Auteur Television: Bryan Fuller and Beautiful Ennui

Like many TV watchers today, I find myself gravitating toward certain shows which I will watch happily, even in syndication.  M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, South Park;really any show that gives me a laugh or something to think about.  For each of these examples there is a powerful individual or team working to create something that is fundamentally and totally theirs.  Alan Alda took M*A*S*H from a pretty straight situational comedy to a politically-charged cultural phenomenon that outlasted the conflict it depicted by seven years.  Matt Groening is responsible for the best loved and recognized TV family since the tube entered homes and Trey Parker and Matt Stone have shown that television characters can cause a global ruckus.  There is another man who I think should be recognized for his contributions to television greatness, Bryan Fuller.  He is the man behind the two season long ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies and the equally short lived Showtime original Dead Like Me.  While both shows were axed before they were given a real chance, they each demonstrate amazing care and maturity in their storytelling and overall production value.

Fuller’s first step into the biz as a TV show creator was Dead Like Me.  It tells the story of a newly dead girl named George, played by Ellen Muth, chosen by fate to become a grim reaper.  With her new boss and new co-workers as guides, she tries to make sense of an afterlife in which she must take souls without question, remorse or mercy and completely abandon her living life and her struggling family.  George’s alienation echoes the feelings of many 20-somethings of our time; as soon as you leave home, you are homeless, alone.  Appropriately, all of the characters in the show (both dead and living) are either severely depressed or entirely obsessed with death.  At one point, George’s little sister Reggie decides to keep a dead bird in her toy box, prompting their overbearing mother to bring her to a psychiatrist.

While the subject matter and certain actions taken by the characters may paint this show as gloomy, the visual palette of the program and overarching message keep it grounded as a comedy.  The entire series is shot in a very straight forward manner; few scenes are overly emotional or too lighthearted as to make the audience forget what’s at stake.  In terms of laughs, Dead Like Me has everything.  Wit, slapstick, satire and pop-culture references.  Some of the best comedic moments revolve around the Rube Goldberg-esque death scenes.  The overall message of the show seems to be to enjoy life while you have it.  Few people get a true second chance like the ones each of the reapers received, so, carpe diem!

While Dead Like Me chose to remain more restrained in its production values, Pushing Daisies went all out to create a visually inventive world in which the viewer can be immersed.  The show is set in a fictional town and centers on a pie maker named Ned, played by the amazing Lee Pace, who can bring things back from the dead simply by touching them.  As our expert narrator never forgets to tell us, Ned’s first touch brings eternal life but his second touch, irreversible death.  However, if a dead thing is brought back for more than one minute something else dies in its place; a squirrel for a dog, a tulip for a strawberry, a man for a woman, cosmic balance.  Ned decides to use his power to solve murder cases and collect the reward money with the help of a PI named Emerson to avoid raising suspicion.  One fateful case brings him to the open casket of his first love, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, played by the beautiful Anna Friel.  In a desperate move, Ned keeps her alive and they fall madly in love but can never touch, lest she fall again into death.

As the series progresses, the murder mysteries take the group to elaborately designed locals, crafted with delicate precision on a modest budget.  Unlike Dead Like Me which kept to an emotional middle ground, Pushing Daisies’ breath taking sets detract from the morbid atmosphere and gives the show an almost Brady Bunch look.  But do not be fooled by the candy colors, the cinematography is beautiful. The viewer must be on their toes to fully appreciate the camera work.  Certain images of the brooding Ned will stick with you long after the end credits and dialog is shot with near flawless symmetry.  Balance, however, is hard to keep.  The limits of morality are pushed, even by the protagonists, to the point where the viewer has a hard time identifying with them anymore.  Beautifully flawed characters, brilliant production design and a lighthearted love story all make Pushing Daisies one of the best shows you may have never seen.

Just like film auteurs Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan or David Cronenberg , Bryan Fuller puts a distinct stamp on everything he does, something that is very obviously his.  Both Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies have a rather obvious vibe of ennui, one that is particularly gloomy and inherently morbid.  Still, neither show is hopeless.  A subtle optimism emanates from each, one visually, the other thematically.  It is this quiet sanguinity that make his shows some of my favorites and why I think he deserves some special recognition.

What Do You Think? Discuss.