The PUSHING DAISIES Hitchcock Watch 2007-8

There is a special place in my heart for shows that reward repeat viewings. If you only watch an episode of Arrested Development once, for example, you might miss the sign in the background at the Church and State Fair that says “Corn Dogs! With all the crucifixins” or the party banner that reads “You’re Killing Me, Buster”. Treats like these reassure me that the people making these shows love them as much as we do; they make episodes gifts that keep on giving.

Pushing Daisies is one of these shows–they’re crazy enough to have a woman named Olive go undercover and claim her name is Pimento. While wearing a green dress and a red wig. One of the treats they’ve been serving up recently (along with cup-pies) is a hearty dose of Alfred Hitchcock. There have been overt, hilarious Hitchcock references in two of the last three episodes, starting in “Bitches” with Emerson’s descent into chloroform-induced nightmares looking very much like the artwork for Vertigo. Last night, Molly Shannon’s character traveled in a flashback to Bodega Bay to face the foul fowl who killed her parents, only to be attacked by seagulls herself, all while wearing a pale green costume that looks suspiciously like Tippi Hedren’s garb in The Birds. Heck, even the intercutting in Joel McHale’s death scene–where he falls multiple times onto the sharp end of a hairbrush–is reminiscent of the shower scene in Psycho.

Can’t wait to see where they take us next–put the other cultural references you’re catching on Pushing Daisies in the comments, and make the next repeat viewing more fun for everyone.