I am trying very hard to be a ...
Question: I am trying very hard to be a fan of
Pushing Daisies. I thought series creator
Bryan Fuller's
Dead Like Me was just magnificent. There was not a character on that series who I didn't love, even the actors who had never appealed to me previously. While there are some elements in
Daisies I find very amusing, there are so many positive reviews out there that I can't help but wonder if I'm watching the same show. Here's my beef: When I read the show's concept, I thought the idea of the girl he couldn't touch was great. But now I find
Anna Friel's Chuck to be about as milquetoast as the new Jaime Sommers, and maybe even more so. To see
Lee Pace drawn to her rather than to the brilliant and nearly perfectly played Olive (
Kristin Chenoweth) is unbelievable and certainly disappointing. I honestly keep hoping Ned will accidentally touch Chuck so the real fun can begin. I feel like I'm waiting for the scenes that Chuck is in to end so they'll get back to the fun, and I can't believe I'm alone here. Does everyone else love this character?
Answer: I seem to be at cross-purposes with many of this week's correspondents, but I guess that's part of the purpose of this column. From the start, there has been a very vocal "We Hate Chuck" brigade among
Pushing Daisies watchers, but I'm not among them. I think Anna Friel is charmingly daffy and at times even poignant (though not as touching as Lee Pace's forlorn Ned), and much as I love Kristin Chenoweth in this and other roles, I can't imagine Ned finding happiness or comfort in the arms of this adorably perky pip-squeak. I get that people cringe when Chuck starts babbling to the newly raised dead in the precious minute of life they're allowed, but I find her enthusiasm and spirit infectious. As, clearly, does Ned. To compare her to the bionic bore is cruel.
