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Episode Recap: “The Fun in Funeral”
Chuck was bound to find out sooner or later that there’s a price to be paid for reviving and keeping her alive. I’m glad she found out tonight, although the way Emerson sprung Lawrence’s corpse on her and Ned wasn’t that nice.
And the Darling Mermaid Darlings made another appearance. I, too, missed them in last week’s episode and was pleased to see them return. The funniest sight gag from tonight’s episode is their mermaid-fish-tail-shaped garment bags. I TiVoed back (well, really DVRed back; I don’t have TiVo) to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. I’m still totally enamored of this show.
Let’s spend some time with the corpse, who we already met in the "Pie Lette." Lawrence Schatz (Brad Grunberg) was the dirty funeral director who unwittingly gave his life to bring Chuck back from the dead permanently. Ned felt he could justify Lawrence’s death because Lawrence was a grave-robber; he had been separating corpses from family heirlooms for years. Convinced his twin brother was murdered, Louis Schatz hires Emerson to discover the truth. Obviously Emerson already knows the truth but he’s trying to protect Ned. Well, he’s really trying to protect his income. He doesn’t want anyone else to take the case and discover what Ned’s capable of. Well, everyone except Chuck.
When Chuck finds out the cost of letting her live — and after those sweet plastic-wrapped kisses they shared — she looks at Ned like he’s no longer her knight in shining armor. To take her mind off Ned, she bakes her aunts (who she desperately misses) a pie with some of Alfredo’s happy juice in it. Olive goes out of her way to deliver the pie — how hilarious was she at the gate and going to the front door? The Darling Mermaid Darlings let her in and through talking with them Olive assumes Chuck faked her own death. She doesn’t know why, but Olive’s going to keep this information in her arsenal until she can find the right time to use it.
Whoops, back to the case. After Lawrence was exposed as a grave-robber, his twin, Louis, received 1,867 hate letters. Chuck, ever one to do a good deed for the dead, takes the time to catalog them. She wants to find all the missing family heirlooms and get them returned to the proper families. Ned reanimates Lawrence to apologize for killing him. Chuck thanks him, and just before time runs out, Emerson asks Lawrence about the heirlooms. Lawrence says grave-robbing is a family business and his brother knows exactly where the treasures are.
When Ned finds Louis’ body in his refrigerator, he determines (with Emerson’s help) that he’s been set up. With the cops pounding on his door, Ned reanimates Louis to get him out of there. Back at the funeral home the gang wants to put Louis back where he died so he can be discovered there by the police. Ned accidentally touches a few corpses (so, so funny), but the one person he can’t put back to sleep is Wilfred Woodruff. Wilfred watched Louis choke on his tongue (the cow tongue, of course) before recovering his family heirloom.
As always, there were many lines I enjoyed. Here are a few of my favorites:
Olive: "Why can’t sugar be enough?"
Coroner: "I could write a book on hand moisturizer. Nobody wants the last thing they’ve been touched with to be ashy and dry."
Alfredo: "It’s homeopathic."
Olive: "Meaning it deeply related to gay people."
Alfredo: "Gay only in that they are bright and happy."
I also am enjoying Chi McBride’s comic turn in this series. We’ve seen him in a number of dramatic roles (remember him on House?) but I think his forte is comedy. He just keeps the funny going and it’s especially nice to see considering how many dead people populate this show. There were other laugh-out-loud moments, namely Ned reanimating the two corpses at the funeral home. The funniest scene, though, was Ned trying to put Wilfred back to sleep. The way Ned kept touching his face and the way Wilfred reacted to it was really hilarious — I’m laughing just thinking about it.
And Hurricane Olive met a kindred spirit in The Pie Hole (as in shut yours). She couldn’t recognize Alfredo Aldarisio (Raul Esparza) for what he is as she’s hung up on Ned, but he fixed her espresso machine. Is it weird he sells happiness in a bottle? I don’t think so. I also enjoyed Wilfred Woodruff’s backstory. It’s little touches like that that make this show so delightful.
Questions:
• Now that Chuck knows the price of Ned keeping her alive, how long do you think it will take for her to discover what really happened to her father?
• When and how do you think Olive will use the knowledge she has about Chuck?
• When are we going to see what else Emerson’s been knitting?
I’d love to hear your favorite lines and your thoughts about tonight’s episode. If you need a second helping of Pushing Daises, check out our Online Video Guide and this Q&A.
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Oct 18, 2007 2:55 AM
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I kept thinking throughout the episode that the Schatz brothers looked a lot like an obese Greg Grunberg. My research this morning verified that they were indeed played by his brother, Brad. Awesome.
I love this show.
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Oct 18, 2007 6:51 AM
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I am so in love with this show. I can't remember ever watching a show and smiling throughout each and every episode, from beginning to end, and even on for a while after wards.
I love Ned, and Chuck, and Ned and Chuck and plastic wrap, and Emerson, and Olive and the Darling Mermaid Darlings, and just every thing.
One thing I don't understand though, is why it would be so terrible to let the aunts know Chuck is alive? They seem odd enough to not be freaked out enough, and just be grateful to have Chuck back, and cool enough to never utter a word about her being alive to anyone.
Anyone else feel it's just a matter of time before they learn the truth?
Every time Chuck and Ned have one of their sweet little moments, I just melt.
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Oct 18, 2007 7:55 AM
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 I am sorry, I am truly trying to get into this show and so far I am still BORED silly. Not a chuckle or smirk. Almost went to sleep at work yesterday!!!
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Oct 18, 2007 7:56 AM
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I mainly remember Chi McBride from Boston Public, he was the principal of the school & also he was in Gone in 60 seconds, loved him in that roll (course weird seeing him with hair).
Ok, this episode, I love, love, loved it. This show cracks me up. I mean Ned's facial expressions alone are friggin hilarious. What killed me was that it took 3 episodes before the body of the funeral guy was found? Ewwww....& on the crapper no less, what a way to go. I loved how when the aunt with the eye patch went to go back up the stairs & flipped her patch up to drain out the water, too funny.
I hope that Olive doesn't do an Emerson & just spill the beans to Chuck, because that would just be mean & it's not like her to do that, Emerson, yea. Oh & I was getting hysterical at him being stuck in the window & Chuck telling him that he looked like Pooh.
Ok, all done, can't wait til next Wednesday.
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Oct 18, 2007 7:57 AM
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I mainly remember Chi McBride from Boston Public, he was the principal of the school & also he was in Gone in 60 seconds, loved him in that roll (course weird seeing him with hair).
Ok, this episode, I love, love, loved it. This show cracks me up. I mean Ned's facial expressions alone are friggin hilarious. What killed me was that it took 3 episodes before the body of the funeral guy was found? Ewwww....& on the crapper no less, what a way to go. I loved how when the aunt with the eye patch went to go back up the stairs & flipped her patch up to drain out the water, too funny.
I hope that Olive doesn't do an Emerson & just spill the beans to Chuck, because that would just be mean & it's not like her to do that, Emerson, yea. Oh & I was getting hysterical at him being stuck in the window & Chuck telling him that he looked like Pooh.
Ok, all done, can't wait til next Wednesday.
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Oct 18, 2007 7:57 AM
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I just think that the show is delightful. I also thought that there was a familiar look to the Shatz Brothers, thanks for finding that out.
Everyone should watch this show, it is an hour of true comedy, plain, clean.
A forgotten treasure.
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Oct 18, 2007 8:05 AM
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I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love this show! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and happy! I hope it stays on a long time. Of course I loved Wonderfalls, too, and that was abruptly cancelled by Fox- if you haven't watched the DVD's, do it! You will love them! Anyway, I loved Emerson/ Pooh and all the other cute little moments. Pushing Daisies reminds me of a Tim Burton movie, but not so dark, which is odd since death is such a big part of the show...
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Oct 18, 2007 8:19 AM
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There was a comment about kissing beavers that had my husband laughing for 10 minutes, but I kinda liked the Pooh talk between Chuck and Emerson. *LOL*
Best show on TV!
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Oct 18, 2007 8:27 AM
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My Favorite Line during the Ned & Wilfred fight scene...Of course I cannot remember what Wilfred said first, but Ned responded, "I wanted to be a Jedi." I was wondering how he became so good at sword fighting. Hah!
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Oct 18, 2007 8:27 AM
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I loved Chuck's line to Emerson that he was stuck in the window "like Winnie the Pooh."
This is the kind of show that really requires us--whether we realize it or not--to put aside our usual mindset while watching an hour-long light comedy. The fantasy element is just quirky enough to make it unique without getting too eccentric or surreal for most viewers.
I'm a writer, and I tend to listen to dialogue with a writer's ears, so to speak, and I am often blown away by the turns of phrase that come along so often in each episode. I'm enjoying the show very much. Lots of fun!
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Oct 18, 2007 8:37 AM
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olay123, I am with you. I gave this 3 chances and it has nothing for me. I will not watch another episode.
For the ones that love it, have fun watching. See you on another post.
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Oct 18, 2007 8:42 AM
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I love this show. The quirkiness is perfect, not too much. I hope the ratings stay high so the show will be around for a long time. The pooh reference was hysterical.
Did anyone else think of an earlier conversation Chuck and Ned had about Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming after Ned had the sword fight and the drapes fell on him?
Chi McBride was also in "The Nine" as the bank manager last year.
Is it me ot do others think of Dr. Suess cartoons whenever this show is on? The way the narrator talks, it just reminds me of the voice overs in the Dr. Suess shows.
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Oct 18, 2007 9:17 AM
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The line I laughed at most:
"What part of 'Do Not Resuscitate' don't you people understand?!"
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Oct 18, 2007 9:18 AM
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Those who feared that only Barry Sonnenfeld could bring the magic touch to "Pushing Daisies" can rest easy. Last nights episode was another great episode.
I love how Olive is just so oblivious to the fact that the homeopathic salesman has lovey-dovey feelings for her. I also loved that she delivered the pie and her trepidation while doing the delivery. I didn't like her whole reaction to the sorta-truth about Chuck, specifically that Chuck wasn't dead because of nefarious schemes.
I loved Chi McBride panicking when it looked like Ned wasn't going to be able to make Lawrence Schatz dead again. Kristin Chenoweth and he exemplify why I love this show. It's not just the leads that I love, but the supporting characters. Without Olive and Emerson, it'd only be half a show.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Burberry mermaid tail bags. I had the giggles for 5 minutes after I saw them.
I am already starting to wonder how it'll fare in awards season.
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Oct 18, 2007 9:22 AM
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