I was so excited to see a new episode of this great TV show last night. If you’re not familiar with this show, I’ll try to give you a brief summary. The main character (Ned) has the ability to bring dead people back to life by touching them; however, there is a catch. The person remains alive until Ned touches them again. If Ned does not touch them again within one minute, someone else within an unspecified proximity will die. So in the series first episode we see Ned “revive” his childhood sweetheart Charlotte (“Chuck”) in order to determine who killed her. Of course, once she’s alive again, Ned realizes that his love for her (and her love for him) never faded after their childhood separation. So she remains alive, giving them a chance to be together again. The catch? He can never touch her or she’ll die again.

This show is appealing to me for a variety of reasons. First, there is nothing like it on TV. It is quirky without being grating or disturbing. From whimsical dialogue to surreal scenery, this show exemplifies what good televison looks like. It is pure fantasy, with doses of sardonic wit (mostly by Ned’s partner, P.I. Emerson Cod, who continually refers to Chuck as ‘dead girl’), fast-paced dialogue, and entertainingly bizarre supporting characters.

Second, the love story between Ned and Charlotte (Chuck) is fascinating. There is a purity about their relationship; remember, they cannot touch or Chuck dies. This lends an innocent quality to their romance as they try and find ways to express their affection for each other in non-physical ways. How many TV shows can say that today?

Finally, I have to commend the writers for dialogue that is intelligent, witty, and stylish. The show assumes the audience has some degree of intelligence and can go along for the ride, using imagination to appropriately apprehend the magical story unfolding. How can I not like a show that has lines like this (spoken by Chuck when she realizes that because Ned did not touch her again before a minute was up, aonther person in close proximity died): “You mean someone had to die so that I could live?” I’m paraphrasing from memory, but I thought that was a great line that serves well as an illustration about what Christ did. If you think about it, that’s the reality we face; if Christ did not die, then all hope would be lost, death would be the final act, and we would face eternity separated from God. But because Christ died, I live. In 2 Corinthians we are reminded that anyone who is in Christ is a “new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” Someone had to die so that I could live. His name is Jesus. And if Pushing Daisies can help me remember that while entertaining me, then I say my time is well spent watching it.