ABC relaunches three sophomore shows and hopes for better luck than NBC had with "Chuck" and "Life"

From today's paper: I actually wuss out and kind of like "Private Practice." But I like "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money" better. Story below.

(The show's called "Pushing Daisies," not "Holding Daisies.")

No evening of television was as affected by the writers strike as much as ABC's Wednesday lineup. The network attempted the impossible - to launch three new shows on one night (though one, "Private Practice," was a "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff) - and succeeded, more or less.

"Private Practice" and "Pushing Daisies" were hits out of the box, though both lost viewers as the season wore on ("Pushing Daisies" compensated by receiving a dozen Emmy nominations). "Dirty Sexy Money" got good reviews but, given the star power involved, never found the audience it likely deserved.

When the writers strike was resolved, ABC gave each show a second-season renewal without rushing them back into production like most shows. Chances were they wouldn't earn enough viewers late in the season without a proper launch, thereby making the network look foolish for bringing them back. On the other hand, ABC's cupboards were bare, so they needed to bring back shows with even kind of dodgy ratings.

Tonight proves the network's faith in these shows was well-founded. "Pushing Daisies" remains just as delightful, "Dirty Sexy Money" retains all of its intrigue and "Private Practice," a show I didn't much care for last season, appears to have found its voice - a fairly treacly one, to be sure, but effective nonetheless.

First up: "Pushing Daisies," the most visually stylish show on broadcast TV, which manages the nearly impossible task of being macabre and soufflé-light simultaneously. Lee Pace stars as Ned, the proprietor of a pie shop who can resurrect the dead with the touch of his hand, with some serious caveats - if he touches them again, they die forever. Which makes his relationship with Chuck (Anna Friel), his childhood chum and soul mate, somewhat complicated - he saved her life but can never have physical contact with her again.

(The show's called "Pushing Daisies," not "Pushing Pies While Coquettishly Turning Your Ankle and Lifting Your Dress Ever So Slightly." They're never going to get this publicity still thing down right.)

In the meantime, the two collaborate with private eye Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) to solve murders - Ned's power is good for asking murder victims who killed them. Tonight, when a whole bunch of back story is not being proffered for the sake of new viewers, the three investigate the murder of a "bee girl" who worked at a honey-manufacturing company and died, fairly grotesquely, by hundreds of bee stings.

Next week is even funnier, as they are sucked into the murder of a mime and a car full of clowns (and if you know clown cars, you know the body count's going to get pretty high). You know you're in agreeably demented hands when someone tries to off your heroes with a human cannonball. "Pushing Daisies" is more fun than broadcast television is usually allowed to be.

It's followed by the soapy "Private Practice," starring Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery, who departed "Grey's Anatomy" to work at an L.A. wellness clinic. Tonight's episode begins with an inspired montage, cutting between a commercial for Addison and her colleagues' center, which makes them look like caring, competent professionals, and scenes from their dysfunctional private lives.

(Except for Audra Macdonald, they don't look all that happy to be there, do they?)

The show's main improvement is that creator Shonda Rhimes has dialed way back on the too-cute-by-half whimsy (it's still there, just not as annoying) and found a tonal balance for the show. Granted, it still involves manipulative moments (lots of children facing death in tonight's installment), but it also offers the doctors some genuinely interesting ethical quandaries between their hormonal outbreaks.

Finally, "Dirty Sexy Money" stars "Six Feet Under's" Peter Krause as Nick, an idealistic lawyer who takes his late father's old job as fixer to the Darlings, an obscenely wealthy and morally challenged family whose patriarch (Donald Sutherland) oversees a lot of spoiled brats.

(Tonight! On "Dirty Sexy Money!" Five minutes are given over to a thrilling staring contest.)

The job offers too many temptations for Nick and his wife (Zoe McLellan) to compromise their principles. The show's producers promised that a Darling family member would be killed tonight, and even though it's pretty much the nominal character that the show's handful of fans could have easily guessed, tonight's episode cagily resets the storyline for new viewers and offers a fair amount of new intrigue along the way, as well.

As not-so-new new shows go, ABC's Wednesday lineup feels pretty fresh.