ABC gives "Pushing Daisies" a fair ending

Now that Pushings Daises has been sent six feet under, all that was left for fans to do was wait and hope for its final three episodes to air. Well, ABC has finally given the last episodes the greenlight, to be shown on three consecutive Saturdays starting May 30 at 10 p.m. Yes, Saturday at 10 p.m. Gosh, how did this show ever get canceled?

Fans in the United Kingdom will get to see the start of the series’ final bow tonight. I understand Olive sings a version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello.” Good God — is it too late to buy a ticket so I can fly to the UK and watch along with the Brits?

Kristin Chenoweth headlined a Pushing Daisies panel at The Paley Center for New Media in New York last night. As much as I love the adorable untouchables that are Ned and Chuck, I will forever be hopelessly devoted to my itty-bitty. Maybe it’s her penchant for breaking out into pop songs, her sweet-as-pie smile, or her love of the easy-access dress, but Olive will always be the bees knees to me. Well, at least I’ll still get to catch Kristin in Glee.

Across country, series creator Bryan Fuller will talk at a Paley Festival event in Los Angeles this Sunday. Those lucky to snag a ticket to the sold-out event will get to watch all three final episodes. He gave SciFi Wire a preview of how it all ends. Episode 11 will be Olive-centric, while Episode 12 will be focused on Emerson and his quest to find his daughter. And then there is Episode 13, the finale. He said:

It became "What story in the series can we wrap up and put a bow on in the parameters of one episode?" It was really about the aunts [Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz] and their relationship to Chuck. For Ned and Chuck, there is no way to wrap up their story in one episode, because we would leave the audience on such a kitchen-sink note. For me, Chuck and Ned go beyond the 13 episodes. We are talking with Marvel Comics right now about a Pushing Daisies series that will essentially cover the back nine episodes. It features Chuck and Ned's fathers as well as fortifying Chuck and Ned's relationships after we shake it up.

Fuller said if Warner Brothers gives them the OK, the comic could be on store shelves by the fall. He also said the series would be like the show’s third season, following in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s comic continuation footsteps. As he told SciFi Wire:

We're going to see a lot of exploration with Ned and his father, which we teased but were never able to make good on. We had George Hamilton save Ned and Chuck, and by having Emerson and Dwight Dixon clean up the whole mess we're going to understand who Dwight was to Chuck and Ned's dad. Dwight will be making a return, and we'll be seeing the adult Eugene Mulchandani and Danny that involves helium smuggling. There's a lot of fun stuff woven into the series that we were intending to pay off that we can now do in the comic book series. The fans of the show will see a lot of stuff come to fruition, but new fans will have a greater appreciation, too. Since it's Marvel, I would also love for the Pie Maker to touch Captain America.

As a fan from the start, I’m thrilled that Pushing Daisies’ Technicolor universe will live on, even if only on the page. I’m also relieved that ABC will give us one last, albeit bittersweet, taste of this quirky confection. That Pushing Daisies will have lasted only 22-precious episodes whole a show like According to Jim gets eight full seasons is one of the injustices of the universe.

While the words “adult” and “whimsy” don’t get lumped together too often, Pushing Daisies brought out the best in both. An unrequited (well, more like unconsummated) love affair — a Seussian world of murder and intrigue. Spontaneous eruptions into song? Dammit, now I’ve made myself sad all over again about this show’s demise.

So, thoughts on the final three episodes? The comic? Olive’s always tantalizing front zipper? Discuss.