Pushing Daisies Lives at Paley Fest

At this very moment in Hollywood, CA, the ninth day of the Paley Festival ended with a rare afternoon session that was more a celebration than a wake. Even if Pushing Daisies has only three episodes left, the crowd was still excited to see them before everyone else.
The facts are these...people still had a blast seeing creator Bryan Fuller, now trying to save Heroes,



Jim Dooley and the Pushing Daisies Orchestra..



and a couple of cast members...



Yes, that is Chi McBride, Ellen Greene and Barry Sonnenfeld, who has an Emmy for directing the pilot.

This was also a general admission event, which means anyone can sit anywhere. I was lucky to get a second row seat in the middle, and even more later on.
The final three episodes start right after Ned decides not to use his magic finger to ask dead people who killed them, figuring that would make his life simpler.
Well, not so. For one thing, two guys who were sent to prison for kidnapping Olive when she was nine escape from prison to have a nice little chat with her...literally. It has something to do with the kidnapping being, well, fudged. But never mind that. The real treat is seeing George Segal and Richard Benjamin as the not-kidnappers. For once, the Crime of the Week, involving murder and window-dressing at a department store, is almost the "B" story.

The second story, involving murder, robbery and the water system, features Gina Torres as a woman from Emerson Cod's past, and Fred Williamson as the victim. Simone's back, too, and her face-off with Gina is automatically better than the cheesy crazy-woman-tries-to-steal-husband-or-else movie, Obsessed.

The final episode has Lily and Vivian given a chance to revive their synchronized swimming act after their formal rivals suffer a tragedy while they perform. Think Orca, the Killer Whale. You have GOT to see this. However, that's nothing compared to the last five minutes, where something happens that changes the game several times over. You will be stunned, and maybe angry at ABC. Before the showing, McBride was directing the crowd to the pitchforks and torches that weren't really there....yet. The crowd gasped when they realized what was about to happen in the final scene of the last episode.

Oh, and I also got this...



I've always had a soft spot for Ellen, but I really wish the other sister was there, along with a few other cast members. Still, this was the best panel so far. I wish I remembered to suggest in my survey they do more afternoon sessions on Sundays. In fact, why not panels on kids shows or cartoons? The 50th anniversary of Bullwinkle isn't too far off.