Daniel's TV Blog

Last week my favorite new show of the 2007 season came to an end. Pushing Daisies finished up after 22 episodes. The last three episodes were burned through on a late Saturday night time slot. But at least we didn't have to wait until the DVD release. If you didn't watch them or TiVo them, caution SPOILERS AHEAD. You can also catch them on ABC.com.

The final episode had the funniest death of the entire season as Nora Dunn was eaten whole by a shark during a synchronized swimming show. This gave way to the Darling Mermaid Darlings coming out of retirement. And the quirkiness of the show never ends with the fantastic aquatic show. Although for a touring show the set looked nice and permanent. At the end we were treated to some closure and happy endings as well as only a small cliffhanger. Olive Snook got over The Piemaker and started a life with David Arquette and opened a Macaroni and Cheese restaurant in a building shaped like a cow. Emerson Cod got his book published and his daughter found him. After a fantastic pan through the entire town the show ended with Chuck "coming out" as alive to her aunts, thus ending their biggest argument and bringing harmony back to the Charles family. Farewell Pushing Daisies. I'll miss you.

Labels: Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies is on tonight. It is my favorite show right now. ABC really has some great stuff. This season Olive Snook went to live in a convent after the pressure of keeping everyone’s secrets got to her. Her Mother Superior looked familiar so I looked her up on the internets. It turns out she is none other than Mommy Dearest daughter and Other's sheriff, Diana Scarwid. Tonight the Pie Maker and Emerson Cod go undercover at said convent. There’s a death at the nunnery and they are on the case. Hopefully this will mean Olive will be returning to the Pie Hole. Or at least she’ll sing again. More singing!

The Mommy Dearest photo was from an outdoor movie in New Orleans taken with my iPhone.

Labels: Pushing Daisies

I watched a repeat of Pushing Daisies 1.02: Dummy and it is still enjoyable the second time around. The second episode set the standard for the crazy world they live in, where cars run on dandy lions and Olive hears music in her head.

This episode was what I call a "Cookie Episode". A Cookie Episode is the direct opposite of a Jumped the Shark episode. It's the moment a show goes from a show you watch and enjoy to your favorite show. These are very precious. The Simpsons episode 21, Bart the Daredevil was that episode for that show. The very first episode of LOST was a Cookie Episode. Motherboy XXX was the Arrested Development episode that had me hooked for life. Sadly it's life was only 53 episodes.

But the origin of the term Cookie Episode comes from episode 3.20 of Remington Steele called Steele in the Chips. Remington and Laura (with guest star the then unknown Geena Davis) invest the death of a cookie maker who made the most advanced diet cookies before his murder. Ray Romano's mom eats most of them with extreme guilt not knowing she wasn't cheating on her diet. The episode was the classic madcap pursuit episode as the characters ran all over trying to find the cookies. Easily the best episode of the series.

Labels: Arrested Development, LOST, Pushing Daisies, Remington Steele, The Simpsons

While I hate award shows, I do love to look at the lists of nominees and winners and look for trends. Once again the cable networks have hit big with 40% of the comedy nominations and 72% of the drama nominations. The odd thing about the drama nominations is the number. There were six series, five actors, and seven actresses nominated. Why not just pick five? Be decisive! If they can limit the comedy category to five, they should limit the drama category. CBS got no nominations. All the comedy awards were limited to shows on ABC, NBC, HBO, and Showtime. I may be wrong, but it looks like the most number of non-premium cable channels got nominations. Among that group are Damages, The Riches, Mad Men, and The Closer. I watched the first two and I'd love to catch up on Mad Men.

One of my favorite actresses got nominated. Christina Applegate was nominated for her new show Samantha Who? She was previously nominated for a Golden Globe for Jesse. I was one of the few people who watched that show. She was nominated and won an Schmemmy for her guest spot on Friends as Rachel's sister. I love her and love her show.

Both 30 Rock and Pushing Daisies picked up one nomination in each category. I'm very pleased. I've been worried that ABC wouldn't appreciate Pushing Daisies. My friend Lorna refuses to watch it because she doesn't want to get attached to the show only to have it get canceled. I hope now she will go back and catch up. 30 Rock continues to be the funniest show on television and despite my love for Pushing Daisies, this should win.

Labels: 30 Rock, Golden Globes, Pushing Daisies

I love Pushing Daisies. It is the best new show of the fall. It’s not just that it is a fun and quirky detective show. It’s all the other absurdities. Like the car the runs on dandelions. Or the aunts who were synchronized swimmers. Or the windmill village. Or the pop-up book store. So I love this show and it got picked up for a full season. Although with the writer’s strike that could be only nine episodes. Last night was the last new episode until the strike is over. There was a surprising twist revealed at the end which was obviously planned from the onset of the show. Dana Delany said on The View this week that Marc Cherry is confident the strike will be over by Monday. Let’s hope.

Since I love Pushing Daisies so much and so immediately, I checked out the other shows created by its creator, Bryan Fuller. Dead Like Me ran for two seasons and is currently in my Netflix queue. The short lived Wonderfalls only had 13 episodes and was fantastic. I think the main reason that show didn’t make it was due to unrealized expectations. That show appeared to be about a girl who inanimate objects would talk to and tell her to do things. This is true, but the show was about much more. The more was her crazy family, including Pushing Daisies Lee Pace as Jaye’s brother. The stuff would tell her to do stuff which would lead her to misadventures with her family. After only a few episodes these incredibly rich characters were starting to overshadow the Wax Lions and Barrel Bears. I don’t think FOX ever understood the show and they cancelled it after four episodes. Luckily all 13 are available on DVD. Be sure to watch the finale episode opening credits with the commentary track to hear several of the cast members singing along with the theme song, “I Wonder Why the Wonder Falls.”

Labels: Pushing Daisies, The View, Wonderfalls

Returning from vacation is never fun. But one of the things that eases me back into normal life is a TiVo stuft full of TV goodness. With so many choices what did I watch first? My favorite new show of the fall, Pushing Daisies.

Usually I don't like the show which all the critic love. But Pushing Daisies is such a wonderful mix of dark humor and whimsy it's hard not to love it. It's got the funniest narration since Ron Howard on Arrested Development. The sets are completely over-the-top and colorful and just wonderful. The main hang out for the characters is the pie shop called "The Pie Hole". I just love this show. So what is it about? The Pie Maker has a unique "Heroes" ability to bring people back from the dead with a touch. But there are consequences so he's got to be careful. Like any show, it is really the characters. And the characters are wonderful. I could go on but I want to go watch two episodes of Heroes.

Labels: Pushing Daisies