Pushing Daisies

Pie-lette

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired 10/3/07

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Episode Summary

Ned works in a pie store and seems to lead a perfectly normal life. This, however, is far from the truth. Through his touch, Ned is able to wake people from the dead. He decides to use this ability of his to solve crimes. But this proves complicated, when he gives life back to his childhood crush, and decides to let her keep living.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Lee Pace

Ned
Anna Friel

Charlotte "Chuck" Charles
Chi McBride

Emerson Cod

Fan Episode Reviews (64)

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Perfect Pie-lette

10

"Perfect"

By Mischa, Dec 09, 2011 Report Abuse

I really didn't think Pushing Daisies was going to be for me. It seemed so cutesy and twee, but since Bryan Fuller's name was attached and I loved Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls, I decided to give it a shot. Pushing Daisies is extremely colorful, so much so that it feels like an alternate reality. It could have easily been way over the top, instead it toed the line to being charming and different.

I loved this episode, it set up the characters and their colorful quirks perfectly. Ned the Piemaker: reserved, thoughtful, and with a secret ability to raise the dead; Chuck Charles: bright, sunny, dead, and the love of Ned's life; Emerson Cod: large, grumbling, knitting P.I. in it for the cash; and Olive Snook: former horse jockey, now pie jockey in love with the pie maker.moreless

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1 0
Quirky...and not in a good way

4.0

"Poor"

By ylpartner, Dec 09, 2011 Report Abuse

The first thing I thought of when I was watching this show was the Lemony Snicket movie. I didn't particularly like the Lemony Snicket movie, and this is not a kid's movie. I get the idea of trying to set your show apart from everything else that is on Television today, but I am not sure that cutesy and fairy-tale like was the way to go. I never really intended to watch the show until I read a synopsis that made it sound clever and original, but after watching this episode I am not sure that this is the case. I get the premise of the weird gift of being able to bring people back to life, but the plot twist of bringing back his childhood sweetheart either should have been saved for a season-ending cliffhanger, or they should have just made this story into a movie instead. And honestly, do we care how many days and minutes and seconds old each person is? Really? I might give the show a second chance next week, but that's about the most time I will waste on it.moreless

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2 15
Interesting...

7.5

"Good"

By super_clerk25, Dec 09, 2011 Report Abuse

This is an interesting one. It is a story that is told in a colorful world that is not our own. You have to look past the silliness and the bright colors to see the show for what it is. And what it is... is pretty good. I liked the pilot due to it being a pretty well thought out and finished story. The characters work well together and I would like to see where they end up going.
There were a few parts that made me laugh out load and that doesn't happen much with tv shows. This is a fresh show and I think I will keep watching it.moreless

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*** Spoiler-free *** Rainbow creativity, empathic characters and inspiring love story

8.0

"Great"

By goa103, Dec 09, 2011 Report Abuse

You'll never bake a pie the same way again. Pushing Daisies pilot was as refreshing as the first days of spring. Visually fantastic and full of creative ideas it should remind you of Tim Burton's films and all these twisted productions that break the established rules. The male protagonist ability reminded me of Six Feet Under and of course Carnivle as he can bring people back to life. But every alchemic gift comes with after effects and Pie-lette covered these issues. From the boy to the man we witnessed Ned growing up and learning how to use its unique ability. He should quickly grow on you as the actors, playing the young and adult Neds, did a good job at portraying a quite authentic and friendly character.

But of course a man's story would be boring without its princess, Chuck. Their relationship is a fairy tale with its lot of happy and sad moments. Life can be cruel and they experienced it when they were still children. In some way it prevented them from becoming normal adults but instead of letting their trauma gets the best of them, they instead chose to just live and not let their fear destroy them. In some way Ned and Chuck's story reminded me of Lolita because when you're in love at ten years old, right before becoming a teenager, and that you're brutaly separated then it's harder to grow up. You tend to live in the past, trying to catch up everyday and forgetting to live in the present. So the episode had that naive vibe that only made the characters even more likable. Thirty something years old adults trapped in children bodies ? Maybe and Ned's curse made their relationship even more dramatic. There was even something Shakespearian about it. So if you're a romantic you should definitely fall in love with them and be touched by their exciting adventure. If your heart is a paper rock then Pushing Daisies should soften its structure and progressively turn it into a pie ?

Strawberry pie. Apple pie. Kiwi pie ! You name it as that world is full of vivid colors and filmed with surprising camera angles. In fact some scenes are so well directed and designed that they almost look like animated paintings. From the decorative patterns in the restaurant to the digital visual effects Pie-lette felt like a surrealistic journey in a land where the time has stopped and only life matters. Of course the acting could be better and I'm not sure the cast was well done but overall nothing should prevent you from diving into such a fruity pool. Last but not least even if the format is obviously episodic, because of the on-going investigations, Chuck & Ned love story is intriguing and charming enough to convince anyone to follow them anywhere.moreless

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A good start to a potentially awesome show.

8.5

"Great"

By maruschk, Dec 09, 2011 Report Abuse

I liked it instantly. The British narrator (uncannily alike Liam Neeson by the way) was a nice twist.
The way it's shot, made, is refreshing. It's new and kinda free. It's got this... silly feeling about it. The show doesn't 'take itself so seriously', if you know what I mean.

Anyways, the actors were all really good, especially Lee Pace and Chi McBride. The episode was funny, interesting and innovative. (As is the show in general).

The whole "He was 21 years, 3 weeks, 6 days, 18 hours and 22 minutes old" thing sort of identifies the show. This hasn't really been done before, not on a regular basis anyway. I think this will probably become the Pushing Daisies trademark.

If I'd use one word to describe this show with, it would be: UNREALISTIC
(in a good way)moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Digby's eyelid moves right before Ned touches him. Edit
- The booth seats in the Pie Hole are green while in the other episodes they're green with a half circle of white. Edit
- Before Ned touches Chuck, her eyelids move. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Michael Weaver was nominated for the 2008 ASC Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series'/Pilot" for this episode. Michael Wylie and William J. Durrell Jr. were nominated for the 2008 Excellence in Production Design Award for "Television - Single Camera Television Series" for this episode. Barry Sonnenfeld, Gabriela Vazquez, Chris Soldo, Greg Hale and Renee Hill won the 2008 DGA Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series" for this episode. Bryan Fuller was nominated for the 2008 Edgar Award for "Best Television Episode Teleplay" for this episode. Craig Weiss Toni, Pace Carstensen, Brian Vogt and Jimmy Berndt were nominated for the 2008 VES Award for "Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program" for this episode. Bryan Fuller was nominated for the 2008 WGA Award (TV) for "Episodic Comedy" for this episode. Edit
- For this episode, Bryan Fuller was nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series." The episode was also nominated for "Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-camera Series", "Outstanding Costumes For A Series", "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series (single Or Multi-camera)." It won the latter two. Edit
- International Airdates: Denmark: February 1, 2008 on SBS Net Israel: April 9, 2008 on YES Stars 1 Latin America: April 10, 2008 on Warner Channel United Kingdom: April 12, 2008 on ITV1 Thailand: July 17, 2008 on True Series The Netherlands: August 19, 2008 on Net 5 Belgium: October 8, 2008 on VT4 Germany: October 22, 2008 on ProSieben Greece: November 8, 2008 on Star Channel Finland: January 20, 2009 on Sub Norway: February 1, 2009 on TV3 Australia: April 7, 2009 on W Russia: May 19, 2009 on NTV Sweden: June 21, 2009 on TV3 Czech Republic: January 3, 2010 on Prima Slovakia: July 26, 2010 on Markiza Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Narrator: Chuck came ready-made from the Play Dough factory of life. Edit
- Ned: What if you didn't have to be dead? Chuck: That would be preferable. Edit
- Ned: I wish I could give you an emotional Heimlich so you could cough up that fear and anxiety, but I can't. Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Narrator: Only Sleeping Beauty could know how she felt at this moment. Once again, a reference to the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. This time it is from the point of view of the princess. Edit
- Narrator: Only Prince Charming could know how the piemaker felt upon looking at her. Allusion to the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty in which the kiss of a young prince awakens a princess who had been sleeping for 100 years after a curse was placed upon her. Edit