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Pushing Daisies: The Legend of Merle McQuoddy
(S02E09) "We're so together electrons couldn't get between us." - Chuck to Ned on the roofIs it all right for me to say right up front that I don't like Charles Charles? Bear in mind, I'm not one of the "I want Ned and Chuck to wind up together" crowd. I'm with Olive; I want Ned to realize that Olive is the girl for him, but I digress.
The point remains that my blood was really boiling as I watched Mr. Charles threatening Ned, warning him to never see Chuck again, and even going after Ned physically -- with a broom! For a dead guy, the swaddled Mr. Charles sure is a pushy S.O.B.
You kind of knew that Ned would forgive Chuck for tricking him and keeping her dead father undead beyond the one-minute time period. The karmic death of Dwight Dixon neatly ended his threat to The Pie Hole team, but in some ways Charles Charles is just as much a problem. I like the fact that Charles isn't a nice guy, that he is, as Emerson Cod points out, not likely to take to the leash. Where this is going is very interesting and, I think, completely unpredictable. That, my friends, makes for a good TV show!
The case of the lighthouse keepers wife was all Pushing Daisies quirky, with dioramas, glitter, a capella singing groups and the like. Delicious stuff, but truly a background pageant when compared to the Ned-Chuck-Charles conundrum.
What the case did have that was fun was the as yet untried partnership of Olive and Emerson. They were terrific together, and the final scene in which Cod offered Olive a cigar and a job in his PI agency was adorable. Also, in the course of the case, Olive 'fessed up that she's still carrying that torch for Ned. We all knew it, of course. Remember last week's musical interlude -- "An Eternal Flame"?
As a writer, I really appreciate the literate quality of Pushing Daisies, the play on words and the attention to detail. You don't get the idea that they just throw in a word or pluck a name out of thin air. It's all constructed, crafted in a very fine way. If we were able to read the Pushing Daisies scripts, I believe, they'd read as brilliantly as they're performed. It's no wonder the Writer's Guild has honored this show.
So, Chuck chooses Ned in the end and Charles Charles takes off. He's not a good dad after all. Now what?
Interesting points of interest:
-- The claymation scene of the desert adventure was fun. It also set up the wanderlust element in Cuck and Charles' relationship...which lead to Chuck having to make a choice, Dad or Ned? The Pie Hole or worldly adventures?
-- Olive's ghost story about the lighthouse, complete with flashlight effects.
-- Who knew there was an Alive Again Lifestyle Handbook? Can I get a copy?
-- Cake vs. pie: is cake really more complex that a pie? I think this is symbolism.
-- Typhoon Tyrone nearly killed Merle, but he was ultimately rescued by a gay family cruise ship. Where was Rosie?
-- Junior lighthouse keeper Elliot McQuoddy (shades of the Gorton's Fisherman?) finding comfort in Olive's cleavage, then Chuck's.
-- Defaced corpse using Morse code to communicate.
Pushing Daisies' Photos
PUSHING DAISIES Missi Pyle and Peter Cambor in the episode Bzzzzzzzzz! Chuck goes undercover as a Bee Girl at a honey-based cosmetics company after their new spokesmodel (guest star Autumn Reeser) is stung to death. She soon discovers that office politics are killer (literally) between the founder (guest star Missi Pyle as Betty Bee) and the new owner (guest star French Stewart as Woolsey Nicholls). Meanwhile, Ned cant stand her growing independence or the fact that she wants to move out of his apartment. In other developments, Lily spirits Olive off to a nunnery so she won't spill Lily's deep, dark secret. Airs Wednesday, October 1, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Chi McBride as Emerson Cod, Lee Pace as Ned and Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles and Lee Pace as Ned star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles and Lee Pace as Ned star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Lee Pace as Ned star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Lee Pace as Ned, Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles and Chi McBride as Emerson star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Chi McBride as Emerson Cod and Lee Pace as Ned star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
PUSHING DAISIES Chi McBride as Emerson Cod and Lee Pace as Ned star in the episode "Circus Circus"- Ned, Chuck and Emerson search for a missing teen (guest star Hayley McFarland as Nikki Heaps) who's run off to the circus . . . a circus where people keep turning up dead. Meanwhile, overcome with guilt, Lily pays Olive a visit at the nunnery. Airs Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
ABC
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