Dark humor and ridiculous death sequences were what made Dead Like Me
so popular when it ran for two seasons on Showtime. Full of eccentric
wit and likable characters, it took a "family" of grim reapers to a
whole new level of absurdity. The second season is better than the
first, but still bogged down with the same fatal flaws.
It's been awhile since her premature death at the clunk of a flying
toilet seat and Georgia Lass (Ellen Muth) has come into her own as a
reaper. Working full time at Happy Days, a job placement company, and
hanging out with her fellow undead friends evenings and weekends, her
one major responsibility is handed out every morning on a yellow post-it
note. The name and address where some unfortunate human is about to be
parted from their body. There are daredevils. Priests. Flower girls. All
of them need her magic touch before death finds them. Some of them are
sweet. Others are cantankerous. But the gang of reapers is on it. Headed
up by the no-nonsense Rube (Mandy Patinkin), these deadheads set out
after their morning coffee with grim reaping on the brain.
There's Daisy Adair (Laura Harris), the blonde wannabe actress who died
in a fire on the set of Gone With the Wind, Mason (Callum Blue)
the 60's rock 'n' roll junkie who overdosed, and the temperamental
hard-as-nails Roxy (Jasmine Guy), who decides to quit reading meters and
go to work for the police force. Georgia is forced to contend with her
parents' recent divorce and the potential sale of her family home, along
with the new boyfriend who never calls, and even a "rock star reap" that
launches her from amateur to professional grim status. Rube is haunted
by memories from the past, and an attempt to right a former wrong.
Mason just wants Daisy to notice him, and Roxy is working on her
attitude. But that's not the entire or even jist of the plot, since
there is a lot going on around the grim reapers, everything from little
moral lessons and comments on daily life to the stories of their
co-workers, family, and friends. One of the better mini plots later on
in the series is a death without a post it that had serious
consequences. Probably the best thing about the show is its character
development, and the fact that all of its primary players are so
distinct and likable but ultimately deeply flawed. Daisy is a bit of an
air head, far too pretty for her own good, but she is genuinely
searching. For what, she doesn't know, but she finds it temporarily
within the Catholic church. Rube is a never-ending mystery. Georgia is
nothing short of hilarious, and Mason is still a thief and occasional
con man. But no one really cares, because he amuses us so much.
Because the show is all about death, it contains an enormous amount of
morbid humor and unfortunate "accidents." The most gruesome death by far
is when a man is knocked by a falling mirror onto a kitchen guillotine
(made for slicing fruit). Blood spatters. It shows up on Georgia on more
than one occasion, causing her coworker to nearly pass out. Guns go off.
Rampages are implied. A woman is overheard being strangled. A priest
drowns in holy water after bumping his head. A cyclist goes through a
car's back window. A man's neck is snapped when he's tackled. The list
goes on and on. Sexual content is mostly nonexistent, but George does
lose her virginity to a boy she meets at the club, and Mason likes to
ogle girls. Steamy cars rock on a lookout point. A newly married man
goes into an airplane bathroom with a stewardess. There's also three
instances of backside nudity ("The Shallow End" has a dead man being
reaped naked; he flashes people, knowing they can't see him, and several
remarks are made by reapers on the size of his antimony; "Death Defying"
has a daredevil flashing a video camera before jumping off a roof; and
"Last Call" has Mason and his reap going skinny dipping in the lake).
"Be Still My Heart" features a gay wedding, where two men are shown
kissing; "The Shallow End" has a transsexual's death.
By far the worst thing in the series is its utterly profane language.
The f-word is used about twenty times per episode, along with a dozen
profane uses of Jesus' name and several of GD. There are also some
religious issues. Mason tells Georgia not to leave fate to God, since he
royally "f---- them all" (ie, the verse in scripture that implies death
will not be present in heaven). Daisy pursues a faith in God for awhile.
There's a touching scene in which a transsexual rails at God for not
making him a girl; it's implied that the young man witnesses a vision. A
priest has the most religious passing, as he walks into a long corridor
of brilliant and beautiful white light. The series is fun. There's no
doubt about it, but language and occasional nudity puts it on the skids
for discerning viewers. However, it also runs occasionally edited on the
Sci-Fi channel.
