Death of an Original Show

Well, despite my attempts to try and rally viewers to its rescue, ABC announced that it will not be picking up Pushing Daisies for the rest of the season, leaving its fans with only 22 episodes between two seasons and this viewer in particular is not happy at all. This is essentially the same fate that befell another of my favorites, Arrested Development, the only difference there being that they won the Emmy for Best Comedy, thus staving off execution until the abbreviated season three (Pushing Daisies was nominated for 10 Emmy awards and won for art and direction. About the only category they weren't nominated for was best series).

I've already talked about what makes the show so great and why I love it (see my review blog link to the right), but the two biggest things that annoy me about this cancellation are that 1) Due to the writer's strike last year, the show wasn't really given a fair shake at developing an audience and then, with general apathy towards television shows at an all-time high because of that strike, the show was forced to perform when all shows are suffering; and 2) Pushing Daisies is easily the most original show on television right now and it kills me to see gems like this get dumped when there is such crap on television getting a pass, (I'm looking at you, Knight Rider!). It's frustrating to see a refreshingly sweet and funny show get canned without so much as a chance to prove itself in the marketplace. ABC could have extended the show, granting it a mulligan due to the strike, and done a heavy push for the holidays for the DVD set for Season 1 to get people on board. The fact that the Freshman show was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards has got to mean they were doing something right, right?

The show's creator, Bryan Fuller, has said that the story may continue, (as the 13^th and final episode for Season 2 is due to end in a cliffhanger), in the form of either a comic book or a feature film. Why not, I say. After all, it was reported this last week that the long rumored film version of Arrested Development is close to happening for real, and I would welcome a Pushing Daisies film to wrap up all the loose ends. However, I think that the producers should try to sell the show to HBO, as it is obvious the premium cable station has hit hard times in regards to its original programming. Shows like Dexter, Weeds, and Californication on Showtime are proving to be more popular than HBO's fare and in terms of awards, they are now chasing basic cablers like Mad Men. The students have truly become the masters and HBO needs something fresh and different to shake it out of its funk. Of course, they tried doing quirky with John from Cincinnati, which proved to be a disastrous flop, but I felt that show was a bit more esoteric than Pushing Daisies, which is far more accessible. The future does not look too good for Home Box Office, (at least they have finally greenlit the pilot for George R. R. Martin's “Game of Thrones”), no matter how good they tell you Tru Blood is (it isn't). They need help and that help should come in the form of pie from the Pie-Maker.

So on this Thanksgiving, it is with a heavy heart that I say one of the things I was thankful for was Pushing Daisies, long may it live on DVD and reruns.