Pie-lette (S01E01)

Ned (Lee Pace), a young man with a very special gift, discovered as a boy that he could return the dead briefly back to life with just one touch. But his random gift isn't without deadly consequences, as he soon finds out. As a pie shop owner, grownup Ned puts his talent to good use by touching dead fruit and making it ripe with everlasting flavor. But his gift leaves him wary of becoming close to anyone, as beautiful waitress Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) finds out. His life as a pie maker gets more complicated when private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) learns about Ned's secret. Emerson convinces the cash-strapped Ned to help him solve murder cases -- and collect the hefty reward fees -- by raising the dead and getting them to name their killers. In the series premiere, Ned is handed the case that changes his life forever. His childhood sweetheart, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles (Anna Friel), has been murdered on a cruise ship under strange circumstances. Her death leads him back to his hometown to bring Chuck back to life, albeit briefly, and solve the crime. But once reunited with Chuck, Ned can't bring himself to send her back. He helps her escape after her grieving aunts, Lily (Swoosie Kurtz) and Vivian (Ellen Greene), former synchronized swimmers, think they've buried her forever. Chuck becomes the third partner in Ned and Emerson's private-investigation enterprise, but she encourages them to use Ned's skills for good, not just for profit. Ned is overjoyed to be reunited with Chuck, the only girl he's ever loved. Life would be perfect, except for one cruel twist -- if he ever touches her again, she'll go back to being dead, this time for good. Series star Jim Dale narrates. (Warner Bros. UK)