Inside TV

Daisies?

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You’ve heard the hype, so is “Pushing Daisies” on ABC as good as everyone says? Yes. Of course, you’ll have to decide for yourself this week, but I’m all for a clever, funny series with a twist. On the surface “Pushing Daisies” looks like a clever, paranormal farce about Ned (Lee Pace) who’s touch can bring things back to life. There’s just one problem: If he touches the person again they die for good. As you can imagine this can create problems, especially when Ned is unable to re-touch his long lost love Chuck (Anna Friel), who was murdered on a cruise.

It’s Ned and Chuck’s relationship that keeps this from being a murder case a week kind of show.  What happens when soul mates can’t touch? Not even hold hands or kiss? Chuck quickly becomes one of the crew, but she and Ned must constantly be aware of the fact they can’t be intimate.

Of course they have lots to keep them busy. Emerson (Chi McBride), a private detective, makes sure there’s always a case to solve. There is also Olive (Kristin Chenowith) the waitress at the pie shop Ned owns. And Lily and Vivian (Swoosie Kurtz, Ellen Greene), Chuck’s aunts, are always complicating things.

“It’s the relationships of all of these people that make our show interesting,” says Friel. “Nothing is as you might expect, and it consistently turns a way you could have never imagined. I enjoy that we can look forward to the unexpected.”

Great storytelling, quirky characters and a colorful palette make “Pushing Daisies” one you should definitely check out. And why so much color? Producer Barry Sonnenfeld says, “I turned up the knob to 11. Most shows are at 8 or at the most 9. You’ll see that 11 makes a big difference.”

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