Shut Your Pie Hole!

I tend not to watch much TV. I don't like my schedule being dictated to me. Watch such and such, at such and such time. That's why I enjoy DVDS so much. The POWER AND CONTROL! Yes there's TIVO, but as much as people have recommended it to me, I just can't and won't embrace it.

Occasionally I'll blind buy a DVD TV season set based on the good things I've heard or read about it. The problem I've run into buying season sets is; I'm always a season behind. If the show turns out to be great, I have to wait about a year to view the next season. Just shut up you say. Just watch it on regular TV like the rest of us. End of problem Jackass! Well to that I say; yes I can, but no I won't. So there!

All the above babble leads me to this. Ladies and gentlemen of all nations; I have a new favorite show! "Pushing Daisies". I had previously viewed one episode on, (believe it or not) regular TV, sometime last year. It was OK. Beautiful to look at with it's high color saturation, but I just wasn't sucked in like I hoped I'd be. Despite that, I picked up the season 1 set about a week ago, and finished watching it last night. Wow! I'm very glad I gave it another chance. It drew me in slowly, but by the last episode I was in love. It's nice to be in love with something, if not someone.

If you haven't seen the show it's got a little bit of everything. Murder, mystery, along with some supernatural elements and even romance thrown in. It's not for everyone. It's quirky. Very witty in a dry kinda way, and it comes at you quickly. Kinda like "The Office", in the sense that you have to pay attention or you'll miss all the subtle humor, etc. It's atmospheric and "Burtonesque". It's very fairy tailish. The Pilot was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld who is a cinematographer turned director. He's also one of the shows producers. He directed films such as; The Addams Family, Men in Black, Get Shorty, and a few others. It seems pretty obvious to me, although I could be wrong, even though I'm not, that he's been heavily influenced by Tim Burton who makes beautiful looking films that tend to not be very cohesive.

The production values are amazing! This must be a very expensive show to produce. It's eye candy. It's original. I dare anyone to be able to compare it to anything that has been, or is currently out on TV. The casting is spot on. The acting very good. The show is narrated which can be difficult to pull off, but it works very well here, as the show is like a story book come to life. The sets are very cool. Lee Pace is very good as the damaged but sweet Ned. He owns a pie shop cleverly called the pie hole. Hence the title of this blog post. I'm taken with the sweet but rambunctious "Chuck", (she's a girl) as played by Anna Friel, whose Ned's childhood friend and love interest. The rest of the cast works well. I was somewhat aware of Kristen Chenoweth, (Olive) as an actress, but she's very funny as Ned's employee who's smitten with, and basically ignored by him. I have to say; Ms. Chenoweth is HOT, HOT, HOT! She's my new TV girlfriend. Dethroning Gillian Anderson. She of X-Files fame.

This show is so creative, so well written, witty and entertaining, that I fear it may not make it past, or complete season 2 which is just now airing. Unfortunately, it seems shows such as this, Wonder Falls, and Freaks and Geeks, get pulled too soon before they even gain an audience. Boy I hope I'm wrong.

Watch it. Give it a chance. I think with a show like this there are no gray areas. You'll either love it or hate it. Black and white. Done and Done!