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Pie-lette is the premier episode of the series Pushing Daisies. The series is narrated by Jim Dale. The pilot written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld introduces Ned the piemaker, played by Lee Pace and Field Cate, as a man able to bring people back to life with his touch. Chi McBride plays private investigator and Ned's new partner, Emerson Cod. Anna Friel plays Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Ned's childhood love. Rounding out the cast are Kristin Chenoweth as besotted Pie Hole employee Olive Snook, Ned's number one fan and Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene as chuck's home-bound formerly synchronized swimming, cheese-loving, aunts, Lily and Vivian Charles.
Summary
As a child, living in Coeur d’Coeur, young Ned discovered he had the ability to resurrect the dead after his dog Digby is killed by a truck and returned to life with his touch, unknown to him, at the cost of a squirrel's life. After his mother's death in their kitchen while making pies, he brings her back to life at the cost of childhood playmate chuck's father's life. Later, however, she kisses him goodnight and is killed again, this time forever. Ned learned that one touch resurrects, a second returns to death permanently. But if not returned to death within a minute of their resurrection, the individual stays alive at the cost of someone else and he can never touch them or they'll be dead once again. After his mother's death and the death of Chuck's father, Ned was sent away to school and never saw Chuck again. Chuck went to live with her aunts, former synchronized swimmers with a deep and abiding love of cheese.
Now an adult, Ned runs a pie shop, the Pie-Hole. Though employee Olive Snook, is desperately in love with him and hopes to overcome his aversion to being touched, he is oblivious. His ability is discovered one day when he accidentally resurrects a criminal killed being chased by Emerson Cod. Cod witnessed Ned in action and proposed a new career for them both. They would resurrect murder victims for a moment and ask who killed them and collect the reward for information.
Their plot seems to be going well until news comes of a young woman murdered on a cruise ship. Ned and Emerson travel to his home town to find out who murdered her. The young woman is Charlotte Charles, his childhood love. He resurrects her only to discover she never saw her killer's face as she was killed from behind with a plastic sack. Ned doesn't return Chuck to death and instead, the director of the funeral home dies on the toilet. Ned rescues Charlotte from being buried and takes her to his place.
Unable to return home, Chuck moves in with Ned. Their love is still strong, much to Emerson's disgust, but they can never touch again. They continue to investigate Chuck's murder. Chuck was supposed to transport plastic monkeys for a travel agent who gave her a discount in return. They find travel agent Dee dead in her office and she is resurrected and tells them she doesn't have them, they were sent to Chuck's aunts.
Ned, Chuck and Emerson visit the aunts home. Vivian and Lily were once synchronize swimming mermaids but lost their career after a Lily got dirty cat litter in her eye. Chuck, tasked with staying in the car, while Emerson and Ned talked to her aunts, instead goes to check on her bees and climbs up to her room and sees the monkey case on the bed. Lily, enters the room to retrieve the monkey case and Chuck quickly hides outside. The killer comes in and tries to suffocate Lily with a plastic bag. Ned comes up to help her get the case and is attacked by the killer.
lily surprises the killer, being able to hold her breath for a long time and fires her shotgun at the murder, blowing him out the window. Thanks to her diminished vision due to her eyepatch she misses seeing Chuck who then slips away.
Later, back at the Pie-Hole Ned feels guilty for his inability to tell Chuck why her father died. The two pretend to kiss by pressing the two plastic moneys together but realize they are heavier than they should be. They break them and discovered they are gold inside.
The aunts collect the $50,000 reward. Ned and Emerson have a new partner in Chuck.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
