Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

Shoulda been cremated and launched into space, instead of that cat...
By
J. Sternberg
Staff Writer

            Showtime has an incredible knack for offing their original series regardless of the fan base. All too often, this also occurs with a season finale ending in a cliffhanger (or several) becoming a series' finale and leaving a load of unanswered questions. Dead Like Me (2003-2005) had two stellar seasons and ended with a barn burner. Seeing that the series would make a comeback in the form of a feature length DVD movie, I chomped at the bit to see what was up with my favorite characters and exactly how those annoying little loose ends were going to get tied up. I had high hopes, for if nothing else, I'd get one more chance to go reaping with George, Mason, Rube, Roxy and Daisy. What I got, was nothing of the sort.

            Fans of the series, just please, look elsewhere, these are not the droids you're looking for. Nothing about Dead Like Me: Life after Death feels even remotely like the series, there's no continuity to speak of, Rube is nowhere to be found, the actress playing Daisy has been replaced, and instead of all the dry humor and characters you remember, it seems like they've replaced the actual characters, with hedonistic, self serving morons, with absolutely no conscious to speak of. The word of the day kids, is pathetic.

            Instead of getting even the most brief of summaries as to what happened following the series early end, they simply state that its been 5 years since George died (the show's debut). In the special features there is a lot of talk about this being a film, so its different from the series, but to that I say "bullshit," its nothing more than a double episode cash in.

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            I won't go into the plot because it feels like the thing was written in between cocktails, and trading back Playstation controllers. To those wondering if this is just my inner fanboy coming out and being pissed, I can only respond with this; if this was a standalone film, and had nothing to do with a rich back-storied television series, it would have failed even more miserably. The characters don't develop, the plot doesn't really move so much as stagger around drunkenly in between the credits, and the editing screams "Showtime Original Series."

            Normally I'd name names and give credit where credit is due, but I'm refusing on principal. In short, this film was nothing short of a cash in, and felt wholly disconnected from the previous work, and is definitely not worth its namesake or the 15 dollars you'll spend on it.

I give Dead Like Me 1 "space toilet to the head" out of 5.