Writer: Abby Gewanter
Director: Allan KroekerCast: Anna Friel (Chuck), Lee Pace (Ned), Kristin Chenoweth (Olive), Jim Dale (Narrator), Chi McBride (Emerson), Sy Richardson (Coroner), Field Cate (Young Ned), Molly Shannon (Dilly Balsam), Raul Esparza (Alfredo Aldarisio), Steven A. Ross (Guard), Leyna Nguyen (News Anchor), Wesley Harris (Science Teacher), Joe Don Harris (Cop), Tara Donato (Sheila), Tammy Dahlstrom (Woman), Reginald Veneziano (Tony), Nicholas Khayyat (Eugene), Abbe Meryl (Tina), Michael Cornacchia (Burly Bruce), Steve Hytner (Andrew Brown) & Mike White (Billy Balsam)
Emerson, Ned and Chuck investigate the death of a man who appears to have been strangled by a woman. Meanwhile, business at the Pie Hole is hit by the arrival of a new candy store..."Sometimes a crime of passion is not realizing the
passion in time, while other times the crime is
not seeing the world as it is. But most crimes
of passion are, actually, a crime."
passion in time, while other times the crime is
not seeing the world as it is. But most crimes
of passion are, actually, a crime."
-- Narrator (Jim Dale)
I'm really enjoying how Pushing Daisies' stories spread out into unexpected territory. At first, Bitter Sweets seems to involve someone's strangulation by a life-size plastic doll belonging to a man called Burly Bruce (Michael Cornacchia), who considers plastic "Sheila" his girlfriend. As we ponder the suitability of a whimsical take on Lars And The Real Doll, the plot quickly twists around to concern murder at a candy store, owned by Dilly Balsam (Saturday Night Live's Molly Shannon)...
The candy store, Balsam's Bittersweets Taffy and Sweets Emporium, is run by Dilly and her brother Billy (producer/writer/actor Mike White), who become enemies of the Pie Hole after a misunderstanding – which it's later revealed was orchestrated by Dilly to enable her to put the Pie Hole out of business. After the Balsam's ensure a surprise visit from a health inspector, Ned (Lee Pace) is unable to explain why he has a pantry full of rotting fruit. The truth is he can restore the produce to full health with a simple life-giving touch, before baking them in his pies. But he can't use that as an excuse for the clear health hazard, now can he?
The gloves come off for Olive (Kristen Chenoweth) and Chuck (Anna Friel), who decide to retaliate by dressing up as cat burglars (oooh, sexy) and sneaking into the Emporium at night – to let loose some rats in Dilly's kitchen. Once Ned hears of their underhanded actions, his straight-laced attitude forces him to try and reverse the damage, leading him to stumbles upon Billy's dead body in a pink vat of taffy. And, wouldn't you just know it, the police arrive to tackle an intruder at that very moment -- believing they've caught a murderer red-handed...
With Ned banged up in jail for a crime he didn't commit (and sharing a cell with oddball Burly Bruce), Emerson (Chi McBride) is forced to try and solve the mystery of killed Billy and dumped his body in the Emporium's vat – using everyday means of detection, as he can't use Ned's magic touch to reanimate corpses and ask them questions.
There's also a minor subplot for Olive, whose potential love interest Alfredo Aldarisio (Raul Esparza) returns to the Pie Hole, but is back on the road before Olive decides she'd like to start a relationship with the travelling salesman -- as pining for Ned is getting her nowhere. The storyline doesn't really have much kick to it, and I'd personally forgotten about Alfredo, but it was nice to see the writers move Olive away into her own romantic storyline – as the Chuck/Ned/Olive love-triangle didn't have much zing to it.
The script by Abby Gewanter was quirky, sharp, fast-paced and kept you on your toes. The narrative bounced around very well, after a slightly slow start, but only truly began to fly once the Emporium was introduced into the episode. It could be easy for Pushing Daisies to slip into a formula, but this episode proved it can keep things unpredictable, and I was very pleased to see a murder mystery where the culprit wasn't obvious.
The guest stars were all very good, particularly Molly Shannon as the villainous chocolatier and Mike White as her lame-brained brother. The main cast continue their good work, clearly very comfortable around each other now, and it was exciting to see Ned reveal his secret to Chuck in the dying seconds of the show. How will she react, knowing that her true-love was responsible for the death of her father? It should results in a fitting and emotional finale next week.
Overall, it took awhile to really settle into itself, but Bitter Sweets ranks as another impressive episode of Pushing Daisies. The show seems to have found its mojo in recent weeks, and I actually find myself excited to see a new episode now. It's been an inventive, quirky and original fantasy drama since episode 1, but now the character relationships are really beginning to pull you into the stories, and the imagination of the plots is really quite delightful.
24 May 2008
ITV1, 9.00 pm
