Dead Like Me | ||||||
created by Bryan Fuller | ||||||
Showtime | ||||||
Lisa DuMond
George, played pouty, whiney and so very vulnerable by Ellen Muth, has every reason to be in a foul mood -- just about to embark on
a life of mindless drudgery (to top off her meaningless life), she is killed in a way anyone would consider extremely
undignified. Now, she is supposed to slip into the role of a Reaper, one of the undead, whether she likes it or not. George is
expected to start right away and not ask too many questions. None of her questions will be answered anyway, so why bother? But,
she is bothered and bewildered. She's also downright pissed off.
For George, it seems cruel and unusual treatment for a person so young who never seemed to matter. But, she does matter,
especially to her idiosyncratic little sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip), who has found
her own, unique ways to handle the loss. Every episode reveals more
about the pain, confusion, and misplaced anger her death has left with her family. If Joy (Cynthia Stevenson), her mother, seems in a hurry to forget her,
maybe there's more regret than thoughtlessness in her stern actions. And if George's father (Greg Kean) is merely absent as much as possible,
perhaps the memories are easier to ignore among strangers.
All this pain she has to see in her own "life" is not enough. As a Reaper, she still must make a living, find a place to live, and
put up with two bosses: the almost psychotically cheerful Doris Herbig (Christine Willes) at her day job working for a temp agency
and the tough, firm Rube (Mandy Patinkin) who bedevils her with Reaper
assignments every day. One of these days she's going to wonder if being truly dead might not be easier all around. Certainly it
would be easier than releasing the life force of children and watching them die.
There is no place George fits in. And the harder she tries, the less she feels that she belongs anywhere that she is allowed
to go. George, like so many of us, still had a lot to work out when she was "taken," so she won't be allowed to move on for some
time yet. Probably not until the very last episode of the series which, if Showtime and viewers give it a fair chance, won't be for
many years.
Humour of the darkest kind. Kooky characters brought to life by the likes of Mandy Patinkin, Callum Blue, and Britt McKillip, who
play out the joy and the sorrow and the promise of life. Sharply incisive insights into just what strange creatures we humans
are. Dead Like Me makes Showtime a necessity and a bittersweet delight.
Death. It kind of makes you think.
In between reviews, articles, and interviews, Lisa DuMond writes science fiction, horror, dark realism, and humour. DARKERS, her first novel, was published in August 2000 by Hard Shell Word Factory. She is a contributing editor at SF Site and for BLACK GATE magazine. Lisa has also written for BOOKPAGE, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Science Fiction Weekly, and SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE. You can check out Lisa and her work at her website hikeeba!. |
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