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Pop Autopsy

Dead Like Me

December 12, 2006

Seems like a simple enough conceit. Girl drops out of college, lives in a disgusting apartment she can barely afford, eats only diner food, slogs her way through a soul-crushing temp job, observes her family slowly grow accustomed to her not being around, and generally learns what adulthood is all about. Classic coming-of-age story, nothing new to see here.

Not so fast.

The girl, in this case, is dead (or “undead”, but more on the difference in a moment), and is forced to walk the earth in a body that is not hers, all the while moonlighting as a Grim Reaper. And here is the premise for the brilliant, but prematurely cancelled "Dead Like Me."

The show's creator, Bryan Fuller, begins the show true to form. The pilot of “Dead Like Me” begins with the untimely death of 18-year-old Georgia Lass (played to full-tilt perfection by Ellen Muth), who is killed while on lunch break from her temp job by a toilet seat that falls from a Soviet space station.

Comments

Dan Steinmiller wrote:

I first saw the show when I blind bought it from a local store in a neighboring city. I thought it was something of complete originality in terms of the concept of the show. I enjoyed all the characters but Ellen Muth as George was a true standout among the rest and I'm surprised she hasn't popped up in anything since. I wish the show was still on but thats television for you: If its good, it gets canned.. if its bad, it never ends.

posted at December 15, 2006 05:55 PM

Edgeoforever wrote:

With all due respect to Fuller (and I do mean that - he IS great), but no soul was lost with his departure - although this is the second such affirmation I see in print.
Dead like Me was good to its untimely demise, soul and wit and all. I am starting to wonder if it was grumblings of this sort that killed the show, instead of the usual clueless CEOs. If it was a wounded ego thing (If I'm not at the helm, let it die!), the hell with Fuller. I'm adding him to the list of talented producers who tend to blame others when things go bad for them.
I have a problem with ego trips.

posted at December 16, 2006 05:21 AM

Mike wrote:

Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls were 2 of the greatest shows so far this centuy.
I miss it. The humour was very dark but brilliant.

posted at December 16, 2006 11:50 AM

Joshua Lee Desper wrote:

I was enterdused to the show not when it was on but my friend had the first season on dvd and i have to say. I have watch six feet under and dead like me and i think who ever said that those two shows are alike at all are a handy tard. Yes they both are about death but dead like me has a lighter and more deapt look into there story and the story of the reapers.

posted at December 16, 2006 03:34 PM

Misty wrote:

I absolutely agree. I loved this show. I kept Showtime because of it. Where is Ellen Muth now?

posted at December 17, 2006 12:18 AM

BOZMAN54 wrote:

DEAD LIKE ME was a great show. From the get go, just the basic story line concerning reapers was fresh, the writing was smart and the cast was excellent. It never lost that, but like so many of the reaper's charges, it was gone way too soon.

posted at December 17, 2006 07:54 PM

DLM_Forever wrote:

Dead Like Me was a brilliant, edgy, witty, and--most of all--unusual show. And I think that may have been its downfall. Showtime used to care about putting on shows that took chances and were a little...out there. But after what's-his-name (I refuse to say it) came along, everything changed, and Showtime just wanted to play it safe. Saying that DLM's ratings were declining and/or the quality of the scripts was going down is just a cop-out. With the proper care and nurturing, this show could've gone on for years.

posted at December 17, 2006 08:27 PM

Adam wrote:

I really lost the show when Rebecca Gayheart left. To me, the show never really seemed the same after her departure.

posted at December 17, 2006 10:34 PM

Heather wrote:

I love Dead like me. I own both seasons on dvd. It broke my heart when they ended the show. I wish some how they could bring it back

posted at December 17, 2006 11:07 PM

Portia wrote:

That is really upsetting. I bought the DVDs of Season 1 and I watched them all the time. I moved to an area that doesn't have showtime, so I didn't even know the show was cancelled. Jeez...what's next? WEEDS?

posted at December 18, 2006 06:47 AM

ChaosRN wrote:

It appears to me, that unless there is a general IQ rating of about sixth grade, most shows die too soon, with the exception that proves the rule: Law & Order, West Wing, to name two. Also political pressure can (and has) crashed shows with promise. Does anyone recal "Birdland"? They produced four shows (or so the rumor goes) and only two were aired (in the New York City area). It is whispered that NAMI (National Allience for the Mentally Ill) threatened to do major boycotts of CBS (i believe it was CBS), if they aired anymore episodes. Which is ashame, because it wasn't a poorly written show (or at least the two that aired). Working in that area, I watched it with a Psychiatrist co-worker, and we both felt it was a relatively accurate, fairly balanced showing of life in a CPEP (certified psychiatric emergency program). But it was not canceled, but crashed.
but i can't find it here on BBC.
sorry if this is an OT posting.

posted at December 19, 2006 10:33 PM

shane wrote:

I loved this show! It sounds stupid, but I was totally bummed when it was cancelled. I really wish someone (SciFi?) would bring it back. Showtime replaced it with garbage like 'Weeds'!!

posted at December 21, 2006 05:08 PM

Tony wrote:

I loveed this show. What is it when they leave all this other crap on TV and let the good ones go???

posted at December 22, 2006 01:56 PM

Deborah wrote:

This show was abosultely brilliant to the end. I'm am completely disgusted by the fact that they cancelled it. And trashy shows have to remain, such as American Idol, etc.

posted at December 25, 2006 06:09 PM

Jeri wrote:

I also love Dead Like Me but only discovered it when it came to the Sci Fi channel. It's usually on SCIFI on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9. I think some things got changed for the holidays, but before Christmas they always played two episodes beginning at 7pm, here's hoping they continue it after the New Year.

posted at December 26, 2006 01:11 PM

paige wrote:

dead like me is without a doubt my favorite show ever, even if there are only two seasons to watch. i still can't believe it was cancelled...it's not very often that you come across a show with such an intelligent mix of comedy and drama, and my roommate and i actually cancelled our showtime subscription when they pulled the plug. not that our $5/month would really stick it to 'em, but it's the principle of the matter, right?

posted at December 30, 2006 06:49 PM

Ode wrote:

I loved this show! Everytime I missed an episode I'd watch it ON Demand! It sucks that it was cancelled because it was HILARIOUS!!!

posted at December 30, 2006 11:51 PM

Jay wrote:

I really enjoyed Dead Like Me. I think it got even better after Gayheart left. The entire cast was funny and yet believeable. Unfortunately, Patinkin has moved on to Criminal Minds, so even if they could bring the show back on another channel, his presence would be missed.

posted at January 15, 2007 09:32 PM

Chad Larson wrote:

I thought the first season was much better than the second. In the first there was more emphasis on the metaphysical. The second season drifted into soap opra about George's family.

I wanted to have them explore where the guy who delivered the list to Rube came from. Who did he work for? How were the reapers selected? You know, more SiFi/fantasy than personal drama.

posted at January 30, 2007 02:11 PM

Susan wrote:

I really enjoyed Dead like me and was totally bummed out when it was discontinued. Why is it really boring shows go on and on and great shows like this that are different and engaging are dropped. I guess it was dropped because it was subtly subversive. I wish some studio with guts and money revives it, although I suppose the actors have probably all moved on.

posted at February 24, 2007 02:25 AM

Caroline wrote:

Dead Like Me was a HUGE show for me. I also really liked Wonderfalls. Thankfully, both are out in DVD and I made my purchases immediately after they became available. The sad / odd thing now is seeing the DLM cast show up in other shows. Daisy, Daisy Adair was just in CSI. It was hard not to assume that she was only there on a special assignment from Rube. I can only hope that George shows up on Criminal Minds soon.

posted at February 26, 2007 07:30 AM

Lacey wrote:

This was an awesome show, and it just has to be cancelled, just when it's getting really good. The same thing happened News Radio and Arrested Development, and those were top quality shows. It's very disappointing. Besides, why would anyone cancel a show with Mandy Patinkin???

posted at March 7, 2007 10:40 AM

josue rodriguez wrote:

DEAD LIKE ME WAS WAY BETTER THAN SIX FEET UNDER YOU FREAKS

posted at March 18, 2007 03:49 PM

Stephanie wrote:

I really loved DEAD LIKE ME. I can't believe that they cancelled this show. And what an awful ending the the second season. I want to have DEAD LIKE ME return back on for a third season.

posted at April 16, 2007 02:11 PM

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