Bad Habits

Season 2, Episode 3, Aired

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Olive calls on the Pie Maker and Emerson to solve a suspicious suicide of a fellow nun that she believes is murder. Meanwhile, Chuck tries to fill in her family tree and considers what to do in the present with her new lease on life.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • My favourite episode of Pushing Daises thus far, its marvelous.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By PinderPower, Feb 15, 2009
    Bad Habits is a fantastic episode that is genuinely crafty in its depictions and hilarious sequences which of course uses the fantastic Kirsten chenowith(Olive) to absolute pure hysterical advantage.
    this episode is fantastically written and wonderfully acted by our four leads plus the great use of scenery really brings this episode alive.
    when the killer is revealed it may also surprise viewers but also it will add to the charm of the episode, the scenery of the mountains brings out the acts of our characters and brings the scenes to life with the creativity of visual slapstick and artistic direction, this really is physical comedy at its genuine and most greatest.
    season 2 has shaped up to be something wonderful...lets see where it goes next week :)moreless

  • A great episode that moves the story on beautifully.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By hrgaffney, Nov 19, 2008
    This is Pushing Daisies back to its best. Great dialogue especially Emerson's snappy one-liners. I loved the way they used the TV Fathers Dowling and Macahey (Father Dowling Mysteries and M*A*S*H respectively) as their aliases.

    Finally Chuck finds out that Lily is her mother and she is so happy. I am also happy that Olive is returning to the Pie Hole. I felt the nunnery thing had gone on long enough.

    I too loved the fact that the pig was the murderer. I definitely did not see that one coming.

    All in all one of the best episodes so far this season. Hurrah!moreless

  • Why aren't viewers picking up this habit?

    8.0
    "Great"
    By entil2001, Oct 18, 2008
    It's been hard for me to get into this season, much like has apparently been the case for many of those who enjoyed the first season, but I think the cobwebs are falling away and the show has regained its stride. Very little of this episode was repetition, they didn't bother explaining Ned's ability again, and the overall story arc showed some progress. All in all, not bad for the third episode of the season.

    The writers wisely realized that keeping Olive away from the rest of the cast, and dragging out the subplot regarding Olive keeping the secret from Chuck, would be a bad idea. It's the kind of plot element that gets old very quickly. Instead of letting the secret remain with Olive, the writers gave it to Chuck. In essence, it seems like a small change, but it changes the dynamic in an important way.

    For one thing, it makes Chuck's decision to keep her revival away from Lily and Violet a lot more difficult. Even without knowing that Chuck is alive and well, Lily will not be happy with the notion that Olive might have told someone (otherwise, why would she leave the convent)? Ned has been given a reason to go looking for his father and gain some measure of closure. Oh, and the episode was full of sarcastic wit from Emerson, so that's always a good touch.

    Regrettably, the ratings are still not reaching the bar set by the first season. One would think that an intelligent and unusual offering like "Pushing Daisies" would be perfect during such difficult times, but maybe it's still too morbid for the liking of the masses. Unfortunately, it's forebears "Dead Like Me" and "Wonderfalls" also struggled and died young.moreless

  • I've always thought Lee Pace's acting was subtly brilliant.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By benner82, Oct 16, 2008
    I've always thought Lee Pace's acting was subtly brilliant. He was nominated for an Emmy for it. Even though he does a great job portraying Ned, I've always felt that Ned was a static character. But after this episode I suppose he was supposed to be that way. There is a great moment in the confessional where Ned and the Priest work out some of Ned's issues. That scene alone brings to light a whole new layer of Ned that we all knew was there but was suppressed by him. I'm certain that Ned's father will soon be part of the show.

    Maybe I just haven't noticed this in other episodes, but there were so many inside jokes/references. Like how the bell tower was a replica from the one in Vertigo. There was a slick reference to Hamlet and the Old Testament. I thought they slipped those into the script perfectly. And did anyone catch the references their undercover names made?

    Something I didn't see coming was that Chuck finds out that her "aunt Lily is her mom. I thought they would drag that out for at least another couple episodes.

    This was another great episode. I'm honestly surprised at how strong they are keeping everything. At the end of last season I thought to myself: Just how much can they do with this premise? Answer: Tons. It looks like there is so much that they can do with the character arcs.moreless

  • Sister Christian is nothing more than a heavy petting power ballad. :D

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By tjaman, Oct 16, 2008
    I'm not certain I'm 100 percent clear on everything that happened, exactly, but the fog is enjoyable. I loved little Olive discovering a dinosaur and getting her first horse. And how a slice of peach pie is an Olive Snook. And the "Vertigo" references with the bell tower.

    One thing that didn't play well with me is Ned being irked by Chuck's geneaological forays. Emerson had it exactly right: You have issues, she doesn't, so support her. Ned's instinct should be to support her in stuff.

    I did like that Olive came right out and told Ned her feelings for him, and that he had a little cathartic leap about how horrible that must have been for her and empathized a little. That was a necessary first step to Olive maybe returning someday to The Pie Hole?

    Emerson agreeing to help Olive in exchange for her prayers was very sweet. We're really going to need to meet Brandi or Candy or whatever her name is pretty soon.

    What if she turns out to be Emerson's daughter? :o

    I'm happy that Chuck knows now about her mother. However, she still can't see her because her aunt-mothers think she's dead. But she and Olive are sort of reconciled, so that was cool.

    Lots of secrets spilled in this one. Pretty exciting. Can't wait to see what happens next. :)moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (1)

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  • QUOTES (16)

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    • Olive: (to Pigby the pig) Trying to get your groove on, girl? I know how that feels.

    • Sister LaRue: A truffle's scent mimics the hormones of the male pigs ready to breed. That's why sows are the best hunters.

    • (Emerson and Ned are searching a room) Emerson: Did you find the keys? Ned: I assure you if I locate anything keyish, you are the first person I will tell.

    • Olive: There are Commandments! We follow all ten, and I am commanding you to stop!

    • Chuck: If Mother Superior found Larue's shiny stash… Ned: Then all it would take was one push, and the convent would be back… in black. Chuck: By-proxy high-five. Emerson: Get, before I by-proxy vomit.

    • Emerson: Rule Number One: don't buy fish on Monday. Rule Number Two: Don't poke an angry German.

    • Ned: (after re-killing Sister Larue) We are so going to hell.

    • (Olive is trying to hire Emerson) Emerson: What got thee to a nunnery? Olive: Oh, Emerson. You really want to know? Emerson: Not especially. That was just my attempt at polite wee talk. Moment's passed, so let's talk compensation.

    • Narrator: Charlotte Charles knew a great deal about removing tarnish, for she had spent countless hours polishing her aunts' stockpile of copper, brass, and bronze cheese knives.

    • Chuck: I don't really dwell on it. But unexpectedly I'll think of her... and then more specifically this hole in my heart where a mother should be. I didn't know her and I never will.

    • Ned: Nun on the run! Nun on the run! Nun on the run!

    • Father Ed: We had assumed you'd be Italian. Emerson: We are... Italian. Ned: Part-time.

    • Olive: Why'd you bring him here when you said you wouldn't? Emerson: I need Pie-Boy's special skill set and Pie-Girl comes with Pie-Boy. Olive: Why isn't Pie-Girl minding the Pie-Hole? Emerson:Because she's rather be minding his. Besides, he hired a new waitress. Brandy. Candy. I don't know. Somebody named after booze or food...

    • Narrator: What she didn't know was a world-weary detective with a missing daughter needed all the prayers he could get.

    • Ned: My not-scowl is an expression of not understanding why anyone would want to go rooting around in their past. After all that shoveling you still wake up in the same bed, do the same job, live the same life. Except now you're grimy. With a kink in your back.

    • Narrator: Digging to Arabia would be easy. Head to the center of the earth, then turn right.

  • NOTES (2)

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    • International Airdates: Germany: January 28, 2009 on ProSieben Australia: June 23, 2009 on W Slovakia: August 10, 2010 on Markiza Czech Republic: October 13, 2010 on Prima COOL Finland: January 16, 2011 on Sub

    • Field Cate, Ellen Greene, and Swoosie Kurtz are credited but don't appear, although Lily is seen in a photograph.

  • ALLUSIONS (5)

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    • Emerson: Jericho time. Referencing the siege of Jericho by the Israelites. It is described in the Bible (Joshua 5:13-6:27) that the walls of the fortified city were brought down by the power of a battle cry sounded by the Israelites, in accordance to God's instructions.

    • Emerson: Or Leatherface. Leatherface is the cannibalistic serial killer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper and starring Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface. The character, one of a family of cannibals based loosely on real-life serial killer Ed Gein, has grown to become an icon of sensational horror and was prominently featured in the movie's three sequels.

    • Emerson: What got thee to a nunnery? Paraphrasing Shakespeare's play Hamlet (1599-1601?), turning the quote into a question. In the Act III, Scene 1, lines 151-154, Hamlet angrily instructs Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery."

    • Convent belltower The convent belltower is an exact reproduction of the bell tower featured in Alfred Hitchcock's classic movie Vertigo (1958), starring James Stewart and Kim Novak with the acrophobic detective Scottie Ferguson (Stewart) becoming obsessed with an old friend's wife (Novak).

    • Emerson: I'm Father Dowling. These are my associates: Father Mulcahy and Sister Christian. Having to provide church inspired aliases, Emerson comes up with three names from popular culture. Father Dowling was the lead character played by Tom Bosley in The Father Dowling Mysteries TV series. Father Mulcahy, played by William Christopher, was the resident chaplain on the classic TV series M*A*S*H. Sister Christian is the title of a 1983 power ballad by the band Night Ranger.

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