I just discovered a great fantasy show. It’s not new (this is Season 2) but I’ve never seen it before. It’s called Pushing Daisies and it’s unlike any show I’ve ever seen.

Here’s the premise: A guy named Ned has a special power – if he touches a dead body he can bring the person back to life. For 1 minute. He’s required to touch the person again within the one minute deadline so the person can die permanently. If he doesn’t touch the person again within one minute they stay alive BUT someone else will die unexpectedly. I guess this is nature’s way of keeping things balanced.

Even if Ned decides to let the person remain alive, if he ever touches them again they die permanently.

As a child this “talent” was more a curse than a gift but Ned found a way to use his powers to help others. Case in point he occasionally helps a private investigator (Emerson, who has a tendency to wear flamboyant scarves) solve murders. Ned touches the murder victim, questions him/her to discover the identity of the killer, and then touches the victim again so they’ll return to their state of deadness. Okay, I don’t think “state of deadness” is grammatically correct but you get the point. Since some of these cases offer rewards to people who have information that lead to the capture of the murderer, Ned and Emerson are able to make a bit of money working together. Oh, by the way, Ned’s day job entails owning and managing a pie shop.

Pushing Daisies has a cast of quirky and funny supporting characters:

Charlotte “Chuck” Charles: Chuck was Ned’s childhood sweetheart. She was recently killed but was brought back to life permanently with Ned’s touch. Unfortunately, the person that died in her place was her father. Chuck usually helps Ned and Emerson solve murders.

Olive Snook: Olive, portrayed perfectly by Kristen Chenoweth, is one of the funniest characters on the show. Olive works at the pie shop and also helps Ned, Emerson, and Chuck solve murders; she doesn’t know about Ned’s secret gift though.

Lily: Lily is another wild character on the show. Swoosie Kurtz does a great job portraying Lily as a martini swigging, eye patch wearing, wacky town resident.

For those of you that haven’t seen Pushing Daisies, scroll to the bottom to view the video trailer for Season 2.

Okay, now on to Episode 10: The Norwegians

Vivian (one of the regulars on Pushing Daisies) hires Emerson to find former suitor of hers, Dwight Dixon. She suspects foul play is afoot. Emerson knows that Dwight is actually dead; he was a victim of Ned’s 1 minute time limit. Remember, if (within 1 minute) Ned doesn’t “re-touch” someone he brings back to life, someone else dies in their place. Dwight was a collateral death. As such, Emerson attempts to dissuade Vivian from pursuing an investigation.

Emerson then heads over to the Pie Hole (the pie shop that Ned owns) to tell Ned and Chuck about Vivian’s inquiries.

They’re soon visited by 3 hilarious “Norweigan” private investigators who inform them that they’re investigating Dwight’s disappearance. These guys, dressed in clothing that proudly displays their country’s flag, do a great job spoofing shows like CSI. They work in an RV crime lab they lovingly call “Mother” and appear to have the ability to pull clues out of thin air.

When they leave, Ned, Emerson, and Chuck decide to solicit Olive’s assistance in convincing Vivian to halt the investigation. Olive agrees, but she knows something’s afoot. When she tries to get Ned and the gang to fess up about Dwight, she’s met with a stone wall. She decides to team up with the Norwegians in order to find out what’s going on.

The rest of the show is spent following the Norweigans and watching Ned and the gang attempt to cover their tracks. The show is one of those fast edit deals where the camera quickly jumps from scene to scene. So, in a nutshell, what follows is:

-the Norwegians exhume Dwight’s grave and find his body missing;
-Olive hasn’t really allied herself with the Norwegians; she’s working undercover trying to thwart their work;
-Ned and Olive steal “Mother” and almost die in a car accident;
-Dwight’s body is eventually found in a motel bed with stolen items under the bed;
-Ned decides not to “touch” any more dead people;
-It looks like Ned’s father is alive and working behind to scenes to protect him.

This is a wacky show but I love it. It’s shot with really bright, somewhat surreal lighting that makes everything look really vivid. The set design and wardrobe choices are great as well. Watching this show in High Definition must be akin to technicolor heaven.

The good news is that the first season of Pushing Daisies is available on DVD and several of this season’s episodes are available online. The bad news is that ABC has decided not to film any episodes past this season. However, fantasy fans will probably like the show. If you’re interested in learning more about the show, check out the video trailer below:

Pushing Daisies Season 2: Video Trailer