FAQ

We do not know how or why Ned has the power, or where it came from. The show made the point of stating in the first episode that it was "a gift, but from no one in particular."

1. First touch, life. Second touch, dead ... forever.

2. If Ned revives a person for more than one minute, another person dies. Sort of a cosmic balance.

Note: These are two separate and independent rules. A person who has lived past a minute (meaning that another has died in their place), will still die if Ned touches them a second time. Like we saw with Ned's mother she lived past a minute and so Chuck's father died, but she STILL died when she kissed Ned goodnight later on.

When a being/entity lives past the one-minute mark, the being/entity that dies in their place is one that of equal value in the cosmic balance. When Digby was revived, a squirrel died in his place. We've seen flowers die to replace the fruits Ned uses in his pies. And the funeral director died in the place of Chuck. Other than the "equal value" rule, the person/entity that dies in place of the one Ned resurrected is a "random proximity thing."

Ultimately, the answer to this question may be "poetic license" on the part of the writers, but the common theory is because Ned's touch returns an entity to the state it was in at the very moment it died. You'll note that, though people still keep their wounds they had that caused their deaths, like the guy who was mauled still had half his face missing, they do get their color back. In the case of the strawberries, though, the rotting and molding that Ned "heals" is decomposition that happens after the strawberry died.

Although this nullifies that entire argument:

*****SPOILER**** When Charles Charles was brought back to life, he remained in his decomposed form, needing to be wrapped up in bandages, instead of going back to looking like a healthy young man, like he was when he died.

To revive (or kill) a person (entity), Ned has to make physical contact with that person. Even the thinnest of barriers is enough to keep him from being able to do so. Therefore he can touch Chuck's clothing, he just can't touch any part of Chuck, to include Chuck's hair (we know this because he only touched Digby's fur to revive him). In "The Fun in Funeral" and "The Legend of Merle McQuoddy" Chuck kisses Ned by using just a thin layer of plastic wrap between their lips, and she doesn't die.

Ned's touch is only flesh on flesh. In that scene, Chuck was only touching Ned's sleeve, so she was okay.

The only people at risk to Ned's touch are the dead and those he's brought back to life. Ned can touch the living (like Olive and Emerson) all he wants without repercussions; only Chuck, Digby, and Mr Charles are currently at risk of dying again (as well as the fruit in his pies, this is why he never eats them). It's true he doesn't touch many people, but that's because he's neurotic, on account of being hyper-aware of his power and scarred by his childhood, not because he can't.

Ned's touch only affects the dead. The only effect it has on the living is if the living thing in question is in random proximity of the deceased that was touched; it will have to die if the deceased is not touched again in one minute.

The people Ned has brought back from the dead are immortal. We see this in Digby, who, 20 years after being hit by a truck, is still as youthful as he was when he was 3, the age he was when he got hit. Bryan Fuller has further confirmed this to be the case in interviews. Therefore, Chuck won't age or die of natural causes. Whether or not she (and Digby) can be killed by violent means (e.g. being hit again by a truck) has yet to be clarified, but we do know they can be injured Chuck twisted her ankle running from Mamma Jacobs in "Girth", which may imply that they can be killed, they just won't die on their own.

Episode 2.1 strongly hints that Chuck and Digby can actually be killed by violent means: The Piemaker says to bee-covered Chuck "I told you this was dangerous. Just 'cause you're alive doesn't mean you can't be dead again". He further adds "There's a reason I don't let Digby play in traffic".

Digby somehow instinctively knows he can't be touched again by Ned or he will die. We see this both following the moment when Ned revives him (he runs off) and when he returns to Ned at the boarding school (he stops short of making contact). That's how he's survived 20 years without rubbing up against Ned's hand wanting to be petted, as dogs are normally prone to do.

Creator Bryan Fuller states that Pushing Daisies takes place in "Pushing Daisies time," which adds to the fantastical element of the show. So don't be surprised if you see old vehicles, Victrolas and French phones mixed with Priuses, Hummers, and modern-day elements such as the internet and global warming.

The composer of practically all of the first six minutes of Pie-lette (2007) is Blake Neely. The rest of the music was done by Jim Dooley.



As far as the possibility of a soundtrack, the writer of this answer happened to e-mail Dooley, and his response was, "I hope, if the show lasts, that we'll release highlights of season 1. There's so much music I don't know how to pick 65 mins of it. There's more than that in the first two episodes when combined. Check my website [www.jimdooley.com] for updates but figure summer at the earliest." For now, you can listen to a rough cut of Neely's first six minutes at his web site at blakeneely.com, highlights from the Pie-lette at jimdooley.com, and select tracks from different episodes at Jim Dooley's myspace page at myspace.com/jamesdooleyscore.

On September 9, 2008 Dooley announced that the soundtrack of the first season will be released on October 21, 2008 on Varese Sarabande. However, since then, it was pushed back twice, once to November 4, 2008, and once again to December 9, 2008.

Anything that prevents Ned's skin from coming in contact with Chuck's skin is enough of a barrier. Because water is so easily displaced, it cannot accomplish this requirement. The smallest bubble could cause contact and (re)kill Chuck. Thick lotion, in theory, could act as a barrier as long as it prevents all contact between the two objects (Ned's skin and Chuck's skin).

Neither any episode nor interview has revealed the surname of The Piemaker.

Creator Bryan Fuller tweeted an uncolored version of the first page of the comic book. Then he tweeted, "No release date yet for PUSHING DAISIES comic as publisher WILDSTORM shuttered its presses. I'll tweet updates! Meantimey, enjoy page one!"

Either Ned's abilities or flesh memory would determine this factor. In theory, if by his powers primarily, they would recognize that they brought Chuck back already, compensate for the fluke and she'd likely die again, this time for real. Given flesh memory instead, reviving Chuck by touching her for a second time would count as two touches and trick the ability into giving her back life instead of taking it away and not take it away as the two touch rule is now circumvented and allowing for Ned to touch her freely without concern of her dying again. Once again, in theory.