'Daisies' builds a birdhouse
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- October
- 25
I didn’t think it was possible to be more delighted by “Pushing Daisies.”
But each week, the series gets more charming and—perhaps unbelievably—more wacky.
Last night’s episode, “Pigeon,” gave me a particularly warm glow because it featured Olive and Aunt Vivian’s duet of “Birdhouse in Your Soul.”
For those not familiar, that song is by the duo They Might Be Giants, known for their goofy tunes like “Don’t Let Start” and a cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” (Sing it with me now: “Even old New York was once New Amsterdam…”)
So how happy was I when Olive broke into that fun little ditty—and then somber Vivian chimed in!
Guess those homeopathic mood enhancers that Chuck’s been slipping into their pies are starting to work, though Aunt Lily was still as wonderfully grumpy as ever.
That song was the highlight of the show for me, but there were lots of moments to choose from.
I mean, this one episode featured a bejeweled pigeon, a one-armed criminal, a one-legged woman (did we ever find out why Elsita has a wooden leg?), a narcoleptic windmill curator and Aunt Lily’s array of functional, color-coordinated eyepatches.
And we learned that Chuck once served as a stay-at-home juror for a paraplegic judge. I don’t even understand what that means, but it was hysterical.
Plus, the writers continued to do a bang-up job of keeping “Daisies” from becoming too sugary-sweet.
The syrupy romance between Ned and Chuck and chirpy optimist Olive (BTW, I’ve interviewed the fantastic Kristen Chenoweth before, and she’s actually that chipper in real life) are tempered by sourpusses like Emerson and Lily.
And speaking of Mr. Cod, he delivered—hands down—the best lines of the night.
Personally, I can’t decide which one of these was funnier:
“Because Big Daddy needs some new yarn” or his reponse to Ned’s lament of not being able to hold Chuck’s hand. (”You can’t suck her toes neither. Some women like that.”)
Honestly, I can’t wait to see what “Daisies” comes up with every week. Along with my affection for its eccentricities, I find it amazing that a show that’s largely about death can be so uplifting.
With each dead body Ned brings back and returns to the afterlife, I find my spirit picking up a bit.
And this week, it built a little birdhouse in my soul!
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 10:07 am by Heather Salerno.
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I completely agree, last night's episode was terrific. I've been worried that they'll have to throttle back, that they can't maintain this pace (no pun intended) for 22 episodes, but so far so good. Can't wait for the next one.