Although the basis of the series revolves around people dying, I finished watching the first episode of Dead Like Me feeling content and even a little chipper.
Although the plot sounds grim (pun intended) the producers do a good job of portraying the grim reapers not as killers but as "people doing their job" and guiding the dying person's soul away from their body - thus the content, chipper emotions I was experiencing.
The humor used in the show is what really kept me interested. The interaction between all of the grim reapers is rooted in very dry sarcasm. But I suppose if you have to discuss death on a daily basis your humor is going to be a little off-kilter. (Still trying to figure out what my excuse is.)
Here's a visual representation of what I mean: all grim reapers meet at Der Waffle House every morning for breakfast, coffee, bitching and to receive a sticky note from the head grim reaper with a name, address and time of death on it.
If there is any way to make light of death it's by putting it on a sticky note and delivering it alongside french toast.
In particular, the main character, George, has the driest humor of them all.
She starts off the season with a monologue about the creation of time in which she states, "God, lowercase g, was getting busy with creation - as kids these days are saying."
Then she goes on to explain the history of death as a toad who was given an assignment by god to watch a jar full of "death." Then one day toad gave into frog's pleas to play with the jar of death and frog dropped the jar letting death loose to kill all living things.
She ends the monologue with, "Yeah, frog is an asshole."
Maybe I am partial to George's personality because I can relate to her, but either way she's hilarious.
George is a blonde, 18-year-old girl who is perhaps a little bitter and indifferent, which is ironic since she holds a career at "Happy Time." A perfect depiction of George comes in the beginning of the episode when she said, "I excel at not giving a shit." Three minutes later, George dies.
After George dies she is picked up to work as a grim reaper. This means a few things, she is still alive in the flesh and able to be a part of society, but her face is distorted to look different than her original persona.
The biggest conflict in the first episode is rooted in George not knowing what to do with her life - she is at a stand-still after just quitting college and working a nine-to-five, deadbeat job. Then when she dies the rest of the episode continues in a similar fashion, except now she's trying to figure out what to do with her dead-life.
Who would of though I'd be so enthralled with dead-lives? There's just a sense of irony to them that I can't get enough of.
I like the writer's style in this, some pretty clever and funny lines, especially the one about the stickie notes.
ReplyDeleteHowever (isn't there always a however...), but
What channel is it on?
How often is it on?
And what do other reviewers think about it?
Basic stuff that's missing.
Perhaps it's on a stickie note, though I will never look at one of those quite the same again...