Pushing Daisies

As we were talking about Pushing Daisies today in class, I couldn’t put my finger on what is so appealing about the show until we discussed the dialouge. I believe that the magical “newness” (ingenuity and originality) of the pie let, combined with the quick witted comments of the characters, demands that the veiwer pay attention. If one does not pay attention, then one will miss the commentary of the omniscent narrator, or the motivations of the characters within the storyworld. For instance, when Ned wakes the man from the dead who has been attacked by his secritaries Rottweiler, the conversation is calm but to the point. As soon as Ned obtains the answer, the man is put back to sleep, and the fast paced style of the show is apparent. This can be seen not only in the dialouge but in the majority of the camer work as well. There are really only two scenes (that I remember) which hesitate to dwell on the aesthetic of the shot without dialouge. The first is the ovehead shot of the Ned, as a boy, after his dog has been hit by an 18 wheeler. While, the second is when the aunt with only one good eye stares down the hallway at Ned, and cannot acknowledge Chuck due to her blocked vantage point. Other than these two scenes, the shots are relatively fast paced due to the nature of the dialouge, and the theme of time that is present in the narrative.

The idea of time is present in Pushing Daisies from the very beginning of the pie let. As soon as the episode opens, the narrator provides the ages of both Ned and his dog, from years down to the exact second. The narrator does this in the pie let more than the above mentioned scene, which highlights the importance of time and its relationship with death, both which are important motivations in the show. Whether Ned has to time himself when awakening the dead, only having a minute, or the audience has to guess whose time is up when Ned chooses to let Chuch live, the idea of time is crucial the devlopment of the fabula. Using this theme to its advantage, the episode even makes time apparent when it is not neccesarily needed. For instance, in the developing love story between Ned and Chuck, they have brief moments of time where they connect. For example, as soon as Ned and Chuck return to his apartment for the first time, Ned immediately goes to bed, but they both unknowingly share a brief moment as they touch opposite sides of the wall together. Also, when they awaken the final dead victim of the episode, they both grab their own hands and connect for a couple of seconds, despite the the fleeting minute of the revived man. I believe that understanding the fast pacing and element of time, combined with the magical “newness” in this narrative, immerses the audience in the developing fabula.                    

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