TDL’s Sports, Wrestling, & Otherwise

So, I know I’m about a month late with this show. It’s one of those “missed the premiere because I thought it looked kinda dumb but it got such decent buzz from co-workers and friends that I had to give it a shot” shows. I started taping it three weeks in and finally had a couple hours to sit down and watch the first couple episodes online.

For those as behind the 8-ball as me the facts are these: At 10 years old, Ned (played by Lee Pace) sees his dog get mowed down by a truck. He goes over to check on his dog and, when he touches it, discovers that he has the ability to bring dead things back to life. Later, when his mother passes away unexpectedly, he brings her back only to discover two limitations on his power: 1) if he leaves things alive for more than a minute, something else of roughly equal size in the proximity grabs their ticket to the afterlife and 2) if he touches them a second time, they’re gone for good. 20 years later, Ned has his own pie shop and teams up with a private investigator to solve murders. He touches people, ask them how they died, touches them again, finds their killer, and collects the reward money. Later, he finds that his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (played by Anna Friel) has been murdered. He goes to the funeral home to ask her how she died and can’t bring himself to touch her again. The funeral director picks up her tab.

Here’s the catch: Ned’s still in love with this childhood sweetheart that he hasn’t seen in 20 years but can’t ever touch her again and he’s responsible for the death of her father… but she doesn’t know it.

Pros

• It’s legitimately funny. I watched the first three episodes in one sitting last night and, other than the fact it was way too late by the time I went to bed, I got three or four legitimate laugh out loud moments per episode.
• I don’t read TV columns for the most part, but I have a feeling that the words “quirky” and “too smart” have been worn out on this show. The thing is: it actually really IS quirky, funny, and pretty smart. Usually these are buzzwords for a show that’s going to end up on the “Brilliant But Cancelled” List.
• For the first couple of episodes, I kept expecting Kristen Chenoweth (of Wicked) to burst into song. In the 2nd episode, she actually DID burst into song. This left me incredibly satisfied.
• As an extension of that, all the characters are engaging. Even Chuck, who toes the line of being really annoying, is at least annoying with a purpose. She’s been dead… she brings a warmth to what was, before, a very cold process. Warm enough that the private investigator (Boston Public’s Chi McBride) gets very frustrated at her for interrupting what was a pretty good, secure, and efficient source of income.
• The deadpan deliveries of both McBride and Pace work really well for this. It works for Pace because he’s obviously a very emotionally scarred dude (evident in the flashbacks to his childhood that open each show) with abandonment issues, dealing with this thing he can do and the limitations it imposes on him. At some point, I’d assume, they’re going to go back and discuss how these two characters came to meet. I’d imagine that’s an interesting story.

Cons

• Really, I’m not sure if I should file this as a pro or a con because I’m not sure how I feel about it. The whole show is filmed like a weird indie movie that I normally wouldn’t like. It has a narrator who comes into the story and describes things going on in the background… most of the dialog is deadpanned and weird… the characters are very, very strange. Every fiber of this show screams “too cool for the room indie movie and you should absolutely hate this” right down to the crazy wardrobe on the women. Yet, for some reason… I like it. The mental tugging between “you should hate this!” and “but I don’t!” is painful.
• This may or may not be a problem for other people, but I find myself questioning the logistics of the show too much. Whether this is the product of being TOO in to fantasy or being weaned on Sci-Fi and Fantasy that tries to operate in the realm of science. For instance, his dog is obviously over 20 years old now… are the people he touches actually alive or some form of undead? A funny moment in the first episode shows the two characters discussing a PC name for them. Ned doesn’t like zombie… he feels it’s disrespectful and an unfair stereotype. If he touches things a second time, they die… but what if they die again without his help… does his touch work again? Of course, I’m working physics into a show that has dandelion-fueled cars, so grain of salt. I have this same ongoing problem with Reaper. Can someone address why all these souls are going to this one town where there’s obviously someone there collecting them? Gimme a Hellmouth or something.
• How much mileage can they get out of the Chuck/Ned relationship? They can’t ever touch… where can it go? I guess if you want to keep sexual tension alive for the entire run of a series, create a contrived reason why the two leads can absolutely, positively, under no circumstances, ever touch.

The Verdict

Like I said above, I like it but I desperately want to hate it. It’s like watching the Patriots.

Quote to take away
I think dying has made me too morbid

or

Chuck: You can’t just touch someone’s life and be done with it.
Ned: Yes, I can. That’s how I roll.