IMHO 'Dead Like Me" is the all-time best television series. Of course I like off-kilter stuff that still makes sense and tries to build themes into the story. For those who have not discovered this gem, imagine a cross between "Tru Calling" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" that pushes the envelope of irreverence about as much as "The Family Guy". Then imagine that behind all the surface irreverence is a transcendent reverence for the human condition. If that level of complexity appeals to you, "Dead Like Me" is something you should immediately track down.
I was permanently hooked by the conclusion of the "Pilot" episode when the resolution did not take the traditional happy path. Instead of being able to intervene and change the destiny of the little girl, George (Ellen Muth) is forced to do her job as a reaper. They go out to the strains of "Que Sera Sera", normally very corny but here very ironic. The song was originally written for Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much", a film about parents trying rescue their child which has parallels to what George is attempting and on another level the little girl is symbolic of George. And the song's lyrics are a perfect fit for the "randomness of life" theme of "Dead Like Men".
Each episode has subtle details like this, which may require repeated viewings just to uncover elements that you missed initially. I recommended purchasing a DVD of each season just to have the flexibility to watch several times at your convenience.
"Dead Like Me," has the mark of writers who aren't thinking about audience reaction or how the Showtime executives will relate to it. The story just pours out with a lot of verve, wit, and audacity.
Any series that focuses on a teenager killed by a falling toilet seat from the space station Mir has something going for it. George is sometimes called Miss Toilet Seat. She is assigned to Rube (Mandy Patinkin from "Chicago Hope"), who is kind of a platoon sergeant for a small group of "not always grim" reapers (soul collectors) who meet in a German Waffle House (listen for the occasional yodeling in the background).
The story is told from the point of view of 18-year-old jaded slacker Georgia "George" Lass (Muth), whose voice-over commentary sometimes contradicts what is happening on the screen. Her intelligence and advanced maturity give a world-weary "whatever" to the endless bizarre situations she must deal with; "it looks like death was just my wake-up call".
There is a running side story about the family George left behind. Her grieving unhappy mother Joy (Cynthia Stevenson), her professor father, Clancy (Greg Kean), and her sister Reggie (Britt McKillip) who collects toilet seats and may remind you of Dawn Weiner.
The reapers might technically be the undead but they interact with the living 24-7; although in a different body than they had when they were alive. There is no pay but they need a place to stay and food to eat so they get day jobs or relieve the dead of their spare cash. They even have pets; George keeps Mr. Blinky, the little girl's frog from the pilot episode.
Rube gives each reaper a yellow sticky note with a name, address, and an ETD; it's up to the reaper to collect the soul-ideally just before the actual death, and guide them to the next life. Reapers don't know why they got the job or how long they will be performing it; they accept it because it affords them the opportunity to continue to experience the things they liked and disliked about living; and they are not ready to give these up.
As a series "Dead Like Me" establishes a complex and consistent set of rules that viewers embrace. The writers are good about playing within this set of constraints and not cheating when they feel lazy or it is otherwise convenient.
Humor of various kinds is the predominant emotion but things often get serious and philosophical in a believable and intelligent fashion.
"When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here's what she said to me.
Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera... "
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
I was permanently hooked by the conclusion of the "Pilot" episode when the resolution did not take the traditional happy path. Instead of being able to intervene and change the destiny of the little girl, George (Ellen Muth) is forced to do her job as a reaper. They go out to the strains of "Que Sera Sera", normally very corny but here very ironic. The song was originally written for Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much", a film about parents trying rescue their child which has parallels to what George is attempting and on another level the little girl is symbolic of George. And the song's lyrics are a perfect fit for the "randomness of life" theme of "Dead Like Men".
Each episode has subtle details like this, which may require repeated viewings just to uncover elements that you missed initially. I recommended purchasing a DVD of each season just to have the flexibility to watch several times at your convenience.
"Dead Like Me," has the mark of writers who aren't thinking about audience reaction or how the Showtime executives will relate to it. The story just pours out with a lot of verve, wit, and audacity.
Any series that focuses on a teenager killed by a falling toilet seat from the space station Mir has something going for it. George is sometimes called Miss Toilet Seat. She is assigned to Rube (Mandy Patinkin from "Chicago Hope"), who is kind of a platoon sergeant for a small group of "not always grim" reapers (soul collectors) who meet in a German Waffle House (listen for the occasional yodeling in the background).
The story is told from the point of view of 18-year-old jaded slacker Georgia "George" Lass (Muth), whose voice-over commentary sometimes contradicts what is happening on the screen. Her intelligence and advanced maturity give a world-weary "whatever" to the endless bizarre situations she must deal with; "it looks like death was just my wake-up call".
There is a running side story about the family George left behind. Her grieving unhappy mother Joy (Cynthia Stevenson), her professor father, Clancy (Greg Kean), and her sister Reggie (Britt McKillip) who collects toilet seats and may remind you of Dawn Weiner.
The reapers might technically be the undead but they interact with the living 24-7; although in a different body than they had when they were alive. There is no pay but they need a place to stay and food to eat so they get day jobs or relieve the dead of their spare cash. They even have pets; George keeps Mr. Blinky, the little girl's frog from the pilot episode.
Rube gives each reaper a yellow sticky note with a name, address, and an ETD; it's up to the reaper to collect the soul-ideally just before the actual death, and guide them to the next life. Reapers don't know why they got the job or how long they will be performing it; they accept it because it affords them the opportunity to continue to experience the things they liked and disliked about living; and they are not ready to give these up.
As a series "Dead Like Me" establishes a complex and consistent set of rules that viewers embrace. The writers are good about playing within this set of constraints and not cheating when they feel lazy or it is otherwise convenient.
Humor of various kinds is the predominant emotion but things often get serious and philosophical in a believable and intelligent fashion.
"When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here's what she said to me.
Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera... "
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.