I'm going to watch the first few, and hope the odds are on my favor that Fox can't possibly be that sadistic twice. I mean that would just be inconceivable.
Right?
Guys?
[in a small voice] Hello? [/in a small voice]
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I just hope the writers found out in time to give the show a real ending.
From what I read, they did.
From what I read, they didn't - Bryan Fuller explicitly stated the show ends on a cliffhanger.
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if nothing else, the storyline will be wrapped up in a comic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_daisies#Comics)
this industry can't move onto the internet fast enough; away from the big studios to where individual viewers & donations will drive a series' survival.
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if nothing else, the storyline will be wrapped up in a comic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_daisies#Comics)
this industry can't move onto the internet fast enough; away from the big studios to where individual viewers & donations will drive a series' survival.
I prefer comics to nothing, but I've never been completely satisfied by the translation — I miss the actors.
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From what I've heard, there's a reason people have heard conflicting things. Apparently they did some re-editing so that the final episode itself won't end on a cliffhanger after all, but that the big storylines that have been running (assumably things like Chuck's father, Emerson's daughter, and so on,) will all be left dangling.
I've also read Bryan Fuller say that he'd like to wrap those danglers up in a comic while pursuing a movie, so that this theoretical movie could be a fresh start attempt to gather in new viewers, rather than being bogged down in past continuity.
Haven't heard even a WISH for a movie in the last couple of interviews, though, so he may have given up on that idea.
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Haven't heard even a WISH for a movie in the last couple of interviews, though, so he may have given up on that idea.
I'm gonna guess a lot of the movie hopes depend on DVD sales. Who knows? I never would've thought it possible, but it looks like a Veronica Mars movie might actually happen, so it's possible.
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The narrator is Jim Dale, who also read all of the Harry Potter books on audio.
*cough* Stephen Fry *cough*
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The narrator is Jim Dale, who also read all of the Harry Potter books on audio.
*cough* Stephen Fry *cough*
Yes, Stephen Fry did HP audiobooks as well--for the United Kingdom versions--and though some reviews mention he does give the characters personalities, the excerpts I've heard weren't nearly as interestingly done. Jim Dale does the U.S. versions and talks about that on his web site (http://www.jim-dale.com/harry_potter_questions.htm). And Jim is the narrator for Pushing Daisies (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0197715/).
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The narrator is Jim Dale, who also read all of the Harry Potter books on audio.
*cough* Stephen Fry *cough*
Yes, Stephen Fry did HP audiobooks as well--for the United Kingdom versions--and though some reviews mention he does give the characters personalities, the excerpts I've heard weren't nearly as interestingly done. Jim Dale does the U.S. versions and talks about that on his web site (http://www.jim-dale.com/harry_potter_questions.htm).
Overall I like Dale's readings over Fry's ... but Fry does Snape much, much better. The quietly understated sarcasm of Fry's reading beats Dale's sneering melodrama villain any day. You can almost hear the moustache-twirling when Dale reads Snape's lines.
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And it looks like (http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/04/breaking-final.html) the unaired final episodes will be out on the DVDs in July.
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ABC will air the last 3 Pushing Daisies episodes this Saturday...What? For Reals? For Reals.
Check DISSSSSS
http://abc.go.com/primetime/pushingdaisies/index?pn=index
Mod: Moved from Dollhouse discussion. Don't know what the hell it was doing over there.
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Hehee. Been listening to Drabblecast? :P (RE: "Check DISSSS")
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Oh man, I loves me some Drabblecast...I listened to about 1.5 years of backlog while painting my house...now I can't paint w/out thinking of it...so I've pretty much been scarred for life.
Also, I put my post in dollhouse cuz I was too lazy to find the for reals Pushing Daisies thread and they mentioned this show in that thread...duh...that's how I roll :)
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Anyone watching the last two pushing daisies? MAN, how are they gonna wrap this up? Any guesses?
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Anyone watching the last two pushing daisies? MAN, how are they gonna wrap this up? Any guesses?
I haven't seen the last few episodes yet (waiting for my girlfriend to catch up), but I'm pretty sure that they said they will not be wrapping up all the plot threads.
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They did their best to add some closure in postproduction, but as you can imagine, that's hard to do when the episode has already been filmed.
What steams me is that Bryan Fuller apparently asked if he needed to turn the 13th ep into a series finale, and was told no. So if the producers hadn't dithered so long, we might have had some semblance of closure (although I doubt all the balls in play could have been wrapped up in a single hour.)
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Wasn't Fuller a producer? Do you mean TV execs?
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Yes, the network execs. Brain issue there.