Dead Like Me - The Complete First Season (DVD, 4-Disc Set)

This was a terrific, highly amusing, really interesting and very quirky series for two seasons on the Showtime Premium Channel starting in 2003 through 2004.

It's about a rather depressed 18 year old girl who calls herself "George", that suddenly loses her life when a toilet seat from a Russian satellite lands on her when the satellite breaks up on re-entering Earths atmosphere. Immediately upon her death she finds out that she's been chosen to become one of many grim reapers who roam the world, and the series follows her through her various reaping assignments and how she learns to live as one of the "Undead".

Great casting and story lines made this series a cult classic. So much so, that the calls and letters to Showtime complaining about the series cancellation finally resulted in a direct to DVD movie release in February of 2009 called "Dead Like Me-Life after Death".

Starring Ellen Muth as Georgia Lass AKA "George", Mandy Patinkin as
Rube(Boss of the Reapers), Jasmine Guy as Roxy(a meter maid/police officer reaper), Cynthia Stevenson as Joy Lass(the joyless mother of Georgia and her sister Reggie), Greg Kean as Clancy Lass(Joy Lass' hapless husband), Laura Harris as Daisy Adair (an ex-movie actress reaper), Callum Blue as Mason (a ne'er do well reaper), Christine Willis as Deloris Herbig (as in "HER BIG brown eyes", Georges' supervisor at her "Happytime" day job), and Britt McKillip as Reggie Lass(Georgia's younger sister). Other cast members include: Crystal Dahl as Crystal(the receptionist at "Happytime"), Patricia Idlette as Kiffany with a "K",(waitress at the restaurant where the reapers meet to get their daily reaping assignments from Rube), and Talia Ranger(a "Younger" version of George in flashbacks from her earlier life). Try it, you'll like it, but only if you don't mind strong language.

I had the oppertunity last fall to meet Ellen Muth the star of Dead Like Me and before then I had never watched the show. Meeting her made me interested in seeing exactly what it was all about. I first saw an episode a few months ago on Sci-fi and from then on I was hooked. Muth plays a young sarcastic and somewhat depressed girl who is killed by a toilet seat falling from the sky. She soon after realizes that she as well as others have become grim reapers. These reapers walk amoung the living and live lives just as the living do. Each episode the reapers are giving a paper with a name of someone who is schedule to die and the reapers must make their transition to the after-life as easy as possible. The show also stars Rebecca Gayheart, Jasmine Guy, Laura Harris,Mandy Patinkin, and Callium Blue.
The show is funny and full of surprises. It has a good mix of drama as well. Allthough it may sound a bit odd it is a very welcome change from the ordinary tv show. I believe that anyone with a sense of humor will love this show. It has a way of bringing humor to a dark world. Each episode brings you a new story and many diferent death senerios.
From falling toilet seats to revolving doors this show gives you a humoristic look at death.
And for the record Ellen Muth is just as adorable in person as she is on this show.

I discovered Dead Like Me when a friend loaned me the first season. I watched it and immediately bought the 2nd and last season. But I didn't own the 1st! I hungered for it. Then one day, I was tooling around on eBay, found it, bid on it and won it. Yay!
The series tells the story of George, an 18 year old girl who is killed by a Mir toilet falling back to earth. She then becomes one of the 'undead,' a grim reaper whose job is to remove the souls from people who are bout to die from weird accidents. But it's not grim- it's funny- ok, the humor is a little on the black side, but they are doing people a favor so that they are not actually in their bodies when the horrible thing happens. She joins a group of other reapers who meet in a pancake house to receive their daily assignments on post-it notes from Rube (Mandy Patinkin). George (Ellen Muth) examines her life, revisits her family, adjusts to her new life, and struggles with day-to-day life finding a job and a place to live (reapers don't get paid). It's funny, well-written, well-acted. Character development is great. It's a wonderful show about people who are literally on the fringes of life.
The eBay deal was great and the seller marvelous. I'm delighted I bought it!

What agreat show! Of course like most great shows it has been cancelled. Smart and funny with wonderful characters and great actors.

George is a college drop out who has no idea what to do with her life. her mom gets her an interview for a job at a temp agency and on her first day of work she is killed by a toilet from outer space. George has been chosen to be a Grim Reaper. Reapers collect souls before people die and George's department is accidental deaths. The show has a recurring storyline with how her family is coping and how their lives have been since her death.

Highly recommended, this is a funny show but not screwball-funny. There is no real objectionable language and it is not gory but there are death scenes (of course). Check out the first season and you will be hooked!

One night a few months ago I was doing the usual late night rapid channel flitting when I suddenly came upon an episode of "Dead Like Me". I didn't know at the time that it was the pilot episode, but I could tell that it was an early one. I'd never seen the show before. In fact, I'm not certain that it even aired here in Canada during its initial run. Definitely not on the regular prime time networks. As I watched the episode, I quickly realized that the dialogue was sharp and witty, much like that found in other favourite shows of mine such as "Northern Exposure" and "Ed", except with the occasional F-bomb and other terms not heard during prime time. Just after each commercial break, the Showcase network flashed a warning stating that this show presented adult situations, nudity, sexuality, and strong language. Rightly so I might add. If you're a parent, make sure the little ones are fast asleep while you watch this show, otherwise you'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do. Anyway, getting back to the show, I was immediately, if not sooner, hooked. Barbed end, line and sinker. After the closing credits, I was overcome with satisfaction. Similar to a really good meal. The feeling lasted about 10 seconds, when I suddenly yearned to see more. Not wanting to wait another seven days until the next episode, I leaped to the computer, clicked on a popular online Book/Music/DVD site, and ordered a copy of season one. Sure it took 6 days to arrive, but it was well worth the wait. I gobbled up each of the 14 episodes, and then went for seconds. Since then, I've watched them all a third time, and done the same with the second season. Thank the technology gods that DVDs don't wear out. I have a feeling that the enjoyment and pure delight that this shortlived series brings to its fans will last long after I'm pushing up daisies. I'm also hoping that the creators of the show and the good folks over at that roaring lion company will compile and release a disc or two of the songs heard during the episodes. Great tunes, snappy dialogue, smiles-and-chuckles-inducing humour, thought-provoking situations, etc. What more could a TV show junkie like me ask for?