Dead Like Me: Life After Death

Relax all you Dead Like Me fans!  You can now place this movie on your Netflix queue.  I am officially endorsing Dead Like Me: Life After Death as a positive addition to  the Dead Like Me fan collection.  I'm not saying that every one of you are going to love it or that they didn't make mistakes, but all in all it was an enjoyable watching experience.

One tip before you watch:  Don't expect this to be a blockbuster film that answers every question and inspires you to write a sonnet.  Dead Like Me: Life After Death needs to be viewed as a sort of lost episode.  Now let's get to all the burning questions you fans who can't wait want to know.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW**

What they did right:

• The loss of Rube and the waffle house were felt, but the characters were just as puzzled as the viewer.  This made it a little easier to handle because as you watched, you shared their confusion and anger.  This movie could not have taken place with Rube in the picture.  Why not?  Well, he'd eat a piece of pie and then kick their butts in line, that's why!  He would have never stood for all the trouble our favorite grim reapers get into.  So, although I missed him immensely, the loss was explained well and the scriptwriters left a slim opening for his possible return in future works.

• I was excited to see just a little bit more into the world of lights.  Often on the series, you would see the lights the ghosts were walking into but not quite understand why or what they were seeing.  This film gives just a little bit more info about their "heaven".

• George's family is once again in the mix and Reggie is an integral part of the story, but in a way you would never guess.

• Crystal the freaky co-worker, Dolores "HerBig" George's boss, and Dolores's cat, Murray, all return to the cast.  Mason, Roxy, George, George's mom and sister are all returning actors as well.

• Overall this film had the same feeling, comic sarcasm, and plot twists that we have come to love in the two-season series.

What puzzled me:

• The opening and several transitions in the film showed comic book drawings of the cast.  However, the drawing of Rube looked nothing like Mandy Pitinkin and George also looked strange.  I was wondering why they made it like a comic book?  Is there a Dead Like Me comic somewhere out there I missed out on?  Are they trying to make it look like Heroes?  Are they trying to appease the comic book fans?  Why didn't they draw Rube as Mandy Patinkin in the comic?  Were they bound legally not to use Mandy's face?  Did they draw George strangely because Rube was strange looking and they were pretending to show the face of Millie who we never see?  If after watching you know the reason or care to speculate, I'd love some comments.

• George's mom was really kind in this movie which was a little like Wednesday Addams smiling, strange and uncomfortable.

• All the reaper's are now able to see the gravelings.  In past episodes, I remember George being told, "No one can see the gravelings."

• Daisy, Daisy Adair.  Not much to say here.  Although a new actress took the role, there wasn't much of a difference for me.  I liked this one just a little less than the last actress.  It seemed she wasn't as annoying as Daisy should be.

• Too much slow-mo.  It seemed like every time George spoke to someone, slow-mo was used as a sort of "a-ha" moment guide.

• I found this show to be very emotional.  It had a sort of sit-com, sappy ending that although I enjoyed it, it felt weird at the end of a Dead Like Me production.

• If you'd like to add Dead Like Me: Life After Death to your Netflix queue, click here:

• Or, you can purchase the dvd from Amazon.com.