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Dead Like Me: Life After Death
So I watched Dead Like Me: Life After Death. For those of you that don’t know, three years after its cancellation, someone decided to make a Direct-to-DVD movie. Now, there’s not any middle ground with something like that. Either it was going to be awesome… or it was going to be a colossal train wreak. Fortunately, I found it to be more of the awesome variety.
It was pretty clear once we got pass the opening and saw the reapers together that everyone was totally in character as if there hadn’t been this huge stretch since the last time we saw everyone. But then, with a cast of actors this good, you really shouldn’t expect anything less. But it’s important to note that the writing was just in character. In fact the writing was so fantastic, that if you didn’t look too closely, it was really easy to overlook the fact that a new actress was playing Daisy. Personally, I was never a Daisy fan, so I’m not the best judge, but I actually liked the new Daisy. In some ways, I thought the actress was a better fit for the character than the original! If they do make more of these movies, I hope they keep the replacement. It wasn’t as easy to accept that Rube was not there, but since his absence was what moved the plot along, I just had to deal. (I get the feeling that Mandy Patinkin is somewhat difficult to have around for more than a short period of time, which is a shame because he’s such a fantastic actor.) And there was no Kiffany. I know she was only a minor character, but still. I really liked her and they never even mentioned her and that sucks. But we got Delores (and her cat!) and a couple of small, almost cameos, with Crystal, so that’s good.
There is a little hint of the Daisy/Mason ship, but it’s not strong and pretty easily ignored or just dismissed as a friendship/Mason being loyal thing. I was always more of a Mason/George shipper and the end of the series did offer that possibility (or, at least, didn’t preclude it.) But the movie didn’t really have much George and Mason bonding… mostly because George was dealing with her sister.
I loved the fact that George and Reggie got a chance to bond… even if it meant that poor Reggie had to think she was loosing her mind. My favorite part was when Reggie was trying to convince George to help her and they had this exchange:
George: I never helped you when I was alive. Why should I start now?
Reggie: Because you love me.
She wasn’t grasping at straws. She said it with the certainty that it was true. I liked the confirmation that no matter how badly George treated her sister while she was still alive, Reggie always knew that her sister loved her. It explains Reggie’s deep level of grief during the series. It wasn’t the fact that her sister who hated her died. It was the fact that Reggie’s sister who loved her died with a mountain of unfinished business between the two of them. This show always was good at breaking your heart a little.
The one thing that wasn’t clear to me was why this was such a big deal that the reapers were breaking the rules, like it never happened before. George, when she first became a reaper, broke the rules all the time and the consequences were pretty severe. But maybe that’s why she never tried to rebel. She just kept on trying to do her job, which was probably why she was chosen by "upper management" to be the leader at the end of the film. Amazing closing sequence, by the way!
I’m not saying the movie was perfect. I didn’t like was how Daisy didn’t try to stop the ghost she inadvertently created. They sort of left that loose end hanging. And we didn’t see why Mason got so fed up with Cameron. (Though we did see him get fed up with the lifestyle. Mason is, afterall, a hobo at heart.) It felt like that part could have been developed more. But they included so many of the important details (or even the small details for the true fans, like the pet reapers) that you can’t really fault them for a lingering question or two, especially when there’s a good chance the answer was scripted and filmed, only to wind up on the cutting room floor. The details and quality of this movie was far better than what you normally think a Direct-to DVD could possibly be.
I can’t get over the surprise of being able to have a new episode that FELT like a new episode of this show that I loved. How often does that happen? Only with Firefly! And apparently they might make more of these Dead Like Me films! It makes you wonder if this is a new trend. And if so, who will be next. A West Wing movie, anyone?
It was pretty clear once we got pass the opening and saw the reapers together that everyone was totally in character as if there hadn’t been this huge stretch since the last time we saw everyone. But then, with a cast of actors this good, you really shouldn’t expect anything less. But it’s important to note that the writing was just in character. In fact the writing was so fantastic, that if you didn’t look too closely, it was really easy to overlook the fact that a new actress was playing Daisy. Personally, I was never a Daisy fan, so I’m not the best judge, but I actually liked the new Daisy. In some ways, I thought the actress was a better fit for the character than the original! If they do make more of these movies, I hope they keep the replacement. It wasn’t as easy to accept that Rube was not there, but since his absence was what moved the plot along, I just had to deal. (I get the feeling that Mandy Patinkin is somewhat difficult to have around for more than a short period of time, which is a shame because he’s such a fantastic actor.) And there was no Kiffany. I know she was only a minor character, but still. I really liked her and they never even mentioned her and that sucks. But we got Delores (and her cat!) and a couple of small, almost cameos, with Crystal, so that’s good.
There is a little hint of the Daisy/Mason ship, but it’s not strong and pretty easily ignored or just dismissed as a friendship/Mason being loyal thing. I was always more of a Mason/George shipper and the end of the series did offer that possibility (or, at least, didn’t preclude it.) But the movie didn’t really have much George and Mason bonding… mostly because George was dealing with her sister.
I loved the fact that George and Reggie got a chance to bond… even if it meant that poor Reggie had to think she was loosing her mind. My favorite part was when Reggie was trying to convince George to help her and they had this exchange:
George: I never helped you when I was alive. Why should I start now?
Reggie: Because you love me.
She wasn’t grasping at straws. She said it with the certainty that it was true. I liked the confirmation that no matter how badly George treated her sister while she was still alive, Reggie always knew that her sister loved her. It explains Reggie’s deep level of grief during the series. It wasn’t the fact that her sister who hated her died. It was the fact that Reggie’s sister who loved her died with a mountain of unfinished business between the two of them. This show always was good at breaking your heart a little.
The one thing that wasn’t clear to me was why this was such a big deal that the reapers were breaking the rules, like it never happened before. George, when she first became a reaper, broke the rules all the time and the consequences were pretty severe. But maybe that’s why she never tried to rebel. She just kept on trying to do her job, which was probably why she was chosen by "upper management" to be the leader at the end of the film. Amazing closing sequence, by the way!
I’m not saying the movie was perfect. I didn’t like was how Daisy didn’t try to stop the ghost she inadvertently created. They sort of left that loose end hanging. And we didn’t see why Mason got so fed up with Cameron. (Though we did see him get fed up with the lifestyle. Mason is, afterall, a hobo at heart.) It felt like that part could have been developed more. But they included so many of the important details (or even the small details for the true fans, like the pet reapers) that you can’t really fault them for a lingering question or two, especially when there’s a good chance the answer was scripted and filmed, only to wind up on the cutting room floor. The details and quality of this movie was far better than what you normally think a Direct-to DVD could possibly be.
I can’t get over the surprise of being able to have a new episode that FELT like a new episode of this show that I loved. How often does that happen? Only with Firefly! And apparently they might make more of these Dead Like Me films! It makes you wonder if this is a new trend. And if so, who will be next. A West Wing movie, anyone?