by Naomi Nevill

Created on: June 10, 2008

Pushing daises is a charming, quirky, American TV series created by Bryan Fuller, about life and death and then life again. The Narrator starts whenever introducing a character with there name and exact age.
The series revolves around Ned, played by Lee Pace, Ned is introduced when he is 9 years, 27 weeks, 6 days, and 3 minutes, but Ned is no normal 9 year old he discovers that he can bring the dead back to life when his golden Labrador Digby gets run over, but as with all good story lines, this comes at a price. If Ned touches something that's dead, it comes back to life, touch it again and it dies, forever. After Ned brings his dog back to life he can never touch it again, but until then the dog doesn't age.

The main setting is Ned's pie shop, The Pie Hole, where an older Ned and Olive Snook also works, unbeknown to him Olive it his secret admirer but she doesn't know his secret. Ned finds that his capacity to bring dead things back to life very handy when producing pies, making the fruit fresh. The Pie Hole is a delightful 60s style shop with bright colors, quaint round windows and lights in the shape of cherries, the entire world of Pushing Daises looks like it has come from a brightly colored home magazine from the past where everything is perfectly cookie. This strange fantasy style almost looks like one of Tim Burtons films but there's not a Johnny Depp in sight, ahh never mind.
Chuck, played by the gorgeous Anna Friel, is Ned's childhood sweetheart but they were separated when they were young so, as you do, when she is murdered on a cruse Ned brings her back to life, but as there relationship develops they find the no touching rule harder and harder and Olive's relationship with the pie maker goes on its head when Chuck turns up.
Charlotte Charles-Chuck lived with her aunts Vivian and Lilly Charles after her dad died, these eccentric characters certainly bring some surprises to the script, Chuck wanting to keep in touch with them out of love but not letting herself be seen by them, afraid that the shock would be too much.
Throughout the series Ned is constantly trying to keep his morels intact while bringing the dead back to life, but bringing someone back to life isn't easy though, if you keep them alive for more than 60 seconds then someone else has to die to replace them. Chi McBride plays the grouchy Emerson Cod, a detective who is in on the deal, all Ned has to do is bring people back to life for 60 seconds to ask who murdered them and prove it to collect the reward, as usual, never as easy as it sounds.
I thought that the first series of pushing daises was spellbinding. This surprising visual masterpiece is fantastic for all ages, innocent and romantic at the end of each episode you feel light and happy, always wanting to watch another and always wanting a slice of pie.

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