Pushing Daisies hasn't been bad in its first two episodes this season -- far from it, in fact. But for the way it integrated all the principal characters, the crime of the week and the larger emotional story, Wednesday's episode really knocked it out of the park.

I have dug up some spoilers, and I didn't need a pig to help me.

The week's case takes Emerson, Ned and Chuck to the convent of the Sisters of the Divine Magnatum, where one of Olive's fellow nuns takes a header off the convent's bell tower and Olive, fearing that sweet Sister LaRue has committed suicide and therefore is hellbound, turns to Emerson to prove that she didn't kill herself.

After Emerson stops laughing at the sight of Olive in her habit -- it takes a little while, and rightfully so -- he's on the case. But, Olive tells him, he has to go incognito, and by the way leave Ned and Chuck at home. He follows the first part of her request, showing up at the Blue Nunnery as Father Dowling of the Vatican police.

The second part, not so much. Father Dowling brings his associates Father Mulcahy and Sister Christian with him. And after I stopped laughing and hit "play" again, proceeded to watch the falsely frocked gumshoes discover that Sister LaRue was maybe not so sweet after all. The former crack mycologist and head of the convent's truffle-harvesting program (the Latin name for a white truffle is Tuber magnatum) has been running contraband to the other nuns and seeing a restaurant chef outside the convent (thanks to a secret passage that leads to his kitchen) and all the while working on a test-tube white truffle that could pass for the "diamonds of the table" that come only from Italy.

And, by the way, she swears like a longshoreman, as Ned and Emerson discover when they revive her. Sister LaRue says she didn't jump from the bell tower -- she was pushed. Suspicion falls first on Mother Mary Mary, who had found out about Sister LaRue's relationship with the chef, and then on Father Eduardo de Donde, who had scuffled with Sister LaRue after discovering the truffle lab in the bell tower. It turns out, though, that no person killed Sister LaRue; instead, it was Olive's porcine pal Pigby, who got the scent of the sister's tubers and tried to dig them up. And then, as Emerson puts it, "It's raining nuns."

Given that the case brought Olive back into contact with her Pie Hole cohorts, naturally Olive is in danger of spilling her secrets. "I get lured into a sense of familiarity and my lips loosen, and I just blurt," she tells Ned -- after blurting that she knows a secret about Chuck. Ned says he won't stop digging, and neither will Chuck -- who at the top of the episode had employed a genealogist to research her family tree (more on that shortly). So maybe he could guess at the secret?

What followed should be Kristin Chenoweth's Emmy reel for the coming season, as she quietly, then not so quietly, went apoplectic over Ned's denseness at first not recognizing Aunt Lily in the old photo and wondering if it's a number puzzle or Freemasons are involved, then not putting together that Chuck was born around the same time Lily was pregnant -- "You're killin' me!" Nothing short of comic beauty.

Chuck, meanwhile, is feeling at a loss when the genealogist can't uncover anything more about her family history -- "There's nothing about my mom, no past ... because of how I am. I'm just stuck -- stuck and absolutely alone and I don't know if I can go on." It was kind of a heartbreaking moment, well played by Anna Friel. And Ned, to his credit, finally gets it through his head (with an assist from Emerson) that just because his past sucked, he shouldn't stand in the way of Chuck finding out about hers.

Which leads us to a pair of touching scenes: his apology to Olive for shutting her off after she expressed her feelings for him and the final one, with Chuck reacting to the news that Lily is her biological mother. Way to stand up, Ned.

More good stuff from "Bad Habits":

• So, about that family tree: Lily and Vivian are actually Chuck's step-aunts. Charles Charles' dad married Lily and Vivian's mother when Charles was in his 20s. That clears things up a little, I think, or at least removes a little of the potential ickiness from Chuck's back story.
• I'm a little surprised that The Todd hasn't already thought of this, but Chuck and Ned (via Emerson) exchange a by proxy high-five after a breakthrough in the case. Emerson, unsurprisingly, is not pleased: "Git, before I by proxy vomit."
• Several contenders for the Emerson Line of the Night tonight. My favorite, though, was probably his pep talk to Ned after he frets about un-deading Sister LaRue in the presence of icons of Mary and Jesus: "It's not like he never did it. Remember Lazarus?"
• Then there was this exchange, when Mother Mary Mary called them out on their fake names: "... and 'Sister Christian' is nothing but a heavy-petting power ballad." Emerson: "We're motorin'."
• Great reaction shot from Ned after the Swiss chef tells them he and Sister LaRue made love on the table where they were eating. A repulsed Emerson puts his food down, while Ned considers the deliciousness of the meal, shrugs and continues. I'm not doing the moment justice by description, but it was fantastic.
• Finally, this. Olive: "Why is [Chuck] not minding the Pie Hole?" Emerson: "Because she's minding [Ned's]. And they got a new waitress anyway. Brandy, Candy ... I don't know, someone named after booze or food."

What did you think of "Bad Habits"? Are you glad that Olive is returning to the Pie Hole, and how do you think knowing who her mother is will affect Chuck?

Comments

All I can say is that I'm just praying this show does not get canceled.

Jennifer | Oct 15, 2008 10:51:05 PM | #

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All I can say is that I'm just praying this show does not get canceled.

Jennifer | Oct 15, 2008 10:51:13 PM | #

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"Bad Habits" is probably my second favorite PD episode to date right behind "Pigeon" This show is awesome and I sure hope it doesn't get cancelled.

Daisies Fan | Oct 16, 2008 1:23:59 AM | #

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Was rolling off the couch with laughter. Father Dowling, Father Mulcahey, Sister Christian! And when the nun was swearing away - I almost lost it. 'Where's the damn white light !' LOL

The first 2 eps wer ok - but this one was fab.

Thanks Rick for the info of Tuber magnatum meaning White Truffle!

MJ | Oct 16, 2008 5:04:24 AM | #

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I loved this episode! Kristin Chenowith had me laughing out loud a couple of times. That whole "trying to tell Ned the secret without telling him the secret" scene was priceless, I agree. Thoroughly enjoyed her last night. And yes, Ned's reaction and almost immediate resumption of eating hearing the news that Sister LaRue and the chef had made love on that table, was great.

Good show. I hope it doesn't get canceled. I know last week, it was last in the Wed. night ratings, behind even Knight Rider! Not good

Terry | Oct 16, 2008 6:16:16 AM | #

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I love this show! Last night's episode was really good.

Dory | Oct 16, 2008 8:06:11 AM | #

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I don't understand why PD doesn't as well as FOX ("Bones" is a good show with just as much innuendo) or CBS (a network with mainly mystery shows) in this time period.

Rick is right on the money with Kristin Chenoweth, who always puts on a good performance. As well as with Ned eating nonplussed. That really made the episode.

pakopako | Oct 16, 2008 8:19:48 AM | #

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also loved the look on ned's face when chucks door opened and that man was standing there! priceless.

amy | Oct 16, 2008 8:49:08 AM | #

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What about Olive running zig-zag to get away from the priest. Hysterical!

Sue | Oct 16, 2008 9:38:23 AM | #

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Another great episode of Pushing Daisies - love all the plots and scenarios - the characters are great - I hope this show is on for a long time.

DaisyRose | Oct 16, 2008 9:44:55 AM | #

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This may be the funniest, wittiest show on TV.

I love Pushing Daisies!

David Cano | Oct 16, 2008 9:50:48 AM | #

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Emerson is halirious! And Olive is a very close second! This show is amazing!

Mandy | Oct 16, 2008 9:56:24 AM | #

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I said it before, and
I'm going to say it again...
I laugh, laugh, and laugh
night ranger "sister Christian"
heavy petting power ballad = priceless
and too bad the ABC uberlord
don't see the potential
to have a wednesday night lineup
like this:

8:00 The Middleman (rerun)
9:00 Pushing Daisies
10:00 Eli Stone

simple

guarantee a killer night,
right now I just switch to CBS
after pushing daisies

tv-viewer | Oct 16, 2008 10:25:26 AM | #

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I loved "Pigby" - love how Olive named him after her friend "Digby" from the "Pie Hole." Hope he will be on again - he was hers to take at the end of the episode, after all!

I loved the swearing nun, too - that was great! I saw the name "Mo Collins" in the opening credits but it took a couple of careful looks to see that she was Stuart's mother from "MAD TV." Some great casting there!

My other highlight came when Olive had to cover one of the pregnant nun's eyes with her finger so that Ned could recognize her as Aunt Lily - too funny!

Also enjoyed our look at "Young Olive!"

Finally, it WILL be interesting to see how the story plays out now that Chuck knows who her real mother is - and to see Aunt Vivian's reaction whenever she finds out!

I am so glad this show is back on - one of my favorites!

Ginni | Oct 16, 2008 10:26:23 AM | #

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Losing to Knight Rider? I have no faith in the American television viewer.

This is one of the best and definitely one of the most original shows I've ever seen.

Jen | Oct 16, 2008 10:28:58 AM | #

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This episode was fantastic. The scenes between Olive and Ned were heart warming, especially the appology. These two are amazing actors! I'm glad the writers are giving them more scenes together. Lee Pace has a very uncomfortable/adorable style to his performance. The comic timing with the whole cast is the best I've ever seen.

I was laughing so hard! Come on America, stop watching reality shows and watch a show with actual talent and emotion!

Scott | Oct 16, 2008 10:47:08 AM | #

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At one point in the episode, I think when Olive was talking to Emerson, she says, "Not to put to fine a point on it ..." which would appear to be a reference to the fact that she and Vivian where singing a They Might Be Giants song in an episode last season that had this line in it. Thought that was a nice touch.

Also, when the narrator described the pie she hoped would be named after her when she was falling from the tower, something with peaches that would be know as the Olive Snook.

sac | Oct 16, 2008 11:12:30 AM | #

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What is wrong with America that "Dancing with the Stars" has 2 shows in the top 20, and PD is a cellar dweller???? This is one of, if not the, most clever and appealing shows on TV.

cosmonala | Oct 16, 2008 11:12:44 AM | #

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Things I loved about last nights episode. Ned and Olive's talk and how she was able to get him to notice Lily in the old photograph, when he told Chuck the truth and gave her her family tree to complete, Emerson's reaction to seeing Olive in her habit, Chuck and Olive talk in the bell tower and Chuck and Ned talking about where Chuck fits in in her life.

I hope that this doesn't get cancelled, it's one of my favorite shows.

Penny | Oct 16, 2008 12:07:29 PM | #

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I loved last night's episode!

I am glad that they did not makes us wait for Ned to find out the truth about Lily being Chuck's biological mother. I am also glad that Ned told Chuck the truth, because it shows that Ned learned a valuable lesson about not keeping secrets, especially from Chuck.

I am such a huge fan of Kristin Chenowith.

It was so cute when Ned had to walk backwards with the candles to prevent him from touching Chuck when she was reading.

Carly | Oct 16, 2008 12:31:22 PM | #

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That was one of the funniest, wittiest hours of television that I've seen in a long time.

There was more laugh out loud moments in this episode than in most of the sit-coms on the schedule this fall.

Rob | Oct 16, 2008 2:03:28 PM | #

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Bad thing about the show's future, no "stay tuned for scenes from our next episode" at the end. Has the show been put on hiatus, does anyone know?

Kara Mel Apples | Oct 16, 2008 2:08:03 PM | #

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Absolutely LOL funny episode, but nobody else got the references to "Vertigo"???

David | Oct 16, 2008 2:28:40 PM | #

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I think it would be a real shame if Pushing Daisies was cancelled in the near future. It is one of the most original and visually appealing shows on tv. And I am in love with Kristen Chenoweth. She is such a beautiful, adorable, (sexy ;)) woman. Not to mention a great comedic actress and wonderful singer. But the whole cast is great, definitely one of the best ensembles going.

I'll be disappointed if it doesn't stick around.

Marc | Oct 16, 2008 3:48:44 PM | #

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I love the idea of a Middleman/Pushing Daisies block. That would be fantastic.

This show is just genius on so many levels, I can't even begin to quantify my love for it.

Hope that it enjoys a long and illustrious life.

Astrid | Oct 16, 2008 4:03:03 PM | #

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