Pushing Daisies: Pie-lette

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 8PM ON ABC

Mediocre. At best the premiere episode of this much hyped new show on ABC was mediocre. The beginning was severely lacking in anything entertaining but as the episode progressed so did the quality. Mainly this was due to the introduction of Charlotte ("Chuck), Ned's love interest. The chemistry between these two actors was immediately apparent and gave the show some legitimate appeal. Especially considering the significant obstacles between them ever getting together, most importantly the fact that they can never touch or she'll die. Without these two character and their great on-screen chemistry I would have turned this show off after the first 5 minutes and never looked back.

The show is eerily reminiscent of the Tim Burton movie's we've all come to know as extremely odd and somewhat creepy. Most of this show is made up of awkward moments, deranged characters, and cartoonish scenes. Some of the scenes almost appear like they're straight out of "Edward Scissorhands." Personally, I'm only a half-fan of Tim Burton's work so this show wasn't all that reflective of my tastes right off the bat. I will give the show props for having a great cast. Although I don't remember seeing Ned (Lee Pace) in anything before, I am a big fan of Chi McBride (Boston Public) and Kristin Chenoweth (The West Wing). So if for nothing else I'll watch because of these great actors.

I did laugh a bit when they showed Ned scratching his dog with a skeleton hand contraption. I thought it was very funny and it said a lot about his character that he kept his childhood dog around all these years even though he could never touch him.

Mainly the show is a quirky story about a man who can bring things back to life. If he doesn't touch them again to kill them inside a minute of bringing them back someone else will die in their place. This has had many unintended and intended consequences throughout Ned's life. Needless to say this leads to a few humours escapades and the show is somewhat enjoyable. I'd give this show a few more chances but if it doesn't pick up a bit I don't know how long I'll be able to take the quirkiness without getting tired of it. My recommendation: keep watching...for now.