Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies
Second Pushing Daisies intertitle
Genre	Fantasy Detective Dark comedy
Created by	Bryan Fuller
Starring	Lee Pace Anna Friel Chi McBride Field Cate Ellen Greene Swoosie Kurtz Kristin Chenoweth
Narrated by	Jim Dale
Composer	Jim Dooley
Country of origin	USA
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Bruce Cohen Bryan Fuller Dan Jinks Barry Sonnenfeld Brooke Kennedy (ep. 2–7) Peter Ocko (ep. 8–22)
Producers	Production Companies: Jinks/Cohen Company Living Dead Guy Productions Warner Bros. Television
Production location	United States
Running time	approx. 42 min.
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 3, 2007 – present

Pushing Daisies is an American television dramedy created by Bryan Fuller. Fuller also serves as the show's executive producer alongside Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Brooke Kennedy, Peter Ocko, and Barry Sonnenfeld.

Described as a "forensic fairy tale", Pushing Daisies is about a pie-maker with the power to bring the dead back to life. The show premiered in the United States on ABC on October 3, 2007.

Due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the show completed only nine episodes of a full 22-episode season. On February 11, 2008 ABC picked up Pushing Daisies for the 2008–09 television season.

On July 17, 2008, Pushing Daisies was nominated for twelve Emmy awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Lee Pace), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Kristin Chenoweth), and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Bryan Fuller). It won three, for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series (Barry Sonnenfeld), Outstanding Original Score (Jim Dooley), and Outstanding Editing of a Comedy Series.

The second season premiered on October 1, 2008. As ratings declined, ABC opted not to order additional episodes beyond the second season's initial thirteen. By November 20, 2008, Fuller had confirmed that ABC had cancelled Pushing Daisies, though he also mentioned the possibility of wrapping up storylines in a comic book series or a movie.

The last scheduled episode of Pushing Daisies aired on December 17, 2008, while three episodes remain unaired; they will make their American debut at the 2009 Paley Fest. ABC will reportedly air them in the summer of 2009. According to Chenoweth, these episodes will not provide a narrative conclusion to the series. Season 2 premiered on January 30, 2009 at 10pm on ITV1 in the UK.

ABC is in negotiations to bring unaired episodes of Pushing Daisies to ABC.com without broadcast rights.

Plot

Pushing Daisies centers on the life of Ned, a pie-maker gifted with the mysterious ability to bring dead things back to life by touching them. There are some conditions to this somewhat unusual talent. Ned quickly learns that if something is revived for more than exactly one minute, something of similar "life value" in the vicinity drops dead, as a form of balance. Additionally, if he touches the revived person or thing a second time, it falls dead again, this time permanently.

In the pilot episode, Ned discovers his gift as a child by resurrecting his Golden Retriever, Digby, after the dog is hit by a truck. He later brings back his mother when she dies of an aneurysm. However, in doing this, he accidentally causes the death of the father of his neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, as the "price" of keeping his mother alive. Even worse, Ned's mother falls dead permanently when she gives him a good-night kiss (which is how he learns the effect of the second touch).

In their childhood, Ned and Chuck become separated after Chuck's agoraphobic aunts, Vivian and Lily, move in to take the role of her parents, while Ned is shipped off by his father to a lonely boarding school.

Inheriting his mother's baking talents, Ned becomes a pie-maker who owns a restaurant called "The Pie Hole", which he runs with the help of waitress Olive Snook (Kristen Chenoweth). The restaurant is failing financially when private investigator Emerson Cod accidentally discovers Ned's gift and offers him a proposal: Ned will bring murder victims back to life, inquire about the circumstances of their untimely death, then touch them once more, all before his set limit of sixty seconds is up. Emerson will then solve the case and they will split the reward money for solving the unanswered questions surrounding the death.

The scheme succeeds until they learn that Chuck, whom Ned hasn't seen since childhood, was murdered while on a cruise ship. When her body is shipped back home, Ned revives her, but can't bring himself to allow her to stay dead by touching her a second time. Against his better judgment, Ned allows her to live and the larcenous funeral home director falls dead in her place. Ned and Chuck fall in love again and he brings her home to live with him under the unique circumstances of their never being able to touch each other. Chuck is extraordinarily grateful upon receiving a second chance at life, and as such she starts to appreciate life as a truly precious resource and Ned, witnessing his vivacious beauty's happiness, begins to break out of his lonely shell. Other storylines include Emerson's search for his missing daughter, Olive Snook's love for Ned and friendship with Chuck, and Chuck's aunts trying desperately to get over their dead niece.

Cast

Main article: List of characters in Pushing Daisies

Cast	Character	Notes
Lee Pace	Ned	Pie Hole owner and head pie maker
Anna Friel	Charlotte "Chuck" Charles	Ned's childhood sweetheart, murdered, but brought back to life by Ned
Chi McBride	Emerson Cod	Private eye, Ned's business partner
Jim Dale	Narrator	Third-person omniscient
Field Cate	Young Ned	Made a regular in the second season premiere
Ellen Greene	Vivian Charles	Chuck's aunt
Swoosie Kurtz	Lily Charles	Vivian's sister
Kristin Chenoweth	Olive Snook	Pie Hole waitress, and "hopelessly devoted" to Ned.
Orbit	Digby	Ned's dog

Guest stars

• It was originally announced that Paul Reubens would be guesting as Alfredo Aldarisio, a traveling homeopathic antidepressant representative/salesman. The role was recast with three-time Tony nominee Raul Esparza. Reubens instead has been cast in the recurring role of Oscar Vibenius, a former olfactory expert who works for the Department of Water and Power. Oscar smells something peculiar about Chuck — and Digby, as well — and decides to get to the bottom of it.
• E! Online columnist Kristin Dos Santos did a one-line cameo in episode 1.03, "The Fun in Funeral".
• The Soup host Joel McHale appeared in episode 1.06 as Harold Hundin, a polygamist dog breeder who was killed by one of his wives.
• Molly Shannon appeared as Dilly Balsam, the owner of a saltwater-taffy emporium that sets up a shop across the street from the Pie Hole. It was originally planned for Shannon to be in more than one episode. However, due to the strike, this was not to be.
• Mike White appeared as Dilly Balsam's brother and co-owner of a saltwater-taffy emporium, Billy Balsam.
• Christopher Sieber appeared as Napoleon LeNez in episode 1.07
• Peter Cambor played "Dusty Fitz" in episode 2.01 "Bzzzzzzz!"
• In "Circus, Circus", actress Rachael Harris played Georgeann Heaps.
• Wonderfalls alumna Diana Scarwid played the Mother Mary Mary, the Mother Superior of the nunnery that Olive joins, in the first three episodes of the second season.
• David Arquette appeared in several episodes as "Randy Mann", a man who befriends Ned and is described by Bryan Fuller as the sort of man Ned would be had he not had the magical powers.
• Stephen Root appeared in a four-episode arc as Dwight Dixon, a mysterious man who is connected to both Ned and Chuck's fathers.
• Fred Willard appeared in the episode "Oh Oh Oh...It's Magic" as magician The Great Herrmann. Reno 911's Kerri Kenney played his assistant, Alexandria.
• Best Week Ever host Paul F. Tompkins appeared as The Geek in "Oh Oh Oh... It's Magic".
• Josh Randall appeared in two episodes as Chuck's father Charles Charles.
• Daeg Faerch appeared as Ingmar in "Dim Sum, Lose Some" and "Comfort Food"
• French Stewart appeared as Woolsey Nicholls in the episode "Bzzzzzzz!"
• David Koechner appeared as Merle McQuoddy in the second season's episode "The Legend of Merle McQuoddy"
• Orlando Jones appeared as Magnus Olsdatter in the second season episode "The Norwegians"
• Michael Weaver appeared as Nils Nilson in the second season episode "The Norwegians"
• Ivana Milicevic appeared as Hedda Lillihammer in the second season episode "The Norwegians"
• George Hamilton made an uncredited cameo appearance as Ned's father in the second season episode "The Norwegians"

Production

Production history

The series was greenlit and given a 13-episode order by ABC on May 11, 2007. On October 23, 2007, the show received a full season order. However, scripts for only nine episodes were completed before the start of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Bryan Fuller reportedly made last-minute changes to the ninth episode to allow it to serve as a season finale, adjusting the episode to be a cliffhanger.

Due to the strike, Pushing Daisies did not finish its order of a 13-episode season. Instead, the writers planned to start work on the second season with production restarting around March to June 2008.

ABC gave the green light to an initial 13 episodes for Season 2. However, on Nov. 20th, 2008, it was confirmed that ABC would not order a full second season and would instead cancel the show.

Visual design

Production Designer Michael Wylie told TV Guide that, "My goal was a storybook come to life. I wanted everything to look almost like an illustration." He achieved this by "concentrating on conflicting patterns in different colors, particularly reds and oranges, but per director Barry Sonnenfeld, virtually no blues." Cinematographer Michael Weaver told Variety that he and the producers decided the visuals should "feel somewhere between Amélie and a Tim Burton film — something big, bright and bigger than life."

Automobiles featured in the series are often mint-condition vintage vehicles, though some newer vehicles have been used (such as a mid-1990s Chevrolet Lumina APV minivan or a Hummer). Emerson drives a mid-1960s Lincoln Continental with suicide doors in like-new condition. Ned is also seen driving a very old, but like-new car, a Mercedes-Benz W108. Other characters drive decades-old vehicles as well. 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor cars in their ambulance and hearse configurations figure frequently in the series. Old-fashioned trolley cars are also seen in several shots panning in to the Pie Hole.

Quirkiness

The distinctive visual style of the show is complemented by noticeably quirky traits in the naming of characters and locations and also in plotlines themselves.

Many characters' names are alliterative, and some have duplicate (or near-duplicate) fore- and surnames: Deedee Duffield, Billy Balsam, Charles Charles, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, John Joseph Jacobs, and so on. This doubling up of names is also apparent in many other things (i.e. Coeur d'Coeurs, Boutique Travel Travel Boutique, Darling Mermaid Darlings), and a theme of "pairs" is apparent in episodes' plots (a pair of monkey statuettes in the pilot episode, for instance).

The distinctive storybook-esque style is continued within the overall design of the visual aspects. Regardless of the fact that the show focuses on murder investigations, the morgue is still painted in candy-cane stripes and many of the outfits worn by the characters are vibrantly colored, bright, and cheery (for example, Olive's work uniform is a lime-green pintucked dress, and Emerson is frequently seen wearing shades of purple).

CGI is very prominent in the series, with much use of blue screen technology (the shop window, similar set pieces and outdoor scenery outside often cast a blue halo tinge) and 3d set-extensions (streets, grass and landscape, the pie shop facade). It has been criticized that due to the lack of blue hues in the background replacements, a green screen would have fared slightly better for chroma key effects. It has mostly been given a "not-quite photo-realistic" look to emphasize the storybook surreality.

Music

The show contains original music composed and arranged by Jim Dooley. The first six minutes of the series pilot, "Pie-lette" were composed by Blake Neely. Dooley describes the musical score as having an Amélie type of sound (Yann Tiersen), which is a "wide-angled," adult fairy tale, with a narrator and this super-real world." It was recently announced on Dooley's web site that the soundtrack of the first season was originally going to be released by Varese Sarabande on October 21, 2008, then was pushed back to November 4, 2008, then was pushed back again to December 9, 2008, then again to December 16, 2008, and a fourth time to December 23, 2008. The reason for these delays is to clear negotiations with various record labels to use the songs in the show as well as with Sony Classical to use Kristin Chenoweth's voice on the album. As of December 10, 2008, the soundtrack is available on iTunes.

Both Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene have backgrounds in musical theater, and have performed musical numbers in some episodes. In Dummy, Chenoweth sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from the movie musical Grease. In Pigeon, Chenoweth and Greene harmonized on the They Might Be Giants hit, "Birdhouse in Your Soul". Also in Smell of Success, Greene sang "Morning Has Broken". Chenoweth had requested to sing "Eternal Flame" in an episode, which Bryan Fuller had agreed to accommodate. The song was sung in episode 8 of season 2.

Comics

The show's official website includes a comic book that was distributed at the 2007 Comic-Con International in San Diego, which features new mysteries and background information not shown on the televised episodes. The book also contains recaps of aired episodes.

After the show struggled in the ratings during its second season, Bryan Fuller said that should ABC not pick up the series for additional episodes he would release comic books, and maybe a movie, based on the show in order to wrap up outstanding stories for fans. Warner Bros. has recently given the okay to Fuller to produce comic books.

Connections to other shows

• In "Bzzzzzzz!" Ned says he's a temp from Happy Time Temporary Services. This is the temp agency that George Lass works at in Bryan Fuller's Dead Like Me.
• Beth Grant reprised her role as Marianne Marie Beetle from the Wonderfalls episode "Muffin Buffalo" in the second season episode "Comfort Food".
• In the episode "Legend of Merle McQuoddy", many references to the 1977 Disney movie Pete's Dragon can be found: A lighthouse keeper loses her lover to a storm at sea, and continues watching for him from her lighthouse. Her son is named Elliot, her husband named Merle and their last name is McQuoddy. At one point, two characters seek refuge in a cave by the sea. "Candle on the Water", a song from Pete's Dragon, is sung. Also, series regular Jim Dale (the narrator), starred as Doc Terminus in Pete's Dragon.

Reception

U.S. ratings

See List of Pushing Daisies episodes for per-episode ratings

According to The Los Angeles Times, the heavily-promoted pilot episode ("Pie-lette") attracted over 13 million viewers in the United States; it was the most-watched new series and 14th in overall viewership for the week.

Season		Premiere	Final	Timeslot	U.S. ratings	Network
1	2007	October 3 2007	December 12 2007	Wednesday 8:00 PM EST	9.42 million	ABC
2	2008-2009	October 1 2008	December 17 2008	Wednesday 8:00 PM EST	5.45 million (as of "The Norwegians")	ABC
Overall					7.44 million	ABC

Critical reception

Critics responded well to the series, comparing the style and direction to that of director Tim Burton. The pilot, before it officially aired, was well-received by critics who were able to screen it. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello claimed that "ABC has found its next Lost!" upon review and the series has also been touted as "the fall show with the most spring buzz" by many, including the trade publication Variety. New York Magazine also provided it with a rave review, calling it "funny, imaginative and smart" while also claiming it "boasts Gilmore Girls-speed wit." Television Without Pity declared it "one of the most original, most genuinely entertaining shows on TV. It's filled with tongue-tying turns of phrase, fabulous set design and a fantastic cast." Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at #5. The show was also heavily promoted by E! online columnist Kristin Dos Santos (who guest starred in one episode as the "30's Woman") and was featured in her Top 10 shows of 2007.

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Category	Award Show	Recipient(s)
2007	Won	Best New Series	Family TV Awards
	Won	Best Television Series, Comedy, or Musical	Satellite Awards
	Nominated	Actress in a Television Series, Comedy, or Musical		Anna Friel
	Nominated	Actor in a Television Series, Comedy, or Musical		Lee Pace
2008	Nominated	Best Performance in a TV Series - Young Actor Ten or Under	Young Artist Awards	Field Cate
	Nominated	Best New Comedy	People Choice Awards
	Nominated	TV Series, Musical or Comedy	Golden Globe Awards
	Nominated	Best Actor, TV Series, Musical or Comedy		Lee Pace
	Nominated	Best Actress, TV Series, Musical or Comedy		Anna Friel
	Won	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television - Comedy Series (for "Pie-lette")	DGA Awards	Barry Sonnenfeld (Director), Gabriela Vasquez (Unit Production Manager), Chris Soldo (First Assistant Director), Greg Hale (Second Assistant Director), Renee Hill-Sweet (Second Second Assistant Director)
	Nominated	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series'/Pilot for "Pie-lette"	ASC Award	Michael Weaver
	Nominated	Best New Series	WGA Awards	Chad Gomez Creasey, Dara Resnik Creasey, Bryan Fuller, Abby Gewanter, Jim Danger Gray, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Rina Mimoun, Jack Monaco, Scott Nimerfro, Peter Ocko
	Nominated	Best Episode for "Pie-lette"		Bryan Fuller
	Nominated	Outstanding Art Direction for a Single Camera Series for "Pie-lette"	60th Primetime Emmy Awards	Micheal Wylie (production designer), Halina Siwolop (set decorator)
	Nominated	Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series		Camille Patton, C.S.A., Meg Lieberman, C.S.A., Jennifer Lare, C.S.A.
	Nominated	Outstanding Costumes for a Series for "Pie-lette"		Mary Vogt (costume designer), Stephanie Fox-Kramer (costume supervisor)
	Won	Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Pie-lette"		Barry Sonnenfeld
	Nominated	Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series for "Smell of Success"		Daniel Curet (department head hairstylist), Yuko Tokunaga-Koach (key hairstylist)
	Nominated	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series		Lee Pace
	Nominated	Outstanding Makeup for a Single Camera Series (non-prosthetic) for "Smell of Success"		Todd A. McIntosh (department head makeup artist), David De Leon (key makeup artist), Bradley M. Look (additional makeup artist)
	Won	Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (original dramatic score) for "Pigeon"		Jim Dooley
	Won	Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (single or multi-camera) for "Pie-lette"		Stuart Bass, A.C.E.
	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series		Kristin Chenoweth
	Nominated	Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Pie-lette"		Bryan Fuller
	Nominated	Breakout Performance	Scream Awards	Anna Friel
	Won	Outstanding Grading for "The Fun in Funeral"	Hollywood Post Alliance Awards	Joe Hathaway for LaserPacific Media Corporation
	Won	Outstanding Editing for "Pie-lette"		Stuart Bass, A.C.E.
	TBA	Best Original Score - TV	Hollywood Music Awards	Jim Dooley
	TBA	Actress in a Supporting Role	Satellite Awards	Kristin Chenoweth
	TBA	Television Series, Comedy or Musical
	TBA	Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical		Lee Pace
	Won	Best Comedy	Family TV Awards

DVD and Blu-ray release

Season 1 was released simultaneously on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Region 2 on June 23, 2008 and Region 1 on September 16, 2008. It was released in Region 4 on December 9, 2008.

The bonus features are encompassed in one "delicious interactive featurette with flavorful, fresh-baked pie slices as your entree and cast/creative team members dishing forkfuls of series secrets." The featurette, entitled Pie Time -- Time for Pie, includes mini-commentaries of most episodes with creator Bryan Fuller and actor Lee Pace and behind-the-scenes information on set design, the visual aspects of the show, the casting, the costume design, and the special effects.

International Broadcasters

Country	Broadcaster	Series Premiere	Timeslot
Australia	W Channel	April 2009	unknown
Germany	ProSieben	October 2008	21:15 (9:15 pm)
Israel	Yes Stars Drama	Series 1 premierd April 8 2008	21:15 (9:15 pm)

Series 2 premiers April 21 2009 - it was confirmed that all 13 episodes (including those not aired in the US) will air.

External links

• Watch the first five episodes at TheWB.com