PUSHING DAISIES 1.9 - "Corpsicle"

Writer: Lisa Joy
Director: Brian Dannelly

Cast: Chi McBride (Emerson), Anna Friel (Chuck), Lee Pace (Ned), Swoosie Kurtz (Lily), Ellen Greene (Vivian), Kristin Chenoweth (Olive), Jim Dale (Narrator), Field Cate (Young Ned), Sy Richardson (Coroner), Sammi Hanratty (Young Chuck), Paul Reubens (Oscar Vibenius), Jon Eric Price (Ned's Father), David Alan Graf (Angry Neighbor), Tina Gloss (Ned's Mother), Grant Shaud (Steve Kaiser), Julia Campbell (Emma Newsome), Colby Paul (Abner Newsome), Michael Merton (Bill Richter), Jeff Marlow (Victor Narramore) & Audrey Wasilewski (Madeleine McClain)

Chuck runs away after discovering Ned's secret. Meanwhile, Emerson has to solve the mysterious deaths of life insurance agents and Oscar Vibenius returns..

"I won't bring him back so you can watch me
kill him again... I won't do that to you."

-- Ned (Lee Pace)

Apologies for the delay in reviewing the finale of Pushing Daisies, but here it is. "Corpsicle" wasn't intended to be season 1's last episode, but the writers' strike meant some rewrites turned it into one. To be honest, it's not particularly climactic, but it does involve the break-up of Ned (Lee Pace) and Chuck (Anna Friel) now that she knows he killed her father... and that's a meaty topic I wasn't expecting Daisies to tackle in its ninth episode...

Chuck has vanished after Ned told her the awful truth, meaning the Pie Maker is forced to walk the streets in the Christmas holiday season, trying to find her so he can explain himself. Emerson (Chi McBride) is as sympathetic as his cynical personality will allow, but really just wants Ned's help in another murder case. This week, various life insurance agents for Uber-Life are turning up dead -- usually frozen solid, or buried inside snowmen. The trail of frigid death leads them to a terminally ill teenager with a bad attitude -- but how can he possibly have killed the men who refused him a heart transplant?

Elsewhere, Chuck has gone to stay with Olive (Kristin Chenoweth), who keeps her a secret from Ned while she tries to get her feelings in order. Would it help if Ned used his gift to bring her father back to life, just for a minute? The show doesn't seem to realize that dead bodies decompose, and I'm guessing a minute-long conversation with a rotting corpse wouldn't be the best tonic. Chuck is also surprised when sewer-dwelling Oscar Vibenius (Paul Reubens) returns, last seen in "Smell Of Success", as he's becoming obsessed with why Chuck shares the "smell of death" with Digby the dog. Chuck is hesitant to reveal the truth to Oscar, but part of her feels like a weight would be lifted from her shoulders if someone other than Ned and Emerson knew the reality of her situation... but can Oscar be trusted?

In another subplot, Lily (Swoosie Kurtz) and Vivian (Ellen Greene) continue taking receipt of the Pie Hole pies with mood enhancers as flavouring, but Lily begins to hallucinate from the intake of drugs. This leads to a variety of trippy visuals for her to cope with, and also loosens her lips when it comes to telling Olive a secret about "dead" Chuck: she wasn't her aunt, she's her mother. Dun-dun-duuuhhh.

"Corpsicle" provided a decent climax for the season, which has thankfully been rewarded with a second. The situation with Chuck/Ned was more interesting than the mystery this week, but I still enjoy seeing Emerson and Ned investigate cases together, and the culprit wasn't that easy to guess. The motives for murder in Pushing Daisies can be just as silly as the modus operandi, but that's part of its charm. It's very much a live-action cartoon, with a fairy tale mentality, but the cast ensure it never becomes two-dimensional. The snowy, Christmas vibe was also magical, although I'm hoping a proper "Christmas Episode" will be written for season 2, as this one had too much going on to really focus on the season itself.

I'm also not convinced by how Oscar Vibenius is hanging around in the show, as it seems the producers just want to utilize Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman fans, I guess), but hopefully his presence will begin to impact the show when it returns. It seems likely he'll be told about Ned's gift soon -- but will it be better to make him a part of their crime-fighting team, or have him threaten to expose Ned? At the moment, Oscar seems genuinely interested in Chuck and just wants to help her, but we'll see how it pans out... there's something a bit sneaky about him.

Everything else was up to Daisies' usual high standard. The show has quickly settled into itself and, despite the fact there's a certain formula to its storylines, the ingredients that go into each episode are different -- and unusual enough to keep you entertained. The cast are all fantastic, the production design is exemplary, the mysteries involving, and the ongoing stories (Ned's secret, Chuck lying to her aunts, Olive stuck in the middle) help keep you coming back for more. The only character who's been quite dry in terms of back-story is Emerson, but this episode revealed he has a daughter -- so the writers have obviously realized Chi McBride deserves a meaty storyline next season. And I guess they have to replace Ned's guilty secret about killing Chuck's dad with something else now.

Overall, I originally had my doubts that Pushing Daisies could sustain its visual quality and not become narratively tiresome, but it actually delivered something no TV show is doing. It's pure family entertainment: visually delightful, laced with fantasy, imaginatively scripted, nicely performed... and just very easy to watch and enjoy. I wholeheartedly can't wait for season 2, which will hopefully refine the format even more.


1 June 2008
ITV1, 9.00 pm