I finished the second season of Dead Like Me and was sad to see it end. There is no third season, but it did end well. I got to thinking about the series and how the two seasons blend together into one long story. Kind of like a book, in two nice volumes, lashishly illustrated in beautiful full-color. The story starts with our main character transitioning violently to her new life and ends with her final understanding of her new role in the world. What more can you ask for in a good story. Heart? Yup! Comedy? Yup! Drama? Yup! Death? In a-bun-dance! Let me stick a fork in you, I think your done.
Dead Like Me is a story of death and the acceptance of same. Our main character George Lass narrates her story, commenting on the world around her and her place in it. She's 18 and angry and innocent and sarcastic. She's great. And so wonderfully played by Ellen Muth. On her first day at her new temp job she's killed by a flaming toilet seat from the Mir Space Station. "Shit," is all she gets to say before there's a hell of an explosion. Her front page death results in a new nickname, toilet seat girl. At her death site she meets Rube and Betty, grim reapers. They explain things a bit, take her to her autopsy, her funeral and fill her in on her new calling. She's the replacement for the reaper who reaped her just before she died. The reapers job is pretty simple, find the person who is to die at the specified spot and time and pull their soul out before they die, thus saving them from the pain of their death.
George works in the External Influence Division, death by misadventure, murder, suicide and the like. Rube turns out to be her boss and he's played by Mandy Patinkin. I can't even begin to tell you how good he is. Rube doles out the daily death post-its at Der Waffle House and the reapers reap the souls, guiding them to the next ethereal station. Rube and George are joined for breakfast every morning by Jasmine Guy, Callum Blue, Rebecca Gayheart (Betty in the pilot and the first three episodes) and Laura Harris (all the rest), all reapers, all characters. The casting is brilliant, everyone works hard and the writing gives everyone some wonderful stuff to work with. There is a secondary subplot involving George's family and their dealing with her death. Again great casting with Cynthia Stevenson as George's high strung mom, Britt McKillip as her cute-as-a-button, but kind of weird younger sister, and Greg Kean as her dad. I can't forget to mention the great trio of supposting characters. Christine Willes plays Delores Herbig, as in her big brown eyes. She's such a great character, so many layers, and perfect foil for George who, now looking like different person, returns to Happy Time Temp Agency looking for work. Crystal Dahl plays Crystal the Happy Time receptionist, and at Der Waffle House Patricia Idlette plays Kiffany the waitress. All these ladies are great and while their parts aren't big they steal many scenes.
George has a hard time adjusting to the new life, she's not exactly a team player. She constantly complains about being dragged into this new situation without any choice. Over time she comes around and by the end of the series she's accepting of her calling and her new family. It's the getting there that's so much fun, there's a lot packed into the 45 minutes episodes. Rube's reapers are a pretty fun bunch, there is lots of violence and enough comedy mixed in with some nice sentiments and heartfelt stuff. There's a ton of swearing, and you know how motherfuckin' much I like that. The shows look great, good direction and photography, and some wonderfully elaborate death scenes, often played for comedy. And black comedy at that. Often it's stunningly beautiful, and while remaining one of the most wonderful meditations on death you could ever see, it continues to move you back around for a joke or two. I wish the series hadn't lived such a short life, and that's part of the lesson of the series, life can be short. Tell the best story you can before you leave. They tell an exceptional story, enjoy it while you can.
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