Today is a sad day at the Pie Hole. Pushing Daisies, one of my favorite shows, will soon be, well, pushing daisies. ABC has decided not to order any additional episodes beyond the 13 already shot for this season. Although the network didn’t use the word “canceled,” the deed is all but done. The cast and crew of Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money received the same news.
Pushing Daisies is, to borrow an expression from TV funerals, too good for this world. Dorothy Snarker summed up the show perfectly: “[It’s] like eating ice cream and petting puppies and spotting rainbows on a sunny day.” But as sweet as it is, Pushing Daisies never descends into sappiness. Sure, Olive often bursts into song. But if I sang like Kristin Chenoweth, so would I.
And how can you not love a show in which Swoosie Kurtz, one half of a once-famous synchronized swimming duo, has an eye patch to match every outfit? (Ellen Greene plays the other half of the duo.) Lest I leave you to start your weekend in despair, however, I do have some good news for fans of Pushing Daisies who also loved creator Bryan Fuller’s previous show, Wonderfalls. Episode 8 brings a crossover of sorts, with Beth Grant guest starring as Marianne Marie Beetle, muffin-maker and Olive’s nemesis. Fuller also is talking about wrapping up the series with a two-hour movie and/or continuing Pushing Daisies in comic book form. I’d much rather see these wonderful characters in their brightly colored world every week, but I’ll take what I can get.
Are you as heartbroken as I am about this cancellation? Will you miss the Piemaker and his colorful friends? Do you think a comic book adaptation is a worthy successor to the TV series? Do we have any reason at all to watch ABC?
