Pushing Daisies 1.06 Bitches review

Original US airdate: 14/11/07

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Written by: Chad Gomez Creasey, Dara Resnik Creasey

Directed by: Allan Kroeker

Rating:

The One Where: A dog breeder has been stabbed (or poisoned) by one of his four wives. Ned, Chuck and Emerson enlist the help of Ned’s dog and Olive to work out which one of the quartet had a motive. Meanwhile, the implications of Olive and Ned’s kiss are being felt by all three corners of the love triangle.

Verdict: “Bitches” mines the comic potential of dog shows, and throws in an odd set-up where all four wives live in apparent harmony. The deceased’s lifestyle is cleverly mirrored by Ned’s Chuck/Olive dilemma, and the Simpsons-like background details top off the package.

Flashback: Feeling lonely at boarding school Ned looks back to a time 11 weeks ago before everything went wrong. Recreating his old life with clay models, he longs for things to be as they were.

Did You Spot? Emerson’s dreams homage Vertigo.

No Touching! Chuck falls on top of Ned and... nothing happens. As the couple make the most of their respite from “no contact” rules, Chuck peels off her skin to reveal that she is, in fact, Olive. (It’s a dream. And a metaphor.)

Olive versus Chuck: The pair may be friends, but Olive snogging Ned has made people wonder where his affections lie.

Elaborate Death: When is a stabbing not a stabbing? When poison in the victim’s coffee causes him to spill said beverage, slip and stab himself on a dog brush. Ouch.

Best Line:
Emerson (on Olive’s kiss): "That girl dropped a bomb in your subconscious with her saliva."

Richard Edwards

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