Pie-lette (3 Oct. 2007)

Ned uses his unique powers to bring his childhood crush, Chuck, back to life and solve her murder. But he is also forced to keep his distance from her, because if he touches her, she will be dead forever.

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers:

Bryan Fuller (creator), Bryan Fuller

Stars:

Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Pace	...	Ned
Anna Friel	...	Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles
Chi McBride	...	Emerson Cod
Jim Dale	...	Narrator (voice)
Ellen Greene	...	Vivian Charles
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Lily Charles
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Olive Snook
Patrick Breen	...	Leo Gaswint
Terry Anzur	...	Newscaster #3
Ed Brigadier	...	Minister
Field Cate	...	Young Ned
Ted Garcia	...	Newscaster #1
Murray Gershenz	...	Rabbi
Tina Gloss	...	Ned's Mother
Brad Grunberg	...	Funeral Director

Storyline

At an early age, Ned realizes that he has a unique gift - he can bring anything dead back to life. There are limits however: touched a second time, the object or person dies; and anything or anyone re-animated beyond 60 seconds will result in another object or person dying. Ned uses his powers sparingly, but when private detective Emerson Cod learns of his abilities, they form a partnership. Ned will re-animate murder victims (for less than 60 seconds) to learn the identity of their murderer. When Ned's childhood sweetheart Charlotte is killed however, he has a major decision to make.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jinks/Cohen Company, Living Dead Guy Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is based on a play on words for the term of the first show of a series used to sell the series to the television network and advertisers, The Pilot.

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Goofs

When Ned walks upstairs to check on the lady before the bad guy gets killed, behind him is a circular window. A reflecting light can be seen in the window along with what looks to be a boom microphone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: At this very moment in the town of Couer d'Couers, young Ned was nine years, twenty-seven weeks, six days and three minutes old. His dog, Digby was three years, two weeks, six days, five hours, and nine minutes old... and not a minute older.

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Connections

References The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

User Reviews

Rainbow creativity, empathic characters and inspiring love story

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 Carnivàle as he can bring people back to life. But every alchemical 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 brutally 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.