Brilliant as he is, writer/creator Bryan Fuller has had to contend with a few setbacks in the form of canceled (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies) and struggling (Heroes) TV shows. That's some reward for originality, quirkiness, and outside-the-coffin thinking.

Perhaps that's why, without his participation, the producers of the Dead Like Me direct-to-DVD movie decided to take the most pedestrian, straightforward,  humdrum approach possible. Reverse-psychology, maybe?

There's no "maybe" when it comes to the question of whether or not Dead Like Me: Life After Death will give grieving fans of the axed show more of the same: it decidedly does not.

The movie begins, for no reason other than to fulfill the obligatory back story rundown, with several graphic novel styled panels and a voiceover from the dear-departed heroine, George Lass (Ellen Muth — rhymes with "youth"). It's a personal peeve of mine when comic imagery is used out of context. It's a Spider-Man movie? OK. It's Creepshow? Of course. But here, there is no tie-in whatsoever. It's the laziest recap in the, er, book. What's more, Muth's dispirited tone, which was once reflective of her blasé-teen character, now sounds like nothing more than a listless recitation. You can practically hear her turning the pages of the script as she reads aloud.

After a very long set-up explaining what reapers are and how they help see departed souls into the "light", we move into real time as undead George guides a recently deceased inventor to his final reward. After that, it's time to head to Der Waffle Haus for a short-stack and to get her next assignment. When she arrives, George finds the structure's not only on fire — her entire world is basically burnt to the ground when it's revealed that her old boss Rube (played by Mandy Patinken on the series, but not in this movie) has found his lights and a new assigner of soul-guides has taken over.

Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusick, best-known as Desmond on Lost) has a completely different management style. Instead of using a casual meeting place to hand out the reapers' assignments and implementing a regimented work ethic, Kane's just the opposite. At first, this throws our reapers for a loop and they each struggle to adjust in their own unique way. (Callum Blue and Jasmine Guy return, while Sarah Wynter replaces Laura Harris as Daisy.)

It's five years later in Dead world but George is still working at the temp agency, Happy Times. Fussy cat-lover Delores (Christine Willes, now playing a demon on The CW's Reaper) is still the boss, and dour Crystal (Crystal Dahl) still peers out silently from her sterile cubicle. The look and feel of the office has changed dramatically, and while George has been promoted, she hasn't moved on. She continues to watch over her family (Cynthia Stevenson and Britt McKillip are back as George's mom and little sister) and keeps wondering when she will be able to depart her borrowed mortal body and move into her own lights.

Their names are right there in the opening credits, but I find it hard to believe that the series writers (John Masius, Stephen Godchaux) have returned for this maudlin, unfunny, overly sentimental and less-dark take on the awesomely kooky, politically incorrect underworld adventure that was Dead Like Me. Also returning is lead CGI animator for the gremlin-like "gravelings", Ryan Jensen. The creepy, capricious critters are just like they were on the show, and that, at least, is small comfort.

Director Stephen Herek (who did a great job eons ago with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, but more recently fell flat with Man of the House) claims to be a loyal fan of the defunct series, but he does little cater to its core audience. He seems to be trying to homogenize the story so that anyone can watch it, but in my estimation a person who never saw Dead Like Me will be even more lost and alienated by this muddled, aimless flick than I was.

Furthermore, if they see this first, I believe the newbie will be less inclined to catch the entire series on DVD (which is also out in stores on the same day — February 17, 2009). The plot unfolds like a bunch of dots which have not been connected (I'm still wondering what the heck a certain in-office interview scene with a job candidate is doing in the finished product… were those two actors — who we never see again — relatives of the producers in search of SAG cards?).

In short: There's no pizzazz to the proceedings, just a going-through-the-motions drudgery.

DVD extras include a commentary with Muth and Herek patting each other on the back mostly, but at least there are no long gaps of silence and they do have excellent recall for what happened during the filming. It's not exactly spectacular, but it's definitely more entertaining to watch with the commentary on than just the movie alone.

There's a making-of featurette which is every bit as multi-personality disordered as the film. Starting off with a tedious, seemingly endless musical montage showing clips of the crew filming, then segueing into talking heads using footage that doesn't even come close to matching (some is sharp and colorful, some is posterized, and some is flat and blanched), this is one 'behind-the-scenes' that should have been left behind altogether.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson