Premiering on the Showtime pay cable network in 2003, Dead Like
Me is a hysterically funny series about life in the after life. Starring Ellen
Muth as George (short for Georgia) Lass, an eighteen year old woman who is being
shoved out of the family nest by her overbearing mother Joy (played by the
marvelous Cynthia Stevenson) and forced to make a living by getting a dull
office job downtown. However, during the lunch hour (which the witty and observant
George notes is really only 35 minutes) of her very first day, George is violently
killed when a toilet seat from the MIR space station plunges through the
atmosphere and strikes her down.
After her death, George's spirit wanders the disaster site, suffering the
indignity of having people walking right through her ghostly form, until she
meets Rube (Mandy Patinkin) and Betty (Rebecca Gayheart), a pair of grim reapers
who are anything but grim. They explain to George that not only is she dead, but
she is also a newly minted reaper, whose job it is to collect the souls of the
soon to be deceased. Unlike the classic depiction of reapers as ominous figures
dressed in black robes with scythes, George learns that real reapers are undead
souls who can be seen by, and can interact with, the living. They work in teams,
receiving their latest reap assignments via little yellow Post-It notes from
Rube, who sort of serves as their middle management boss. The reapers only
receive the time and place of death, and the soon to be deceased's first initial
and last name. They must arrive shortly before the person is to die, then figure
out who is the unlucky person, and then collect their soul by gently rubbing
their hand somewhere on the body of the soon to be deceased. After the person
dies, the reaper then must escort the soul to an entranceway leading to…heaven,
the next level of existence, whatever. What the deceased sees basically depends
on what their religious or spiritual beliefs are (and even people who don't
believe will see something that gave them pleasure in their lives; such as a
woman who loved sailing will have a glowing sailboat escort her to the beyond).
Oddly enough, the reapers themselves are kept in the dark as to where the souls
ultimately go. Another strange thing that George discovers is the undead reapers,
who still need to eat, sleep and all the other basic things that living humans do,
are on their own as far as getting accommodations are concerned. They are not
paid for being reapers, and George still has to get a day job to support herself
even in the afterlife. She gets an office gig at Happy Time, working under the
delightfully corny Delores Herbig (as in "Her Big Brown Eyes"). Memorably played
by Christine Willes, Delores is one of those super perky people who are always
chipper and optimistic, and she drives the natural born slacker George insane on
a daily basis. As George struggles to balance her existence as a reaper while
holding down a job, she begins to uncover some important aspects about living...even though she is dead.
What makes Dead Like Me work so well is that in addition to being extremely
funny, it also offers a very telling and often touching look at life. In one way,
the situations the deceased reapers find themselves in effectively represent the
crushed hopes and dashed dreams that many people suffer. And yet, despite the
dissatisfaction that they endure in a mundane world, they must still push on in
the daily grind. And they do so with great humor. DLM is also very honest and
blunt in its assessment of the injustice in everyday life. The writers manage to
use harsh language and (to a smaller extent) sex without being crude. Ellen Muth
is a revelation as George; she's perfect as a wry young woman with a sharp sense
of humor that is far wiser than her years. Mandy Patinkin really shines as Rube,
the father figure of the reapers. His performance is emotionally subtle, yet he
still manages to speak volumes. Mason, a British reaper engagingly played by
Callum Blue is a "sex, drugs and rock and roll" throwback who is always hustling
to make money on the sly, while Roxy, well played by Jasmine Guy, is a stone-face,
literally grim reaper who works in the thankless day job as a meter maid.
Rebecca Gayheart only stars in the first five episodes as the reaper Betty,
before Laura Harris takes over as the high-spirited actress/reaper Daisy Adair.
And as mentioned before, Cynthia Stevenson is a standout in her role as George's
mom, a complex woman who is not your average sit-com mother. Brit McKillip is
also superb as Reggie, George's younger sister who is struggling to deal with her
death.
There are 14 episodes in the DVD set, including the pilot, and all of them are
superb. It was hard for me to choose two favorite episodes from this fine group.
Some of the more notable episodes include "Reapercussions", when George
unwisely tries to change the outcome of a reap; Sunday Mornings
is a well-written examination of how people can be done in by their own expectations; "Reaper Madness", where George
encounters a young schizophrenic man who sees death in the same manner she does;
"Business Unfinished" details Daisy's scheme to make money from a recent reap by
holding a séance for the deceased's son; in the "The Bicycle Thief", George and
her fellow reapers come to realize just what a vital role they play in the lives
of the souls they've come to collect, and "Vacation" is both a funny and moving
look at the reapers on an unusual day off, and the final episode, "Rest In Peace",
finds George dealing with the first anniversary of her death. The pilot episode
has an audio commentary by the cast, and there's a 30 minute reel of deleted
scenes, as well as a behind the scenes featurette, a photo gallery, and a look
at the music from the show, with executive producer John Masius and composer
Steward Copeland (a former member of the rock band The Police). Wonderfully
dark, sometimes poignant, and always funny, Dead Like Me is an always enjoyable
rumination on the pains and pleasures of life. --SF
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