07 May 2009

Dead Like Me

So, as I mentioned yesterday, in a completely non-non-sequitor move into my words-obsession, I have found a new show.
Actually, it's not that new since I've seen it described in several places as a "cult hit" but nevertheless.

My Dear Friend Maria tells me that Pushing Daisies, my all-time favourite, is in fact, sort of a spin of of Dead Like Me. In one of the episodes, Roxy's reap doesn't show up, and apparently that is because Ned has been soul-recollecting.
But, you know, it doesn't really make sense, so IMO it's more of a "hey, I like this project, let's do another one vaguely related to it, only brighter and happier!" Which, ya know, I'm grateful for.

The Story:
Georgia "George" Lass is an 18-year-old who has zero interest in almost everything. She doesn't know what to do with her life, and is pretty lethargic overall. She dropped out of college and is on her first ever lunchbreak when she gets hit by a toilet seat, fallen from the de-orbiting MIR space station.
This earns her the nickname "Toilet-Seat Girl" which is funny.
What's not so funny: she's dead.
But not really. George, being the last soul collected by a grim reaper, has to take his place, collecting souls from the dead in the "External Influence" department, along with her merry fellow grim reapers.
Drama, tragedy and hilarity ensue.

Parts I like:
The funny deaths.

"My name's Daisy. Daisy Adair."

Basically all the characters but George. She's not too bad, but not very charming in any way. She improves on acquaintance though.
Reggie, George's kid sister.




Parts I don't like as much:
The tragic deaths. Little girls dying: not funny. Especially when they give those stupid humanizing details about them. "I like Donald Duck." Great, now I'll be thinking of that for a while.
I hate kids dying.

Overall:
I love the show. I expected something happy and shiny, but that's not this.
I mean sure, Pushing Daisies has its tragic sad bits (the aunts - not so funny. The crippling social anxiety? Not funny.), but overall it's just so happy and it cheers me right up.
Dead Like Me is the other side of that coin. It has its funny bits, but overall it's kind of sad in a beautiful, philosophical kind of way. It's a celebration of life, really, but still, it's not the woop! woop! I'm used to.
I still watched both seasons in a few days.

9/10!

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