Pushing Daisies: Dummy

If I thought Pushing Daisies couldn't get any cuter than the last episode "Pie-lette", think again Pam. This episode brought out a singing Kristin Chenoweth, knitted gun cozies, and a car that runs on dandelions. I thought it was perfect.


I think this second episode of "Daisies" gave me a pretty good sense of what the format is going to be. Ned, Emerson and Chuck head out to solve a case, suffering through many twists and turns but ultimately coming out victorious in their search for justice. Meanwhile, Chuck and Ned do some adorable things. Hey, I can live with that.

The case itself wasn't too hard to crack: Either Janine or the dandelion car salesguy was going to be the killer, and when the crew got Janine talking (thanks to pie), it became pretty clear that it wasn't her. But it still led to an amusing enough hour, with funny twists ("No. There are skeletons in the closet.") and creative camerawork. I'm hoping they can find a way to create perfectly staged moments like the scene with Emerson, Chuck and Ned in body bags in the dandelion car without spending a fortune.

Ned and Chuck still aren't being completely honest with each other. Chuck keeps hinting there's more to her sheltered life with her aunts; Ned keeps avoiding the fact that he killed Chuck's father. Chuck wants to know everything about Ned, and I don't think it's going to be long before she figures out that he's keeping something big from her. I can't imagine the show will keep them angry with each other for long, though — how cute was the body bag kiss? They're meant to be.

A few other thoughts:

• The flashbacks with Young Ned are quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the show. The scene with all the dissection frogs coming back to life was hilarious. Plus, Young Ned's haircut makes me giggle.


• If there was a moment in the episode that went too far, Olive's singing was it. But I liked it — and not just because Kristin Chenoweth has an amazing voice. I loved the choreography with Digby and the floor cleaner, and I chuckled every time she had to interrupt her flow to turn more customers away. On the other hand, I don't want it to become a regular thing.


• Best narrator fun fact of the evening: "Young Chuck did not refer to a refrigerator as anything but a cheesebox until she was 17."


• I loved pretty much everything about the dandelion car factory, from the salesman who talked too fast, to the reveal that Chuck spoke Japanese, to the flashback with the dandelion girls in their Dr. Seuss-y dresses being taught to present and shimmy. Could have done without the Titanic-referencing makeout scene, but I can forgive it.


• The entire idea of Chi McBride knitting is hysterical.


• Also, favorite Emerson quip of the night: "Do they touch much?" "Wish they would." (Runner-up: "It's a dead end. And not the kind of dead end that you can un-dead and re-dead again like you're supposed to.")


• Best sight gag: Janine wrapped in bandages with lipstick over the gauze. Runner-up: dandelion high-five!