No Brian Fuller? No Mandy Patinkin? No Dead Like Me!
Happy new year to all our readers!
And here’s a bit of a rant to all the Dead Like Me Movie doubters out there (Sorry to all the fans) 
After reading around the net for people’s thoughts on Dead Like Me and the Dead Like Me Movie, I’m surprised to see how many people are saying “If Brian Fuller isn’t involved, I’m not interested.” or “No Mandy Patinkin, No Dead Like Me.” This is a very extreme view – and any true Dead Like Me fan should at least give the film a chance. Here’s two reasons why:
1. Brian Fuller – although he came up with the idea of Dead Like Me / the characters / the “Dead Like Me World”, he had a dispute with the network broadcasting the show, and left after 5 episodes. He must have had his reasons to leave such a great show and his ideas behind, but Dead Like Me “lived on” for another season without him. Dead Like Me wasn’t canceled because Fuller left, ShowTime, decided to drop it from their schedule. If you are someone who only enjoyed the first 5 episodes of Dead Like Me, then the Dead Like Me Movie may not be for you. Did you notice any differences? Post a comment below, let us know.
2. Mandy Patinkin – If you’ve read any previous posts on here, you may have already seen that Mandy Patinkin not being in the Dead Like Me Movie is something that I personally will be sad about. The relationship between Rube and George was great, and the father figure to the rest of the reapers was also a big part of the show to me. Mandy Patinkin Leaving Dead Like Me isn’t the first time an important character has left though. How many of you didn’t like it when Betty (Rebecca Gayheart) was “replaced” by Daisy (Sarah Wynter)? Read around. Checkout some of the Dead Like Me fan sites. There were a lot of upset people. But eventually we got used to Daisy, and through character development, learned to love her. I’m sure the same will happen with Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusick). You also have to remember – this is the Dead Like Me Movie. It’s going to be a couple of hours long. I think Dead Like Me deserves at least that amount of your time to try it out. Who knows – if it is picked up for a series, Rube could always come back.
Have anything to say about any of this? Post a comment, lets hear your thoughts. 
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 am
Opps! I forgot to mention people moaning about the new Daisy — Give Sarah Wynter a chance!
Cheers.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 am
i compleatly agree give sarah wynter a chance you havent even seen how she will play the charictor, also even if she isnt good she is the older reaper than the rest of the group appart from rube so they could always wright in that she moves on and they could bring in a new reaper.
as for mandy patkin rube was great and i am anoyed that hes not doin this movie but if there is more to come you never know weather he will come back!
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 am
Same goes for HIC!
He’s a tremendous talent and there’s nothing he can’t do.
I am hoping that this character finds his own place amongst the reapers.
Whatever, whoever, it’s certain to be interesting!!
Mi
February 6th, 2008 at 3:40 am
I’m personally more worried about the no Brian Fuller part, than anything else. Season 1 of “Dead Like Me” was far out the best BECAUSE of Brian’s creative input. And even though you claim that Brian leaving didn’t cause “Dead Like Me” to be canceled, I’m not so sure if that’s true. I know that Showtime was very happy with “Dead Like Me” creatively, which is why it got an early renewal for a Season 2. But then MGM (the studio that produces “Dead Like Me”) suddenly started messing with DLM’s showrunner (Brian), apparently because the MGM brass has something against gays: they strongly objected against the “George’s dad is gay” storyline Brian set up in the pilot and even said to him that “[he] didn’t know what a pretty woman looks like because [he's] a gay man.”: http://www.mediavillage.com/jmentr/2005/06/06/jmer-06-06-05/
Another problem was MGM decision to start pinching pennies on DLM’s budget, which is why they had to do 2 “clipshow” episodes in the first season (even though Showtime had paid MGM enough money to create 14 well-produced episodes.
So MGM incredibly unprofessional behaviour that led to the departure of DLM’s showrunner/creator and a decline in the quality of the show is what eventually caused DLM to be cancelled by Showtime.
Based on the first half of DLM’s first season, which Showtime loved, they had renewed it early, which is why it got a 2nd season. But the asshole-ish behaviour of MGM had already pretty much ensured there wasn’t going to be a 3rd season. And the lower quality of writing during the Brian Fuller-less 2nd season sealed the deal on DLM’s cancellation.
Luckily, those MGM executives who messed with Brian and DLM seem to be all gone now, so perhaps Brian would be willing to resume creative control of DLM. If not then I have little faith that a (possible) 3rd season would be worth it.
February 9th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I love the movie dead like me its so awesome. My kids and i enjoy the show so much, we actually say the show by accident we, were waiting for another show to air and this movie came on we’ve been addicted every since. I am a single mother of three dependent childern how can we receive more information about your show schedule. We like in Long Beach, Ca and we would like to purchase the series if applicable. Please sent information or coupons so we can purchse them. Thank you my e-mail address is :
heleneteabout@verizon.net
P/S Please allow the original characters to come back no one likes to see the new people you guys chose for the new season. Especially the the waitress that takes the orders and never has a smile on her face she deserves her job she is a great actress so is Jasmine Guy i’ve watched her career turn and unfold keep her ass well she is a fire ball good for the audience
February 25th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I agree that people shouldn’t boycott a DLM DVD without Brian Fuller. It’s was still a compelling and entertaining–addictive, even– show. And, I’m saying this a huge Brian Fuller fan (Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies are even better shows than DLM because BF stuck with them). But, like Oric, I disagree that his leaving had nothing to do with the cancellation. There was a clear(!) drop in quality after his departure, though the degree to which it suffered was gradual. IMDB actually lists BF as having written (or partially written, maybe?) 10 scripts even though he “left” after 5 eps.; and, because multiple episodes are being worked on at any given time and are at different stages of development, you could see some BF touches lingering for part of the first season even as they faded. There were nuances that just disappeared (for instance, intimating that George’s dad was gay in the first episode just sort of fell off the face of the planet, and what BF had suggested as a storyline that was to come out of that was, I thought, both brilliant and necessary). Dropped balls and lost opportunities were readily apparent in the transition that would have happened at the time of Daisy’s introduction. But also, some ridiculous inconsistencies would pop up (such as George letting Daisy walk all over her without so much as a snarky comeback didn’t make sense for her character. I recall reading that Showtime did say they had become disappointed with DLM’s (previously impressive) ratings around the time that they announced it’s cancellation. Still, it remained a fun show.
The second season started off extremely disappointing–depressing even, with no real Brian Fuller touches left beyond it’s premise–as it became more of a show that was watching a marriage between two generic (albeit well acted) characters slowly, inexorably, predictably and painfully falling apart (and with the more interesting reapers being shoved far into the background) when, instead, the divorce thread should have been more of an arc that meshed and balanced with other arcs showing the other characters’ struggles. I think Brian Fuller has a great(!!) skill at balancing schadenfreude with pathos and THAT’S what makes his shows genius and his participation so sorely missed.
Still, though, the second season did recover towards the end when they introduced the Eric McCormick/producer-jerk arc which was, though flawed, still very compelling and showed something of a return of a show which could show people’s fatuous foibles touchingly and humorously in the context of their genuinely human struggles. For that reason, I would love to see the DVD movie do well and return as a series, although that sounds like a “Hollywood promise” to me, i.e. not likely. I’ll be (perhaps Quixotically) buying a copy in hopes that that comes true.
As for Mandy Patinkin not returning, that is a huge disappointment but, hey, if the guy had other obligations, he had other obligations. I don’t think you can fault the makers of the movie for that. And hopefully, those obligations being finished, he would be available for any future DLM projects that might occur . And even if I’m a bit leery about what I know of the new character from what little I’ve seen of the trailer and summaries, I still think it’s worth a shot. (fingers crossed)
March 30th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I don’t understand why everyone hated so much the second season
I sincerely enjoy it so much
and I don’t think the scrpts were lower quality than the first ones
April 6th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Leave these people alone! We have democracy, so all men and women do what they want, and they don’t care what you think!
April 9th, 2008 at 4:01 am
There are a lot of people here. I’ll join you guys. Believe it or not, many people fail in commenting stuff. I’m just trying to say a simple thing – before commenting something, think twice!
March 26th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I enjoyed the movie, moreso the second time (and 3rd) watching it. My favorite character is Mason — he makes me laugh outright. So very cute too. I wonder how many wonderful shows would have been produced if the show had not been taken off the air. Oh well. I also share doubts about the possibility of bringing the show back on the air, but I’ll keep hopeful that maybe it will happen.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:18 am
I liked the second season of DLM better than the first season, and I loved the first season.
I’ve seen the movie and I enjoyed it a lot, though I would call it more an extended episode than a full-out movie. Even so, it was even better the second time through, and I don’t usually watch movies more than once.
I was very sorry that Mandy Patinkin was absent, but the new guy did a marvelous job being what he was in the show. (Notice his last name while you are watching. That’s a clue.) The new Daisy was a good actress but the character just wasn’t very interesting.
Otherwise the cast was wonderful as usual, and it looked like they had gotten a lot of the old regulars. I especially love the relationship between George and her boss at Happy Time. And who can forget how wonderfully creepy Crystal can look just with her eyes tracking people as they walk down the corridor?
There were some open questions still at the end, leaving room for another movie or a renewal of the show on the small screen. If you haven’t seen this, and you loved DLM the series, give it a whirl.
April 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
without Mandy Patinkin and Laura Harris that not “Dead like me”.
April 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Are there any updates as to wether Showtime will be bringing DLM back for a third season or not?
April 18th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Loved the first season, loved the second season, Just saw the movie and hated it outright. This was a bad bad bad movie. The more I think about it the angrier I get, not only that I just wasted my time but that the dead like me movie has probably killed of any chance of a third season.
May 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
i dont se why the cant say screw you mgm and have like warner bros or some one put it out and like not count the movie towards the 3rd season like reggie can still be 12 the dad can still be in the town and rube can still be there and then sci fi or some one could put it out
July 11th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I thought the dead like me series was wonderful! The movie was good, but the series was soo much better because it had Mandy Patinikin in it. I think he sort of pulled to show together along with the other actors. But when he disappeared….it was still ok but lacked his characters wit and wisdom. Mandy Patinkin should come back to dead like me!
July 14th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
#4, what clip show shows in the first season??
July 15th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
hey andrew… go to http://www.hulu.com and watch both seasons for freeeeeeeeee! love this show!
July 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, and thought the movie was good but weird (not as good as the series itself). I missed Mandy Patinkin and Laura Harris in the movie, they should have been it! I hope Dead Like Me will come back! At least for a 3rd or 4th season as long as the characters and writing are consistent I would watch it. I LOVED Dead Like Me!
July 25th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
*been in it*
August 25th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I enjoyed both seasons and they were both awesome. I haven’t seen the movie but i will (not too excited about it) I think think DLM deserves at least one more season to tie up all the loose ends with all the original actors. Give rube his last reap, have George tell her family about what she is, Roxie can “punish” the woman who killed her and maybe Macen and dasiy can get married? lol. I know some of that stuff is in the movie, but I just feel like it will be so rushed it will be very unsatisfying. I think all that need to happen in a season, or better yet a few more seasons.
January 4th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Just saw the movie (after devouring the series in a week– I got on very, very late, but was as captivated as any other fan!)
The movie was Grade A horseshit compared to the show. It wasn’t AS bad as the reviewers said, but it was pretty terrible. The only ray of sunshine in it was Reggie.
Sorry, but I disagree with you. DLM wihtout Rube is crap. And the new Daisy is horrific; I felt like she was insultng me in every scene. Maybe it wasn’t the actress’s fault (though, considering who it was… it was) but whatever the reason (awful, rushed writing), I just wouldn’t buy her. Or this movie, ever.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I am surprized by how I came to love Daisy and was SOOOO MAD that they replaced her with a terrible ugly actress, not even slightly similar to Sarah!!! Mandy is truely missed, and so is Sarah! I can’t believe there wasn’t a better ava actress than the nasty bad actress they chose for the movie!!! I love the show and am so disappointed by the decisions made for the movie. I would’ve rather wait for another movie when they can do it right!!!
January 19th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
It would really be great if DLM would return,(with Rube) when Patnikin left the show didn’t seem the same. This also happened when he left Criminal Minds. I think he has the wise father/mentor appeal which was present in both shows. Hope DLM does return, the dark humor was entertaining and though it dealt with death it was not the usual violent blood and guts that you get when a death theme is involved. I’t nice to laugh when watching a show instead of cringe.
February 26th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
The idea and premise of the show was very creative!
I was very dissapointed with the movie. It seemed like it needed a much more creative story line and the writer they got just didn’t have Brian Fuller’s mind.
It would have been great to continue a 3rd season, with Rube and the old Daisy.
Why they made Mason’s character more and more annoying, I’ll never understand.
July 4th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Anyone remember the old “reunion movies” they made of Gilligan’s Island? Remember how BAD they were? I just watched Life after Death, and that’s all I could think about the whole way through. Gilligan’s Island was not a stellar production, but as cheesy as it was, the reunion specials were worse. Dead Like Me was actually a well-scripted, well-produced comedy-drama, and this “reunion movie” of their stunk worse than those 7 old farts must have smelled after being stuck on that island 20 years. Brian Fuller, I can live without. He created something great, and someone else carried it further, and well. Mandy Patinkin is fantastic, and his absense was well written in the show. Such an amazing performer that they didn’t NEED him in this movie for his presense ( or lack of it) to be felt. But who the hell is the red-neck soccer mom trying to fill in for Daisy?
Believe me people, I’m no particular fan of Laura Harris, but she created a very specific character. A superficial beauty on the surface with an underlying sadness. A small fish from Coney Island who dreamed of being a hollywood starlette. Laura Harris is no great actress, but she worked that role, and well. Replacing her was worse than replacing the actress who played Ginger Grant. At least that actress filled the role. This chick on Life After Death was neither pretty nor talented. She looked like my 3rd grade bus driver, and you could literally SEE her trying to cover up the southern accent.
DLM dropped the ball on this one. It could have been a very good show, and they could have REALLY worked that guilt/grief angle between George’s treatment of Reggie as a child. In stead, I just kept waiting for the big basketball match between the Harlem Globetrotters and those robots.
July 4th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
BTW, I’ve been a big fan since re-discovering the show 2 years ago. I’ve watched all the eps and was actually looking forward to seeing this movie version.
If they don’t resolve the poor writing and get rid of that “Daisy is now a middle-aged Southern Belle” bull-schlick, DLM can expect to have one less viewer for any future productions.
August 23rd, 2010 at 8:23 am
I didn’t see the series when it originally came on tv, SADLY!!! I wasn’t impressed with the trailers for it, however, I discovered it later on netflix and gave it a chance, and WOW. I LOVED it! I was sad when they switched over to Daisy’s character but like others have said, I grew to like her. I had no problem with the seasons 1 & 2 I loved them both. The movie was a disappointment. I feel like the new lady playing Daisy didn’t understand what Daisy was about…it’s like she never watched seasons 1&2. She made Daisy ditzy…which isn’t true, Daisy was very intelligent she just chose to use her looks instead of her brains 90% of the time. I miss Rube…I mean come on he was the only thing holding the group together, and if he did have his last reap I think they should have at least showed the viewers what happened, if not the actual characters. I still loved the original people in the movie, I think they did a wonderful job with the script…although the script itself did leave a lot to be desired. I would be thrilled if we the fans bombarded the studio with mail and made them make another season. I mean, if it can work with shows like south park and such why can’t the fans bring this one back? We need to see what happens to everyone, there needs to be closure.
September 14th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Dead like me was a truly unique show w/a wonderful cast.
Why Showtime threw away such a hit is unreal to believe?
I loved the movie even if it didn’t have Rube.
Like in the movie Rube will always be loved & remembered?
This time around? George is the leader of the reapers & will always remember what Rube taught her.
Bring the show back, Peanut!
October 9th, 2010 at 7:51 am
Even though this thread is old..I couldn’t resist but to input my opinion. I love Dead Like Me and all the seasons and the movie. The only thing I didn’t like was the Daisy they casted for the movie. The girl had no idea what it meant to be Daisy Adair and was not even remotely as beautiful as she. (Which is why I believe they did not make Mason pursue her as hard because there was just nothing remotely attractive about her.) This new Daisy was a terrible alcoholic. Even when the old Daisy drank, her unique personality still shined through. “You haven’t f***ed me in 4 days!” is not a phrase Daisy Adair would ever say. Ever.
Other than that, and the absence of Rube, I enjoyed it. Please bring back Dead Like Me!!
November 5th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I recently became enthralled by the show thanks to Netflix, and I’ve been watching the episodes like a junky. I love love love the show.
But a lot of sad things have happened…
At the 3rd or 4th episode Georgia started wearing shirts that revealed her bony arms, shoulders and midriff and it was shockingly unappealing. It was SO SAD to see such a beautiful unique actress start starving herself! It just got worse and worse through the two seasons, and the mistake was compounded when the actress started having her lips pumped full of stuff.
But that is the majority of my gripe with the show. I absolutely LOVED all the characters (except the bratty child characters.) Daisy and Betty were the absolute greatest.
The movie? EVERYONE looks terrible. So sad. They mostly all look old and tired and have bad hair. Mason’s whimsical little spikey faux hawk is nothing but mussy and short. His face is carrying extra puffiness weight that buries his sculpted pinched features. Not to mention the beer gut he now has. I miss Daisy. The new Daisy is broken down and sad. None of the characters have the same sparkle. Desmond does well with what he has to work with.
They break the rules from the show that gave us the fun of the framework of premiss…
I watched it all the way through… sort of like Methodone.
Just saying.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Was home with a sports injury and went through two seasons of Dead like Me over the past week. Amazingly good show and I bonded with each character. They all developed throughout but did not lose the quirky blemishes and other character flaws that made them real. Doubt if I will see the movie. They can make good movies of prematurely dead series. Think of Serenity and Firefly.
Also how can an 18 year old stay frozen at that age without having to change Ellen Muth. The show burned bright and will be missed.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:35 am
The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.
January 16th, 2011 at 12:15 am
I loved the 1st and 2nd season. The chemistry between the characters and the world in which it was set. The movie was okay. Losing Rube was a tragedy and really hurt any chances of bringing the series back. But the actress they got to replace Daisy was terrible!! She almost ruined the entire movie for me! She didn’t remotely catch the vitality and charm of Daisy, as obnoxious as Daisy could be. I would truly love to see them bring Dead Like Me back to the small screen…but I might reconsider if they used the actress that played Daisy on the dvd movie! I mean really people…who cast that woman and what kind of drugs were they on?!
February 3rd, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Sarah was great! I enjoyed her more than Rebecca. I loved the episode when George had to make the elderly woman realize she was dead because Sarah and that elderly woman starred in the movie “The Faculty” together. They were reunited for a moment.
I agree with Ronni about the Daisy replacement in the movie. I was wondering who the hell she was! And I missed Rube and his “no-nonsense” attitude so much! I missed the Post-Its!! Even the reapers did not like the new boss they had.
April 17th, 2011 at 9:49 am
I felt like the dialogue and narrative took a huge nosedive after Bryan Fuller left. The movie was alright, but I was left still feeling the loss of what it once was and could have been. Continuity was a big miss.
May 25th, 2011 at 7:56 am
Very sad to me that the show ended so quickly. The movie was horrible. The characters were nothing like themselves. I want the series back
July 18th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Um, just a head’s up, but the original Daisy is played by Laura Harris. The movie Daisy was played by Sarah Wynter. The original article has confused quite a few posters into praising Sarah and bashing some unknown actress for not being like Sarah, when they really mean Laura.
September 5th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Just watched the series and movie on Netflix. The series was great. Finished it in a week. The movie was okay. I don’t think the lack of Mandy Patinkin hurt all that much, but the story was a little disappointing. I liked that it sort of wrapped up things for Reggie, but I didn’t like that George was seperate from the rest of the reapers for the whole thing. Even though the episodes were shorter, it felt like they had more going on in them than this movie did.
The biggest downfall was the replacement of the actress for Daisy. I didn’t particularly care for Daisy much in the series, but Laura Harris played the part a thousand times better than Sarah Wynter. (As J correctly pointed out above, Laura is the original, Sarah is the replacement.) I saw someone mention it might have been the fault of the writing and not the actress, but if you’d seen other things Sarah Wynter has been in, you’d know that’s pretty on par for her performances. She had parts that had potential on The Dead Zone and 24, but she butchered them by being hollow and dull like she was in this role. There was no complexity to her portrayal of the character. Why she keeps getting cast in anything is a mystery.
Co-incidentally, Sarah and Laura played sisters on 24. (I guess casting directors think they look alike.) I have to say, Laura’s performance was much better than Sarah’s in that show as well, even though I didn’t like Laura’s character, and in spite of the acting, I did like Sarah’s.
January 9th, 2012 at 11:03 am
I’ve not read all the comments as I’m about to watch the film, I only just finished the series’s so I am a late comer to it. Have to say I love it though. I think it’s fantastically written and acted. Any new comers will be welcome in my book as it’s so well written you learn to love them. I wish they did a third and fourth series so much, as there is soooooooooooooooooooooo much scope, so much they more they can do with it.