Project-Blu 'Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season' Blu-ray Review, By Will Santana

Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season
By: Will Santana, 7.18.2010

The Movie Itself:
Not having any clue what this show was, or even what it was about, I decided to check “Pushing Daisies” out due to a recommendation from a friend. When the set came in the mail I gave a simple laugh after viewing the cover for season 1. I thought I would maybe watch 1 or 2 episodes, and then just do whatever I could to get rid of the release. The cover was just a huge turn-off and from the type of shows I like, it didn’t appeal to me one bit. There's a saying about judging things by their covers that applies here.

After watching 10 minutes of the first episode, and learning about the main character Ned (Lee Pace) unbelievable strange ability to resurrect the dead by touching them, I was sitting down with full attention. Feeling like this show had a great idea, I knew I would at least give the show a chance with my full attention. After learning about Ned’s ability, we also learn there is a catch to it. The second time Ned touches the risen dead, they will die again, permanently. Also if Ned allowed someone he resurrected to return to life for longer than 60 seconds, another person must die in their place. As Ned gets older and learns how to use his powers, he decides to open a pie bakery and meets Emerson Cod (Chi McBride). Emerson is a private investigator who solves unsolved murders for family who want results that the police couldn’t give them.

Now with Ned and Emerson partnered, they decide to use the private investigation as a enterprise, and collect huge rewards from grieving families. Ned’s ability to talk to the dead on how they were murdered is a great way to start the investigation! With only 60 seconds of information, Emerson usually must finish the rest with his experience and the help of Ned. As the two go on their missions they come across one of Ned’s old childhood sweethearts, “Chuck” Charlotte Charles (Anna Friel), who was murdered but Ned does not have the heart to let her stay dead. Ned’s decision to keep Chuck alive also comes with some consequences.

The private investigation team is now a group of 3. Ned’s love for Chuck has its issues; for starters, he can never touch Chuck because she will die permanently on instant contact. He must hide her identity from her two strange Aunts (Swoosie Kurtz & Ellen Greene) and her employer at the bakery, Olive Snook (Kristen Chenoweth). With the Aunts always purchasing from the bakery, and Olive's suspicions of Chuck, Ned gets more than what he bargains for.

Not having any clue what “Pushing Daisies” even was, I really didn’t think this would be a show for me. After several episodes I found myself just watching two to three episodes a day. With Chi McBride leading the way on the comedy, and Olive providing bizarre tantrums, it was enough for me to stay glued to the TV set. Each episode starts of with showing footage of Ned as a child and somehow it sets up what the next episode is going to be about. Every episode had me wondering if they were going to solve the case. Will Chuck’s family find out if she’s still alive? Will Olive find out Chuck’s true identity? The show will have you laughing at times, other times it will having you waiting in suspense.
Rating: 7/10

The Presentation:
Warner Brothers presents “Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season” with a full 1080P VC-1 codec and aspect ration of 1.78.1. Doing a little research I discovered it’s the same as the original broadcast on ABC. The bright scenes look great on this transfer being so colorful. Hardly any grain is visible making “Pushing Daisies” a great visually Blu-Ray disc. It’s something you can show your friends why HD is just so much better than Standard Definition. Even though the show uses poor CGI and weird background set-ups. The Pie Hole is a great example of the poor CGI used, making the show seem like a cartoon, plastic or even a fake town. You may laugh a few times when you notice a fake background but trust me it fits the show just perfect. To be honest the Blu-Ray version is what makes the show production, background settings, props, and CGI just seem so fake (Reminds me of The Longest Day). Even though “Pushing Daisies” make look cheesy it sure doesn’t hurt the overall intention of the visual the director wanted to give us.

Now Warner I believe has a misprint on the back-cover of “Pushing Daises: The Complete First Season” for the audio. They listed this release as having Dolby TrueHD, but I couldn’t find this in the menu at all. This disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. This show has a lot of dialogue and frequent suspense scenes, so I was forced to turn the volume up and down often. It’s a decent track and is decent for the type of show but I don’t think buyers will feel let down with “Pushing Daisies” being that fun, loving , and family show. Hopefully Warner will fix this on future prints of the Blu-Ray set but for now its still not a bad buy.
Rating: 7/10 (video score: 9/10, audio score: 4/10)

The Extras:
Pushing Daisies only has one supplemental feature on this set brought by Warner. This feature is found on the second disc of this Blu-Ray set.

Pie Time-Time For Pie
Rating: 1/10

Overall:
Despite “Pushing Daisies” not having any appeal to me, the show was able to win me over and gain my interest. Each episode leaves you wanting more of certain characters. As the show progress you learn this history of each character childhood until there adulthood. “Pushing Daisies” is a good show and with promising progress for season two. I know the show was cancelled after the second season but can’t wait to see what the next season will bring. The Blu-Ray set for the series debut is worth checking out and fans will be pleased with this Blu-Ray purchase. If you're not a fan I recommend you renting first.
Rating: 7/10