Pushing Daisies Oh Oh Oh… It’s Magic
The Case
Original Air Date: 19 Nov 2008
Crystal - TwoCents Reviewer
crystal@thetwocentscorp.com
Abracadabra.
The Great Pushing Daisies takes the stage to perform its own vanishing act, in which our beloved Pushing Daisies does not air for two weeks in a row (during November Sweeps no less), and then suddenly reappears with a bang, or at least the sound of cement pouring. Same difference.
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[photo: ABC.com]
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Abracadabra.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Pushing Daisies takes the stage to perform its own vanishing act, in which our beloved Pushing Daisies does not air for two weeks in a row (during November Sweeps no less), and then suddenly reappears with a bang, or at least the sound of cement pouring. Same difference.
Our case this week revolves around a magic man, some dead animals, and a lot of cement. It all begins when Ned, Chuck, Olive, and Emerson are invited to a magic show to see Ned’s half-brothers perform. The Great Herrmann, played by the delightful and wonderful Fred Willard, who is, I think, obligated to appear at least once on everything ever aired, enlists the services of Emerson to investigate the deaths of his beloved assistants. First there is Alice, a bunny rabbit, who was found dead in her cage on her back with her tongue sticking out. Then there are Fred and Ginger, the birds who were impaled by a malfunctioned wire coat hanger that was part of an act. And then there’s Mercury, a beautiful monkey, who was bludgeoned by a fallen sandbag. Emerson balks, not initially wanted to investigate the deaths of “putty tats and bunny wabbits” but the green call of cash lures him in. It’s a great scene, and Chi McBride delivers it perfectly, Loony Tunes references perfectly and hilariously deadpan.
Our foursome pokes around Herrmann’s dressing room while he goes to perform. Soon, they realize that the animals were not the killer’s intended target. Naturally, Herrmann “Call me Great” Gunt was the target, and before the show gets any further, Herrmann is dead. The Great Magician failed to complete his greatest act, one which involves him chained in a large box and covered with cement. Normally, this trick wouldn’t be a problem, but on this week’s show, it’s the fatal blow to the magic man.
Ned, Chuck, and Emerson talk to Herrmann’s human assistant, Alexandria, a jilted would-be magician whom Herrmann would never give a solo act. She looks like a likely suspect, all angry vengeance and bitter sidekick emotion. She harshly rebukes our trio, saying murder was not on her mind, and pointing them at another act in the show, The Geek.
I still haven’t figured out why this character was known as The Geek. He’s a strange man, sure, but not really a geek. He eats things (rings, magnets, keys) and regurgitates them, along with frogs, mice, etc. He loved Herrmann like a father figure.
The trio take a visit to the morgue to view the cement block being broken open. The coroner breaks it, and inside we find…nothing. Nothing but a purple envelope that says, “And now you don’t. xxoo Herrmann” in the spirit of the famous phrase ‘now you see me, now you don’t.’
So it was all a ruse. A sham. Herrmann just wanted to get away from it all, so he faked it all to look like he had killed himself. The End.
Until Ned realizes that the block they opened couldn’t have been the one in which Herrmann was supposedly killed because it should’ve had half of Herrmann’s scarf in it. The one that was cracked at the coroner’s office had no scarf sticking out of it. So the killer switched out blocks, swapping the one with Herrmann for the empty one Herrmann used in the matinee show. It’s a bit confusing. But in any case, it appears we’ve all been hoodwinked, and there’s another block of cement hiding somewhere.
So they all go back to the scene of the crime, The Conjurer’s Castle, and start exploring with metal detectors. They find the real death block under some boards beneath the stage, and ….oh, is that the killer? That dark showy presence above the stage? Ned’s half brothers chase the figure with the metal detectors, Emerson and Olive following them in an attempt to stop them.
Olive and Emerson get sidetracked in The Great Herrmann’s dressing room when they spot the dead body of The Geek, a stake shoved up his nose ancient-Egyptian style. Someone is taking out our magicians. The two get surprised by the twins, who’ve caught our shadowy figure, none other than Alexandria.
Back onstage, Emerson and the twins confront Alexandria, pinning the deaths of both Herrmann and The Geek on her. The unrecognizable Kerri Kenney-Silver again proclaims her innocence. She was packing in preparation of getting out of dodge, realizing that she would never get her own show.
Meanwhile, Ned and Chuck talk to Herrmann, or part of him at least, as they only uncover his head and hands. He agrees to reveal the secret of his trick to Ned, and the big secret is magnets in the shoes. He uses magnets in his shoes to trigger a trap door beneath the stage. But on the night in question, it didn’t work, meaning someone took the magnets out of the shoes. This implies that it was someone who knew the magician’s secrets and was close enough to get into his dressing room.
Cut to Olive, left to stand guard/look over/stand near the dead body of The Geek (not really sure why, beyond the purpose of plot development.) And behind her, the body of The Geek rises, pulling the stake out of his head and grabbing Olive.
Great, now the madman has a hostage. He hauls her up on the stage, in front of everyone else. Emerson tries to reason with him, throwing in an added reference to Kristin Chenoweth’s short height. Ned appears, trying to gain The Geek’s trust. For he understands The Geek’s motivation.
The Geek saw The Great Herrmann as a kind of father, and believed Herrmann felt the same way: “I would’ve eaten anything for that man.” But Herrmann had other plans. Herrmann was a kind of paternal figure to Ned’s brothers, and saw The Geek as just another magician. Jealous and enraged, The Geek decided to take Herrmann out permanently, giving a bad names to us geeks everywhere.
Ned gets his attention, and edges closer, pushing The Geek to step back a little. Ned gives a sudden signal and yells “NOW” and Olive elbows The Geek, pushing him backwards down the cement ramp into the basement below, right in front of the dead Herrmann. Defeated, The Geek is arrested.
And so the murder is solved. What did you think? Were you as happy as I was to see Fred Willard? Did you enjoy the storyline? Tired of magic-related puns? I think we can all agree that we hope that Pushing Daisies gets to “live to see another day.”