Pushing Daisies Is One Of The Best Shows Ever

All hail Britain’s ITV! Why, you ask? Not for the semi-awesome Primeval (although I am a fan). No, I say all hail ITV because they just finished airing the 3 still-unaired-in-the-US episodes of Pushing Daisies. And, to quote an episode title from earlier this season: Oh, Oh, Oh, They’re Magic. Warning, some spoilers for the three episodes ahead.

Seriously, though, this string of 3 episodes is so ridiculously strong. Focusing on Olive, Emerson, and the aunts, the show managed to make me fall in love with it all over again. It manages to provide enough closure to not make me want to lead an angry mob with torches and pitchforks to ABC’s headquarters. And, well, it’s just plain old fantastic.

The first of the three, “Window Dressed to Kill”, focuses on the childhood kidnappers of Olive Snook, and is probably the weakest of the three. And yet, it’s still better than 99% of everything else on TV. The show manages to develop Olive more and giver her forward momentum. Randy Mann, the first time in a while that I have been able to tolerate David Arquette, is great and I love his budding relationship with Olive. The mystery of the episode is also kind of fantastic. Plus, the return appearance of the Sisters of the Divine Magnatum from earlier this season is completely welcome.

The second, “Water and Power”, focuses on Emerson’s quest to reconnect with his daughter, and is kind of amazing in nearly every way. I’m always a fan of Emerson, so any episode that foregrounds him is gonna please me. But combine that with constantly clever uses of the word “dam”, the re-return of dog trainer turned Chinese food gambler Simone, Chinatown references, AND Gina Torres (Zoe on Firefly) as Emerson’s ex and the mother of his child, and you just get an episode that works pretty much perfectly.

But, not to get all hyperbolic on you (I know, I know, I’m always hyperbolic), “Kerplunk”, the finale, is just about the best episode they’ve ever done. I would call it 99% perfect, and that missing percent is simply because you know watching it that this is the end. Heavy use of Lily and Vivian (the characters who were underutilized throughout the shows entire run), the awesome death scene Jaws reference, and so much else that is amazing that I can’t list it all makes this, well, just about perfect. And thank the lord that Bryan Fuller, genius, tacked on the wrap-up ending, because otherwise that angry mob mentioned earlier would have been a most definite reality.

About the tack-on ending, I’ll be honest, I was tearing up just a little bit. Me, cold-hearted cynical TV blogger, was tearing up. It fits the show kind of perfectly, and just reminds everyone what a magical world it all was. Obviously, when wrapping up as much as possible in about a minute, it’s going to feel rushed. And it does. But at the same time, it leaves open the idea that this world, these characters, these lives will continue. We just won’t be privy to the stories. (Which, A) makes me a disgruntled TV watcher, and B) makes me hope beyond hope that Fuller’s proposed comic series continuation is an actuality)

Now, having seen all 26 episodes, while thinking that that number is entirely too low, I can safely say that Pushing Daisies is one of the best shows ever. I could have told you that after 23 episodes, but why judge a text before you finish it? Although, not to spoil that wrap up, I can only hope that the narrator’s words come true: “At that moment, in the town of Couer d' Couers, events occurred that are not, were not, and should never be considered an ending. For endings, as it is known, are where we begin.”