Put Them To Rest

If you haven't noticed already, I've been catching up on some of what the TV networks are hoping will be must see shows this upcoming season. So far, they've all been either pretty good or great...in my opinion. The next two shows I watched have a few things in common: they both have characters named Chuck and they both probably won't be around for too long.

The former of the two, Pushing Daisies, was created by Bryan Fuller and executive produced by Barry Sonnenfeld. It stars Lee Pace as Ned. He is blessed with the ability to resurrect anything that has died with only a touch. It isn't all fun and games, though, as there are some catches. If he touches what he has brought back to life, they die (and this time it's permanent). And if he doesn't touch them within a minute of the initial touch, then something else must lose it's life. For instance, as a child, Ned's mother dies. He touches her and she comes back to life, only to have their neighbour across the street (and father of his love interest) drop dead a minute later. His mother then kisses him goodnight and dies for good.

It's a good concept and the pilot is eccentric, smart and enjoyable. The concept just doesn't seem well suited for a television series. I can, however, see this as a film. I guess we'll see where they go with it.

Overall, I enjoyed the pilot, especially Anna Friel as "Chuck" (the aforementioned love interest).

Speaking of Chuck, it's the name of the other pilot I watched. This one involves a regular guy (and tech nerd, played by Zachary Levi) whose college roommate became a spy. Before being killed, the roommate-turned-spy e-mails Chuck. Chuck opens the open and a bunch of top secret government data is downloaded into his brain via a collage of photos and video. Sound stupid? It gets worse. The next day Chuck is at work (he works for what is essentially Best Buy and their Geek Patrol) and helps out an attractive blonde. They end up on a date, but all is not as it appears. It turns out she is a government spy who used to be in love with Chuck's aforementioned roommate. to complicate things, Chuck is also being chased by another government agent. You never quite know if they are trying to kill him or just apprehend him.

And to further complicate matters, Chuck keeps zoning out. During these zone outs, all those pictures and videos start playing in his head again, but giving him clues. For instance, he sees a guy in a Costco and is about ask him where something is, but then zones out and realizes the guy is a bad guy. For no reason that I could tell, the guy knows that Chuck knows he's a bad guy and slowly moves in for a kill.

Seriously, the whole thing just isn't well executed. It might be a decent show under a different creative team.

*Pushing Daisies is set to air on ABC at 8:00/7:00c on Wednesdays (premiering October 3, 2007)

*Chuck is set to air on NBC at 8:00/7:00c on Mondays (premiering September 24, 2007)