PUSHING DAISIES = Magically Delicious, plus: BIONIC WOMAN goes commando

Just want to say ...

- PUSHING DAISIES has an AMAZING second episode last night. As much as I loved the pilot, I may have enjoyed this one even more ... everything just felt 100% spot-on, and man, this show is just so well-done, so well-written, so unlike most everything else on the air ... I can't say enough good things about this ep. The whole cast was pitch-perfect, the fanciful plot about the Dandy-Lion cars that run on dandelions ... well, how great is it to see this type of IMAGINATION on TV ... it's like almost contradictory lately to do anything original in primetime television, so it's just so, so great to see something that is so wholly original. The dialogue is a pure pleasure to listen to, this ep alone had about 7 or 8 instant-classic quotes (loved the exchange about skeletons in the closet). And hey, bonus, Patrick Fabian, who I thought was awesome last year on VERONICA MARS, showed up as the guest star / villain. Sweet! Pushing Daisies is basically must-watch, genre-redefining stuff, and hey, has there been a primetime show that manages to be this overwhelmingly feel-good yet still go down like a hot fudge sundae? I am still kind of shocked that this show is pulling in the ratings that it is, though it's all relative in this new world where a show getting a 6 rating is considered enough to deem it a hit. But hey, if America embraces this show and drives Cavemen into early extinction, then there just might be hope for us all.

MY GRADE: A

- BIONIC WOMAN, I thought, had another episode that had plenty of entertaining moments but still felt exceedingly jumpy and all-over-the-place. There remains a lot that feels off here - from Jamie Summer's slightly cold, bratty demeanor that makes her disturbingly difficult to root for, to her grating, teen-stereotype younger sister, to training montage sequences that felt recycled from last week ... there was a lot here that gave me reason for concern. On the other hand, there was some cool action, and an increasingly intriguing plot developing focusing on OG Bionic Woman Sarah Corvus. Right now, Katee Sackhoff and her character arc is basically carrying Bionic Woman on her bionic back, and you get the feeling that it's all well and good for right now, but that the stakes need to be raised soon, or else as soon as Katee leaves the picture, things could get ugly. Let's see Jamie act more heroic and less dumbed-down - maybe some humor that is actually snappy and not cloying would do the trick as well? And plot-wise, business needs to pick up in terms of episode-by-episode scenarios. I mean, I get that Jamie is still in training, but babysitting a bratty heiress doesn't seem to be a task befitting of a high-concept sci-fi action show. We need big stakes, high action, and a little bit more ... gravitas. Still, I'm on board with this show for now and you can practically feel its overabundance of potential scraping to get out. This is, potentially, an awesome show in the making, and its that feeling of infinite possibility that is keeping me intrigued. Let's hope the writers and ever-changing production staff can up the ante.

MY GRADE: B