Pie-lette
- Episode aired Oct 3, 2007
- TV-PG
- 42m
Ned uses his unique powers to bring his childhood crush, Chuck, back to life and solve her murder. But he is also forced to keep his distance from her, because if he touches her, she will be... Read allNed uses his unique powers to bring his childhood crush, Chuck, back to life and solve her murder. But he is also forced to keep his distance from her, because if he touches her, she will be dead forever.Ned uses his unique powers to bring his childhood crush, Chuck, back to life and solve her murder. But he is also forced to keep his distance from her, because if he touches her, she will be dead forever.
- Young Chuck
- (as Sammi Hanratty)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title is based on a play on words for the term of the first show of a series used to sell the series to the television network and advertisers, The Pilot.
- GoofsAfter Chuck's Aunt Lily shoots the intruder, her view of Chuck is obstructed by a wall blocking her "good eye." The wall actually would have blocked her right eye, which is the one covered with the patch, allowing her good left eye to see Chuck.
- Quotes
Ned: I asked you not to use the word "zombie". It's disrespectful. Stumbling around squawking for brains? That's not how they do. And "undead"? Nobody wants to be "un"-anything. Why begin a statement with a negative? It's like saying, "I don't disagree." Just say you agree.
Emerson Cod: Are you comfortable with "living dead"?
Ned: You're either living or you're dead. When you're living, you're alive. When you're dead, that's what you are. But when you're dead and then you're not, you're alive again. Can't we say "alive again"? Didn't that sound nice?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Pushing Daisies: Dummy (2007)
- SoundtracksMain Titles
(uncredited)
Written by James Dooley
The outsider is Ned (Lee Pace), a pie-maker with the most unique gift: he can revive dead people with one simple touch. However, as the deadpan, Burtonian narrator (Jim Dale) informs us, there are two caveats regarding his gift: firstly, if the revived person or animal stays alive for more than a minute, someone nearby will have to die as compensation (some "cosmic balance" nonsense); plus, and this is even worse, if he touches the resurrected ones a second time, they will die forever (which is what happened to his mother). Because of this, he lives alone with his dog Digby, whom he can't touch, and stays away from social contacts, investing all his energies in pie-making.
Well, not really: ever since a P.I. named Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) found out about his abilities, the two make money by bringing back murder victims for a minute and finding out who killed them. The morbid partnership is threatened, though, when Ned's childhood love Charlotte "Chuck" Charles (Anna Friel) is killed and he decides to keep her around. Meanwhile, Ned's employee Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) tries to find out how to win the lonely pie-maker's heart.
The main attraction of the pilot, apart from the admittedly twisted premise, is its visual side: in the hands of Barry Sonnenfeld, who had his fair share of black comedy experience with The Addams Family, Pie-lette is a poem in pictures, with dashing colors, deliberately exaggerated lighting and outlandish, out-of-time locations (again, pure Burton). It's a welcome return to form after the hit-and-miss Men in Black II, and the Emmy he won for directing the episode is abundant proof the producers' faith in him was well placed. Paired with Bryan Fuller's wonderful script (originally planned as a spin-off of the ill-fated Showtime series Dead Like Me), his artistic eye is vital in setting Pushing Daisies apart from, say, Desperate Housewives (since we're talking about dark comedies, the comparison is justified).
Cast-wise, it's like 95% of America's TV productions: absolutely perfect. Placing two unknowns in the leading roles (as a matter of fact, Friel isn't even American) makes it easier to root for them, and as far as on-screen chemistry goes, few things can beat the platonic combination of Pace's quirky likability and Friel's earthy charm. For the laughs, on the other hand, look no further than McBride (best known for more serious parts in Boston Public and House M.D.) and Chenoweth (who did a marvelous job on The West Wing), especially when they're together.
So, terrific writing, beautiful visuals, lots of irony and a cast to die for (pun intended). What's not to love?
- MaxBorg89
- Dec 4, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Stimson House - 2421 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, USA(Schatz Brothers Funeral Home)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD