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Pushing Daisies 1.7: "Smell of Success" |
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Thursday, 22 November 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
Perhaps it was appreciation for the longer holiday weekend, but this episode seemed to slide back in the right direction. I thought the past few episodes were a bit forced, as if the writing staff was trying to figure out how to replicate Bryan Fuller’s absurdity. Something must have worked, because the strange and unusual elements in this episode felt more natural.
The cast is definitely getting comfortable with the variations in writing styles as well, and that helps tremendously. Dialogue delivery on “Pushing Daisies” is practically an art, which is why it’s easy to miss the mark ever so slightly if the words don’t fit the character cadences. Even the guest characters seemed to have a specific rhythm in this episode. Add the musical element to the mix, and this was another solid hour of television magic.
Now would be a good time to give a special mention to Kristin Chenoweth, who has done an admirable job of making Olive a semi-sympathetic character. The audience is clearly meant to cheer for Ned and Chuck and their fairytale romance, and Olive started out as the most potent threat to that relationship. Instead, Olive has taken a more difficult path, caught between desire and kindness, and a lesser actress might have stumbled over the nuances.
If there is one element that still needs better attention, it’s the integration of the Darling Mermaid Darlings within the overall story. While they’ve been instrumental in Olive’s aforementioned character growth, they still feel tangential to everything else since their prominent role in “Pigeon”. I find them to be the least interesting part of the show thus far. Hopefully there’s a larger purpose waiting in the wings. |
