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meganbmooreWhen he was 9 years old, Ned learned that he had the ability to bring the dead back from life with a touch when he saved his dog, Digby, after Digby was hit by a truck. But when his mother died on the 9th birthday of Chuck (short for Charlotte Charles), he learned two rules about his gift. The first was that if he left the dead alive for more than a minute, someone else died. He learned this because Chuck's father dropped dead in the yard a minute after he brought his mother back. The second was that a second touch from him made the revived person dead again forever. He learned this when his mother kissed him goodnight that same night.
At the graveyard where their parents were being buried, Ned and Chuck had their first and only kiss ever. With anyone.
And then Chuck went to live with her aunts Lilly and Vivian, former performing swimmers who had become shut-ins after developing social phobias, and Ned was sent off to private school by his father. Eventually, Ned opened a pie shop and hired Olive, a petite blonde who was hopelessly in love with him, much to his cluelessness, and became the partner of Emerson, a private investigator who learned about Ned's ability. Ned never heard from Chuck again until she was found dead in the ocean, and Emerson wanted to solve her murder for the reward money. Unable to "redead" Chuck after the minute had passed as he normally did, Ned let her live (at the expense of the funeral director's life) and Chuck becomes Emerson's second partner, against his will, and gets to live life for the first time.
The series follows the Rules of Comedy in that all of the characters would be annoying or unlikable as real people, but are absolutely darling as fictional characters. Except that, normally, I'm still annoyed, but I'm not here. (Mind you, my absolute love for Anna Friel may have helped some, here.) The first few episodes are a little too caught up in the show's cleverness, but it gets better. Unfortunately, there's an extremely annoying narrator the whole time who not only never goes away, but seems to actually become even more prominent as the season goes on. The romance between Ned and Chuck is often a little too trite, especially when dealing with the "omg no touching ever ever ever" aspect, but is charming overall. Most of the cases are absurd, but the show knows that and plays them as such.
The show is very fun, but I'm not sure how long they can keep the gimmick going. There were, though, a couple of interesting (though somewhat expected) twists in the final episode that I'm sure they'll get some mileage out of.
Ok, how, exactly, did Ned not know about the "two touches means permanent death" bit? We're talking about an active 9 year old kid and and active dog here. And there were at least several days between Ned reviving Digby, and the death of the parents. I can't believe he didn't find out by killing Digby again.
Despite the insight into how Ned ended up Ned, I actually found the flashbacks to be increasingly annoying (and even cloying) outside of the first and last episodes. And little Chuck chasing after Ned's car, and the arrival of the aunts, have to be the most wrenching things in the season.
Not surprisingly, the storyline with Olive realizing Chuck was Charlotte Charles and getting close to the aunts, and then becoming friends with Chuck through their love of the aunts, was my favorite plotline of the season. I was prepared for them to really annoy me with the "other woman" aspect with Olive, and instead, I loved it.
Also, Emerson knits when he's stressed or anxious or annoyed. He and Gwendal from Kyo Kara Maoh should bond.
At the graveyard where their parents were being buried, Ned and Chuck had their first and only kiss ever. With anyone.
And then Chuck went to live with her aunts Lilly and Vivian, former performing swimmers who had become shut-ins after developing social phobias, and Ned was sent off to private school by his father. Eventually, Ned opened a pie shop and hired Olive, a petite blonde who was hopelessly in love with him, much to his cluelessness, and became the partner of Emerson, a private investigator who learned about Ned's ability. Ned never heard from Chuck again until she was found dead in the ocean, and Emerson wanted to solve her murder for the reward money. Unable to "redead" Chuck after the minute had passed as he normally did, Ned let her live (at the expense of the funeral director's life) and Chuck becomes Emerson's second partner, against his will, and gets to live life for the first time.
The series follows the Rules of Comedy in that all of the characters would be annoying or unlikable as real people, but are absolutely darling as fictional characters. Except that, normally, I'm still annoyed, but I'm not here. (Mind you, my absolute love for Anna Friel may have helped some, here.) The first few episodes are a little too caught up in the show's cleverness, but it gets better. Unfortunately, there's an extremely annoying narrator the whole time who not only never goes away, but seems to actually become even more prominent as the season goes on. The romance between Ned and Chuck is often a little too trite, especially when dealing with the "omg no touching ever ever ever" aspect, but is charming overall. Most of the cases are absurd, but the show knows that and plays them as such.
The show is very fun, but I'm not sure how long they can keep the gimmick going. There were, though, a couple of interesting (though somewhat expected) twists in the final episode that I'm sure they'll get some mileage out of.
Ok, how, exactly, did Ned not know about the "two touches means permanent death" bit? We're talking about an active 9 year old kid and and active dog here. And there were at least several days between Ned reviving Digby, and the death of the parents. I can't believe he didn't find out by killing Digby again.
Despite the insight into how Ned ended up Ned, I actually found the flashbacks to be increasingly annoying (and even cloying) outside of the first and last episodes. And little Chuck chasing after Ned's car, and the arrival of the aunts, have to be the most wrenching things in the season.
Not surprisingly, the storyline with Olive realizing Chuck was Charlotte Charles and getting close to the aunts, and then becoming friends with Chuck through their love of the aunts, was my favorite plotline of the season. I was prepared for them to really annoy me with the "other woman" aspect with Olive, and instead, I loved it.
Also, Emerson knits when he's stressed or anxious or annoyed. He and Gwendal from Kyo Kara Maoh should bond.
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Date: 2008-10-01 07:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 09:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-04 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 09:04 pm (UTC)We saw Ned experimenting a bit before reviving his mother, which I guess could have been in the same same, but the impression I got was a longer period of time. Still, even the same day, I find it hard to believe there was no jumping and hugging w/ the revived Digby.
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Date: 2008-10-01 09:33 pm (UTC)And normally I'd hate seeing a relationship like Ned's and Chuck's--But I really loved it in this.
Another thing I really love is the soundtrack. I've never paid attention to a TV show soundtrack before, but... I intend on buying this one. XD
I admit it, I love everything about it. D:
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Date: 2008-10-01 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 10:01 pm (UTC)I love the narrator, actually. And the flashbacks.
The whole show just really feels like a manga to me.
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Date: 2008-10-01 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 10:14 pm (UTC)Perhaps Ned actually is allergic to dogs?
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Date: 2008-10-01 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 01:05 am (UTC)