A Show to "Pie" For

"Pushing Daisies" is revived for a thrilling second season.

If, one night, the Brothers Grimm went to a bar and drunkenly went home with Tim Burton, Nancy Drew, and Dr. Seuss, "Pushing Daisies" would be its' awkward offspring. From brainy brawny Bryan Fuller comes forth the fascinating fantasy of Ned the Piemaker (Lee Pace,) a pious person who precipitates people back to life. Such is Ned's tale (narrated by Harry Potter veteran Jim Dales) - to resurrect his childhood crush Chuck (Anna Friel), only to spend the rest of his life wearing bells on his slippers, avoiding the second fatal touch.

That is the premise; perhaps a little kitsch, but Pace and Friel play each flawlessly, with just enough deadpan to counter-act the whimsy. Equally as interesting is the pint-sized Olive Snook (the charming Kristen Chenoweth) who banishes herself to a convent to keep her secrets silent. In homage to The Sound of Music, Chenoweth swirls round and round a mountainous plateau like a blonde Julie Andrews, only to be told "here we value silence." Probably for the best, since Olive is harboring some zingers: that Ned accidentally killed Chuck's father, that Chuck's aunts don't know she's alive...again, that Aunt Vivian is really Chuck's mother.

It would seem, though, that "Daisies"'s producers felt it proper to summarize the entirety of Season 1, as fair-weather viewers will only now be tuning in. The effect seemed haphazard, shoving a savory season one into a To Go bag without the extra condiments or spice. Why not re-air the Emmy-winning "Pie-Lette" rather than recapitulate?

That aside, "Bzzzzzzzz!" presented a strong season premiere, with writers having more time to think about the story in the Writer’s Draught of 2008. No more agoraphobia for Aunts Lily and Vivian, it seems. They are out and about in the town of Cour d’Cour and are ready to live life again. Vivian (Ellen Greene) is the more naïve of the duo, unaware that her sister seduced her husband and a little bundle of joy in the form of Chuck resulted nine months later. Lily (Swoosie Kurtz) haunts Olive like indigestion from a bad slice of boysenberry pie, even to confessional. (The quote “Forgive me, Father, for I don’t like to be poor” is a smiley surprise).

And what of the weekly morgue investigations? More gruesome every time, this week’s victim, Kentucky Fitz (Autumn Reeser) is covered by livid bee-induced welts. And after Ned kills (or re-dead’s) her, a swarm of bees explodes from her mouth. Things are getting stranger, more bizarre. It makes you wonder when the mortician will interject more than the brilliant, “Mmmmm hmmmm” every time the Scooby Gang investigates a crime.

There are a few cosmic questions left unanswered: how much longer can this innocent It Happened One Night romance play out between Ned and Chuck? Eventually, they’ll have to touch, or at least try to. And then what? What about Olive obtaining a porky friend named “Pigby” to replace the canine one of “Digby”? And what of the strange juxtaposition of Emerson Cod (Chi McBride)? First, he’s a P.I., then he knits tea cozies for stress, next he makes pop-up books to find his daughter, what will he do next? His character most of all seems the most inconsistent.

For now, though, I’m stuck to this sweet forensic fairy-tale like Chuck’s fingers are after tending to her many beehives.

Bethertainment Weekly Grade: A-

Quote of the Day: Ned: “If I could breathe, I would vomit,” when Ned thinks Chuck’s aunts have seen her alive and well at the Pie Hole.