Okay, so I know I said I was taking Thanksgiving off, but my daughter woke me up earlier than expected and last night's "Pushing Daisies" was so ridiculous and wonderful that I feel compelled to say something about it sooner rather than later, so some very brief thoughts coming up just as soon as I jump in a pool...The silliness. My word, the silliness. I just want to list some of the many marvelously silly things in this episode:
- "Follow the yellow thick hose"
- "Jews for cheeses"
- An odor expert named "Le Nez" (French for "The Nose")
- The pop-up bookstore as parody of ultra-serious comic book stores ("Pop-ups aren't just for kids anymore")
- Emerson reading Knit Wit magazine and then obsessing over pop-up books
- Ned's bearskin rug story
- Olive, when she wasn't busy falling out of her dress even more than usual, threatening to cut a bitch
- The perfectly befuddled look on Lee Pace's face during the first decontamination scene
- Did I mention the "Jews for Cheeses" t-shirt? From the Hebrew Feta Fest?
- All the retro touches, like Emerson offering up a Klondike-5 phone number, or the aunts' wooden "slide" viewers
Pure, stupid pleasure that hour was. Again, happy Thanksgiving everybody.
I was a ready made convert to this show even before I saw the preview at the Paley Center and last night amped up my love for it. But I'm spending the holidays with cousins up in Connecticut and tried to get them into it, but they looked at it - and me - as if I was contaminating the house.
ReplyDeleteTheir loss.
I tend to over-think what I see in TV - it's the televisiologist in me - so I felt sorry for that bearskin rug... after I had my chuckles over the original visuals in my head. Brought back to life, even a little, without all the internals had to be painful.
Like I said, I over-think this stuff.
Didn't catch the "Jews For Cheeses" but the reception up here in the woods wasn't that great. When I get back to NYC, where will I find that on my DVR copy?
And where have I seen Napoleon Le Nez before?
Toby, the Jews for Cheeses shirt is in the scene where the aunts are looking at old vacation slides.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanskgiving!
ReplyDeleteThis is the episode that finally and unequivocally sold me. I liked the pilot and had liked Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me a lot, but there were things in the latter two shows that had rubbed me the wrong way and they looked like they'd be repeated here (mostly the weird near-asexuality of the protagonists). The second episode was so over-the-top that I wrote the show off as something I'd be interested in as a movie but just came on too strong to watch week after week. Lee Pace seemed really underused -- he stole so many scenes in Wonderfalls, but plays such a cipher of a character here.
But a couple episodes later, a friend who felt more or less the same way said it was becoming more down to earth, the characters feeling more real. And last night's episode was just fantastic. So many good lines, and everyone plays off each other perfectly -- the "hi, Emerson" was actually my favorite moment, because something about it just felt so right.
Ah, lovely. And what a great ending...setting up Paul Reubens as the 'bad guy' digging in to Chuck's mysterious smell.
ReplyDeleteThe burnt up dead girl made me laugh. They have a way of making death seem so silly instead of gross. I loved how the front of her hair was burned up, but the back was still blonde.
Oh, and Ned's fear of Chuck and Olive having a 'girl talk' in the Pie Hole.
Looking forward to next week's episode with the candy seller rival.
And I love Emerson's adoration of pop-up books! I'm with you there, Emerson!
Despite the fact that my family spent most of the ep chatting (and/or asking me about the characters), they seemed to like it and might give it a try again next ep. Yay! :-)
ReplyDeleteLoved what little I got to see and hear (especially the "Jews for Cheeses" shirt), though. I hope it's on my DVR when I get home for repeat viewing!
toby: And where have I seen Napoleon Le Nez before?
ReplyDeletewhen i saw this episode, i automatically nailed him as the father, kevin burke, in two of a kind... that tv show on abc family with mary kate and ashley olsen.
i thought that show was pretty funny, of course i was a tween back then. still, i'm glad that guy is getting work, he was pretty hilarious.
and holy snap do i love this show! i'm so happy that pee wee herman is gonna be back on this show again! next week's episodes looks really good!
If ABC would put something watchable on after Pushing Daisies and before Dirty Sexy Money (read: Private Practice blows), Wednesday nights would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone's still reading, you can buy your own Jews For Cheeses t-shirt -- or onesie, or messenger bag, or trucker hat, or thing -- from Cafe Press.
ReplyDeleteCatching up on all my post-long weekend reading... my husband and I still love this show and it's one of our few must-sees. Although even HE after a while is like, "What's with all the cleavage?" Is it just us or is all the cleavage-baring a bit excessive/distracting? And we're not prudes by any stretch of the imagination... it just seems to stand out on this show more than on others...
ReplyDeleteAs a Member of the Tribe, I loved the "Jews for Cheeses" shirt. I may turn to CafePress for a Chanukah present.
ReplyDeleteAlso thought we were getting a bit more cleavage than we have before. Though I had no problems with that whatsoever. : )
Can someone put up a link to a pic showing that Jews for Cheeses shirt?
ReplyDeleteAaron (the CafePress guy)
I haven't had a TV in my house since 1996. I was wondering why my sales on that item went up in the last couple of weeks. :-)
ReplyDeleteAaron