Pushing Daisies - A Eulogy

It’s been 9 months, 21 days, 15 hours, and 28 minutes since ABC buried Pushing Daisies six feet under. It may just be a coincidence that I write this on Easter weekend – the holiday that commemorates the almighty Resurrection. I can’t help but wonder if the show will ever revive itself and gloriously return for a third season?

Created by Bryan Fuller, the show revolves around the adventures of a wiry pie-maker played by Lee Pace, his waitress and secret admirer Olive Snook played by Kristin Chenoweth, and his money-loving, mystery-solving partner Emerson Cod played by Chi McBride. Oh yeah – and his “alive-again” first love Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel) whom the pie-maker brought back to life with a single touch. The gang goes around solving murders fit for an episode of Scooby Doo, by reviving the dead and asking who killed them. Unfortunately, like many of Fuller’s shows, it was curtains for Pushing Daisies after a mere 22 episodes over a two-year run.

The deeply saturated colors and high contrast visual design creates a dream-like fantasy world that resonates within the hearts and minds of the viewers. The narration, superbly delivered by Jim Dale (famous for his award-winning contributions to the audiobooks of the Harry Potter series), brings a comforting air of whimsical childhood stories and fairy tales. Although the black comedy deals with rather morbid subject matter, the chemistry of the ensemble cast energizes the stories in a quirky and endearing way. While the cancellation of Pushing Daisies brings me much sadness, the show has taught me to appreciate life, to feel with my heart, and to believe in fairy tales years after childhood. Will we ever get to see more adventures of the pie-maker and the girl named Chuck? Sadly, I think it would take a miracle.

The Philadelphia Story - Wedding Bells are as Cracked as the Liberty Bell

Only one question comes to mind after watching Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story – what does it have to do with Philadelphia? A quick Google search will explain that the original playwright Philip Barry actually based his Broadway-success off of a friend’s wife, once dubbed “the unofficial queen of Philadelphia” by Vanity Fair. Despite how relatively insignificant the locale is to the plot, Katharine Hepburn knocks it out of the park once again, reprising her role from stage to screen as the ‘rich and mighty’ Tracy Lord. 

Writer/reporter Macaulay Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) are sent from Spy Magazine with Lord’s ex-Hubby and fellow Philly royalty C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) to get the inside scoop on upper-class life under the ruse of Haven’s plan to vex his Ex by intruding upon her second wedding. Like any good Rom-Com, you can expect scandal, blackmail, the search for true love, one drunken night, and a few marriage proposals to top it all off. It’s a timeless classic about understanding the beauty of man’s imperfections and reminds me of Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell. The witty dialogue and chemistry between Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant makes The Philadelphia Story a must-see.