Pushing Daisies

[eytanz]

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.

[Rachel Swirsky]

It really is good, and smart, and funny.

[DKT]

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.

[Heradel]

It really is good, and smart, and funny.

Seconded.

[eytanz]

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.

[DKT]

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?

[Rachel Swirsky]

Season 1 has lots of funny plot.

[Alasdair5000]

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:)

   

[eytanz]

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.

[DKT]

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.

[MacArthurBug]

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.

[eytanz]

The TV rumor mill 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.

[stePH]

The TV rumor mill 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?

[Heradel]

The TV rumor mill 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.

[stePH]

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?

[davedoty]

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.

[stePH]

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.

[Clutron]

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.

[Heradel]

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.

[eytanz]

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.

[Heradel]

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.

[davedoty]

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.

[eytanz]

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.

[Heradel]

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.

[DKT]

And now Bryan Fuller is back at Heroes. Man, life just isn't fair.