Dead Like Me

[Trekker4747]

It's been a long time sense I've watched this series on DVD so today I popped it in. I had forgotten how well written and great this series was, shame it didn't last beyond two seasons.

Never did pick up the follow-up movie.

 

[Pilot Ace]

Never did pick up the follow-up movie.

It was very, very disappointing.

 

[Trekker4747]

Never did pick up the follow-up movie.

It was very, very disappointing.

Yeah, that's the impression I got from a friend who saw it. For me? No Rube? I'm not interested.

 

[Hermiod]

^I haven't seen it, but I've been put off by previous threads on the subject.

Plus, they bizarrely recast Sarah Wynter as Daisy - odd, given that Wynter played Laura Harris' sister in 24.

 

[Pilot Ace]

Plus, they bizarrely recast Sarah Wynter as Daisy - odd, given that Wynter played Laura Harris' sister in 24.

She was probably the worst part about the movie too.

She brought no life to the character whatsoever.

 

[Trekker4747]

Plus, they bizarrely recast Sarah Wynter as Daisy - odd, given that Wynter played Laura Harris' sister in 24.

She was probably the worst part about the movie too.

She brought no life to the character whatsoever.

Ironic statement. Besides, it's not like Laura Harris brought a lot to the character either.


But, as I said above, no Rube ruined it more than anything else for me. I was talking to my friend about the movie and he mentioned some of the plot points in it that to me out-right contradicted stuff established in the series. Stuff like the Repaers ignoring their Post-Its (something it's suggested in the first few episodes they cannot do or else they'll get harassed by the Gravelings and/or will "go away." And George telling her sister who she is, again something she couldn't do in the series without losing the memory(ies) she was trying to use to prove her story.)

 

[Hermiod]

Ironic statement. Besides, it's not like Laura Harris brought a lot to the character either.

Evidence to the contrary:

Daisy: What about a bicycle? I once had Dorothy's original bike from The Wizard of Oz. I knew someone from the props department.

Mason: Don't you mean you blew somebody in the props department?

Daisy: Knew, blew, tomato, tomahto.

 

[Pilot Ace]

Ironic statement. Besides, it's not like Laura Harris brought a lot to the character either.

Heh, you got me. Undead!

I thought Laura Harris' take on Daisy was fantastic though. She brought an energy and a tortured sense of being to the character. I believed it when she was all bitchy that beneath it all she was yearning for someone to love her. Probably among the most nuanced of all the performances in Dead Like Me.

But, as I said above, no Rube ruined it more than anything else for me. I was talking to my friend about the movie and he mentioned some of the plot points in it that to me out-right contradicted stuff established in the series. Stuff like the Repaers ignoring their Post-Its (something it's suggested in the first few episodes they cannot do or else they'll get harassed by the Gravelings and/or will "go away." And George telling her sister who she is, again something she couldn't do in the series without losing the memory(ies) she was trying to use to prove her story.)

No Rube was disappointing, but the film doesn't really replace him and even hints at his potential return.

The problem is that the rules of Dead Like Me were never well kept seemingly in time with Bryan Fuller's departure. Season 2 (and maybe later in Season 1?) introduced all sorts of inconsistencies, especially with the Gravelings and what their role was and how they acted at any given time.

The movie took this particularly far though and threw out a lot of stuff. Because of the flexibility that existed even in Season 2 though I only considered this an irritation.

 

[Trekker4747]

Ironic statement. Besides, it's not like Laura Harris brought a lot to the character either.

Evidence to the contrary:

Daisy: What about a bicycle? I once had Dorothy's original bike from The Wizard of Oz. I knew someone from the props department.

Mason: Don't you mean you blew somebody in the props department?

Daisy: Knew, blew, tomato, tomahto.

Yes, it was a good series of lines. Doesn't meen Laura Harris is a good actress.

 

[Trekker4747]

Ironic statement. Besides, it's not like Laura Harris brought a lot to the character either.

Heh, you got me. Undead!

I thought Laura Harris' take on Daisy was fantastic though. She brought an energy and a tortured sense of being to the character. I believed it when she was all bitchy that beneath it all she was yearning for someone to love her. Probably among the most nuanced of all the performances in Dead Like Me.

But, as I said above, no Rube ruined it more than anything else for me. I was talking to my friend about the movie and he mentioned some of the plot points in it that to me out-right contradicted stuff established in the series. Stuff like the Repaers ignoring their Post-Its (something it's suggested in the first few episodes they cannot do or else they'll get harassed by the Gravelings and/or will "go away." And George telling her sister who she is, again something she couldn't do in the series without losing the memory(ies) she was trying to use to prove her story.)

No Rube was disappointing, but the film doesn't really replace him and even hints at his potential return.

The problem is that the rules of Dead Like Me were never well kept seemingly in time with Bryan Fuller's departure. Season 2 (and maybe later in Season 1?) introduced all sorts of inconsistencies, especially with the Gravelings and what their role was and how they acted at any given time.

The movie took this particularly far though and threw out a lot of stuff. Because of the flexibility that existed even in Season 2 though I only considered this an irritation.

Yeah, after Fuller left (just a few episodes into S1) some things were kind of tossed out, most notably how George and the other Reapers apeared to the living. After a while it seemed that the Reapers looked the same in their undead "lives" as they did in "life." But the show also pretty clearly established that the Repaers couldn't interact with thier old lives or ignore the reaps without consequence.

 

[23skidoo]

^I haven't seen it, but I've been put off by previous threads on the subject.

Plus, they bizarrely recast Sarah Wynter as Daisy - odd, given that Wynter played Laura Harris' sister in 24.

I didn't mind the film. The problem was they were missing some key cast members -- Laura Harris was doing other TV shows, as was Patinkin. But short of them saying "we won't bother doing one" they had no choice but to go ahead.

Most important, though, was the film was intended as a trial balloon to see if a new series or more made-for-DVD films were possible, so I kind of wished people had given it a bit more slack. Odds are we won't see any more now.

One thing I found interesting about the original series, was that the episodes were formatted in such a way that they always felt like a finale episode. Probably had to do with the way the closing narration was handled. Apparently the cancellation came as a complete surprise to everyone so this format quirk actually was to the show's benefit because the movie notwithstanding, the premature end still had a sense of closure.

Alex

 

[Checkmate]

Daisy had developed into a great character by the end of the series.

The movie was completely awful, though. Rube's replacement didn't make any sense from the very beginning. Too much time had passed, the other characters had all changed too much, and none of the magic from the series was there.

 

[Robert Burke Richardson]

I remember the series fondly. Won't ruin that by checking out the movie.

 

[stj]

I liked the series, but it really was George learning to live life instead of moping. Each and every episode. The movie suffered from replacing Rube, not just because Patinkin was better, but because, contrary to widespread belief, pointless interpersonal conflict between the nice guys and the dicks is b-o-r-i-n-g.

 

[bigdaddy]

Can we get something straight?

THERE IS NO MOVIE! IT WAS NEVER MADE!

Just like the Star Wars holiday special was never made.

 

[Sheep]

Can we get something straight?

THERE IS NO MOVIE! IT WAS NEVER MADE!

Just like the Star Wars holiday special was never made.

Amen to that. Usually there's some redeeming quality about a continuation, even if it's tiny and can only be appreciated by fans. The DLM movie was completely lacking in that department. If that's what direct-to-DVD gives us, the studios can keep their dreck.

 

[Amaris]

Agreed. Love the series, strongly disliked the movie. For me, the movie was a journey into the world of character assassination. Did not like it at all.