TV Barn and TeeVee.net nutshell guide to the Fall 2007 premieres

Pushing Daisies

Official "Pushing Daisies" web site

Ned the pie man had no life plan; his lot wasn't fair.
Said Ned the pie man to his dead friend, "Let me touch your hair."
Said the dead friend to the pie man, "I was dead before."
Said Ned the pie man to his girlfriend, "If I touch you you'll live no more."

Ned (Lee Pace) bakes pies, but his magic power is to bring people back to life with just a touch, but only for a moment. When his childhood sweetheart dies, though, he breaks the rules and brings her back to life to stay. Now he and his accomplice (Chi McBride) use Ned's power to fight crime. And all the while their story is narrated by Jim Dale, the man who narrated all of the Harry Potter audiobooks.

Aaron's take:	Originally conceived as a spinoff of "Dead Like Me," this show sports a bright palette and a whimsical mood that often feels forced. But it certainly grabs your attention, and its odds of success are good, with charitable reviews from other critics and the gift of airing "Lost's" original time period.
When It’s On	Wednesday at 8/7 Central, ABC
When It Starts	Saturday, October 3
What It’s Up Against	Kid Nation (CBS), Deal or No Deal (NBC), Back to You/'Til Death (Fox), America's Next Top Model (CW)
Starring...	Lee Pace, Chi McBride, Kristin Chenoweth, Swoosie Kurtz
Cliche-o-Meter	Sci-Fi Geeks Guys named Chuck Annoying Narrator
Fandom Factor	Hot

Full Review

There's a terrific new series starting Sept. 8 called "Torchwood." Airing that night on BBC America and nine days later in high definition (and uncut) on HDNet, it's a "Doctor Who" spinoff ("Torchwood" is an anagram) that opens with the fresh-faced supernatural spy team trying out a new device they've been given -- a knight's glove that can touch corpses and bring them back for two minutes, enough time to potentially solve a crime by learning from the victim himself who did the deed. I mention this because that is pretty much the premise for "Pushing Daisies," a fanciful hour dramedy on ABC from the creator of "Dead Like Me" and director Barry Sonnenfeld, best known for "Men In Black" and not so well known for ABC's attempt at a "Fantasy Island" remake a while back. "Pushing Daisies" is about a young boy who learns that his touch can raise the dead -- and can, with a second touch, put them right back in rigor mortis, never again to be revived. Soon the boy is a man, played by Lee Pace, and has found work with a private detective (Chi McBride) raising murder victims, learning just enough information to solve the crime, putting them back to sleep, and collecting and dividing the rewards. Reality TV it's not.

Filmed with a gorgeous palette, whimsical music and copious voice-over narration that might be described as a cross between "Desperate Housewives" and the Brothers Grimm, "Pushing Daisies" may be too precious for its own good. (The apartment scenes struck many critics this summer as a direct knockoff of the film "Amelie.") But say this about the show -- it's got people's attention. ABC has chosen to launch "Pushing Daisies" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the initial time period "Lost" once occupied. The show has good early buzz and Kristin Chenoweth is in the cast. And it's definitely not the same-old same-old, for which ABC is to be congratulated. If this show isn't pushing daisies come Thanksgiving, then it means this show had more going for it than just a pretty pilot. -- A.B.