Dead Like Me
Certainly the conversation-starter of your DVD collection.
Dead Like Me tells the story of an eighteen year old girl who is killed by a toilet seat that falls from space. Before anyone can even
carry her body away, she's given a new one and hired as a grim reaper. It's now her job to collect the souls of people about to die.
Turns out the man who reaped her soul had filled his quota, and now that he's moved on, Georgia has to take his place.
There are five reapers in Georgia's division, and they all deal with accidental deaths. Their boss meets with them in the same coffee
shop every morning and hands out post-it notes with names, addresses and times so they know where to go. When the reapers aren't reaping,
or ordering coffee and trading insults, they still have to pay the bills somehow. One's actually a meter maid. Georgia works in an office.
This show shines in various ways. The banter between the reapers in their favourite coffee shop is always spectacular. The imaginative
deaths of the "victims" are always surprising, and Georgia's desperation to stay in contact with her family (which is strictly against the
rules) is believable. The concept of death as entertainment may sound a little distasteful but it's dealt with in a serious and touching
way, without becoming sentimental or weepy. It's sharp and honest, but always a laugh. You will fall in love with the characters over the
29 episodes that span Seasons 1 and 2.
The 2009 movie that comes with this collection is a bit of a dud. It tries to pick up where the series left off in 2004, but one regular
character is written out and one is played by a different actress who (sorry!) is pretty bad. There's plenty of laughs in the film and ties
up a few loose ends but some are left loose for good, because the show was cancelled in 2004, despite its high ratings.
The collection is decent. It would be five stars alone for the quality of the episodes, but the movie is pretty bad, the story is not
*entirely* resolved, and the cardboard box that holds the set is a bit flimsy. Mine arrived in the post already a bit bent. This is a
brilliant buy, and you'll definitely enjoy it. Sadly you'll not see anything like it again.
NOTE: THIS COLLECTION IS REGION 1! You will need a region free DVD player to play the collection. You can buy Seasons 1 and 2 separately,
and in Region 2 (which is the UK region.)