Dead Like Me

Characters

Undead

Georgia "George" Lass (Ellen Muth) b. 1985, d. 2003, hit by falling zero-G toilet seat from de-orbiting Soviet space station Mir. George dropped out from college mid-semester, and died on her lunch break from her first day at Happy Time Temporary Services. In some interactions with the living, she goes by her "undead name", Mildred "Millie" Hagen. The living see George with a different appearance ? a somewhat plain, sad-looking girl who is known as (but not referred to on screen as) "UnGeorge" (played in Season One by Laura Boddington). By the end of season 2, it's implied that George has finally accepted her destiny as a reaper. The extreme oddity of her demise has earned her unwelcome notoriety as "Toilet-Seat Girl" among the reaper crowd.

Related Topics:
Georgia "George" Lass - Ellen Muth - Laura Boddington

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Rube John Sofer (Mandy Patinkin) b. ~1876, d. ~1926. Rube is the "foreman" of the group of reapers. He gets the list of who is to die, when and where, and then transfers the first initial and last name of the person, where they are to die, and their estimated time of death (ETD) to a Post-it note and assigns them to the reapers. Although he comes off as gruff and aloof, he actually cares for his team like a father, and is particularly fond of George, calling her "Peanut", the same nickname he gave his daughter. He is secretive, and his full name was not revealed until midway through the second season, in "Death Defying". In the episode "Always", George asserts that Rube died in 1927, though this appears to be a guess, as it does not fit with him being available to collect Betty on her death in 1926. If he did die in the mid-1920s, his presence at Betty's death implies that he had been placed in charge of his division very soon after he died. A lonely figure, evidently haunted by his past, his loneliness is brought into sharp focus on the death of his daughter, Rosie, during season 2.

Related Topics:
Rube John Sofer - Mandy Patinkin - Post-it

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Mason (Callum Blue) b. 1939, d. 1966, drilled hole in head seeking a permanent high. Mason is originally from London (he reaped Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones in 1969), and was transferred to his present location some time ago. He collects money from the dead, deals, smuggles and uses drugs. He is infatuated with Daisy and has stated that he does not believe in God; his lack of belief in God, however, may be out of bitterness, since in one episode, he told George that "God screwed us over". He has become an alcoholic in response to the pressures of his job. He's attracted to Daisy, and became jealous when she became attracted to another man; while he is also attracted to anyone who is attractive and female, his feelings for Daisy seem to run much deeper. He claims to have never flown in an airplane. He has an edgy relationship with Rube; they dislike but tolerate each other.

Related Topics:
Callum Blue - Drilled hole in head - Rolling Stones - Brian Jones - God - Alcoholic

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Mason loves George like a sister, and confessed to her that he lost his virginity while he was drunk, not long before his death. He has confessed his love to Daisy, and was disgusted by her decision to pursue a relationship with Ray Summers, which he saw becoming abusive. This conflict came to a head when Daisy broke up with Ray; Ray grabbed Daisy by the throat and held her against the wall, and Mason bludgeoned Ray to death with a mirror. Wracked by guilt, he later gave away all his possessions and all but asked Daisy to marry him when he was convinced that his next reap would be his last (due to Rube giving him a purple Post-it note). Is presently living with George and Daisy.

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Roxanne "Roxy" Harvey (Jasmine Guy) b. ~1944, d. 1982, strangled with leg warmers after she invented them. Roxy is the only other reaper of the group with a day job; she used to be a meter maid for the city, but entered the police academy at the beginning of the second season. She is no-nonsense with both reaping and her day job, and carried a handgun to keep arguments over parking tickets short. She is the only reaper on the series (to date) who has used her powers in anger, when she temporarily removed the soul from a particularly rude motorist; the man subsequently started a religion around her, much to Rube's dismay. In the second season, doing her duty as a police officer, she shot and killed a woman who was subsequently reaped by Mason. She has confessed to not sleeping because of nightmares. Rube considers Roxy to be his "second in command" and left her in charge when he went away. Assigned to investigate the disappearance of Ray Summers, Roxy knows that Daisy and Mason had something to do with it, but chose to cover for them, claiming that Ray ran off to Portland.

Related Topics:
Jasmine Guy - Leg warmer - Meter maid - Nightmares - Portland

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Betty Rhomer (Rebecca Gayheart, first five episodes only) b. 1899, d. 1926, jumped off a cliff into a river without realizing its height. Betty was a spunky woman who "can't sit still for very long", and disappeared after following a soul into his great beyond, not long after befriending George. She was known for sometimes using 1920s rhetoric. She had conversations with George about using aliases in the past. Her trademark was taking a Polaroid photo of the people whose souls she took, and classifying those people by personality type (of which her own was said by George to be "mysterious and reassuring"). Rube was present when she died and thus that they have been reaping together since her death in 1926. Once, Betty was declared dead and found herself trapped in a cold-storage cabinet in a morgue.

Related Topics:
Rebecca Gayheart - Polaroid - Morgue

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It has not been revealed what exactly happened to Betty.

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Daisy Adair (Laura Harris, sixth episode to present) b. ~1912, d. 1938, asphyxiation and smoke inhalation in Marietta, Georgia. She claims to have died on the set of Gone with the Wind, which was filmed mostly on Hollywood backlots. In the episode "Haunted", an elderly man recognizes Daisy as the woman who died "during the filming of" Gone with the Wind. He says she came to the Stork Club most nights, with different men, usually stars, on her arm.

Related Topics:
Laura Harris - Asphyxiation - Marietta, Georgia - Gone with the Wind - Hollywood

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Daisy is an attractive and elitist actress from the 1930s, who frequently tells stories of her alleged sexual escapades with actors and celebrities including Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Bing Crosby and Babe Ruth. In truth, she is very lonely, and her final thoughts before death were, "Why has no one ever loved me?" She was transferred from SoHo in New York City to join the group after Betty disappeared. It is hinted that she left New York under bad circumstances, possibly involving a con game with the newly dead. As the second season began, Daisy began flirting with Catholicism, though she later appeared to abandon this. She claims to have reaped one of the Andrews Sisters and James Dean.

Related Topics:
1930s - Clark Gable - Cary Grant - Errol Flynn - Bing Crosby - Babe Ruth - SoHo - New York City - Con - Catholicism - Andrews Sisters - James Dean

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When they first met, George disliked her, but a friendship has since developed. She and George share a house that once belonged to one of Mason's reaps. She initially rejected Mason's advances, but is gradually warming to him. Daisy was extremely disturbed when asked to reap a young woman who was strangled to death by her lover and actually abandoned the girl's soul at the scene of the crime, leaving a note informing the police of the murderer's identity. She subsequently revealed to Mason that she had a sister, the implication being that her sister died, or at least was attacked, in a similar situation. Mason suspects that the stories of her legendary sexual conquests are just something she made up; he is the only one aware of Daisy's final thoughts.

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She was involved with Ray, a television producer, in a relationship that became abusive. When she tried to break up with him, he turned violent on her, and Mason killed him. Following his death was the "birth" of a graveling from the corpse; Daisy stated that she has seen this happen before. This graveling, which appears to be different from the others in that it is more malevolent, appears to be stalking her, leading Daisy to confess to George about Ray's death.

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She characteristically introduces herself as "Daisy ? Daisy Adair."

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Charlie, the pet reaper (Spencer Achtymichuk) b. ~1988, d. ~1997, hit by a drunk driver. Charlie, a young boy, has appeared three times to reap pets. He has encountered both George and Reggie. Reggie has attempted to befriend him. Judging from his clothes, he lives "on the streets". He reaped J.D.'s soul (see below).

Related Topics:
Spencer Achtymichuk - Drunk driver

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Penny (Yeardley Smith) d. 1912 in the Titanic disaster, after which she developed a dislike of ice (i.e., even in beverages). Penny used to be a member of Rube's group in "external influences", and now works for "natural causes". She first appeared in "Forget Me Not" when George had a reap at the hospital. In "Always", she showed Rube the Post-it for his daughter Rosie, and allowed him to accompany her to the nursing home where Rosie stayed, giving him a few minutes to visit with his daughter before her death.

Related Topics:
Yeardley Smith - Titanic

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Ray, the graveling. A graveling apparently created when Mason killed Ray Summers. This graveling appears to be stalking Daisy (who refers to the creature as Ray) and apparently had vengeful feelings for Mason. He was also particularly malevolent, and in "Always" he caused the premature death of one man for whom no Post-it note was assigned. In the same episode he was destroyed by George when she simply touched him the same way she would touch a reap. (See the entry for Ray Summers, below, for more information about Ray in life.)

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Undead miscellany

• Initially, only George, Daisy, and Betty revealed their last names; Rube's full name appeared on screen on his daughter's birth certificate in the season 2 episode "Death Defying". Roxy's full name was seen on her police badge in the season 2 episode "Haunted". Rube, Daisy, and Betty all appear to be using the same names they had in life, while George is the only reaper with a confirmed alias. It is not known if Mason is using the same name he had when he died.
• George is the only reaper known to be working in the same city in which she died. Although we don't know where Roxy came from, her preference for Peanut Poppies hints that she is from the South (Peanut Poppies are fictional M&M-style snacks described as popular in the south). All the others appear to have been transferred from other parts of the country or the world.
• Of the reapers, only George and Roxy hold steady jobs. Daisy gets occasional work as a stage and television actress.
• Both season finales ended at Georgia's graveside.
• It is established in the first episode that, to the living, the reapers look different than they did in life, however only Mason and George's "alter egos" are ever seen. It is strongly implied in the second season that Rube looks the same to the living as he did when he died, suggesting this may not be a hard and fast rule, or that the reapers might regain their original appearance once sufficient time has passed.
• It is possible that reapers also have the ability to kill as they reap, although this ability is shown only once. In the pilot George deliberately alters the fate of her first reap, a little girl, saving her life. Rube orders her to reap her soul, and when she does, the little girl slumps over and dies without any "external influences". It is possible this only happens in cases where the reap has missed the appointment.

Living

Joy Lass (Cynthia Stevenson) b. ~1962. Joy is George's mother. Was a history major in college. She is organized, neurotic, and a bit foul-mouthed. Hates the word "moist" for its sexual connotations and is afraid of balloons. Her name is ironic, as she is a very unhappy person. Or, perhaps her name is literal in describing her: "Joy Lass" is a homophone for "joyless". George's death threw her into a deep depression made worse by her husband's infidelity and her inability to communicate with her remaining daughter. She is profoundly unsatisfied and frustrated with her life. She has recently started dating Angelo, but reacted strangely upon learning that Clancy's lover dumped him, and has started to make subtle overtures at reconciling. She is very disturbed by Reggie's fixation over George's death, and is starting to worry about Reggie's sanity. In "Forget Me Not", she applied for job placement through Happy Time.

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Clancy Lass (Greg Kean) b. ~1960. Clancy is George's father. He is a tenured professor of English at the University of Washington. Even though he appears emotionally strong, he may be even more depressed about his daughters death than Joy. It is revealed that he is having an affair with Charlotte, which results in Joy suing for divorce as the second season began. Charlotte dumped him before "Be Still My Heart". He has vaguely implied wanting to come back to Joy.

Related Topics:
Greg Kean - Professor - English - University of Washington - Divorce

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Reggie Lass (Britt McKillip) b. ~1993. Reggie is George's younger sister, largely ignored by George before her death. After George's death, Reggie developed a fixation with the way her sister died. She's intelligent and well-read but rather difficult and emotionally complex. She collected toilet seats and put them in a tree. Now past this stage, she is fast growing away from her mother, and is in danger of becoming even more disaffected with life than her late sister. She is opposed to Joy's decision to sell the family home: she told prospective buyers, "George visits me here" ? which is, in fact, true as she has spotted George (as Millie) spying on the house from time to time. Despite her stressed relationship with her mother, she is very protective of her and scared away one potential suitor by claiming that George was murdered in her own home. In "Ashes To Ashes", she experimented with the Goth lifestyle, adopting the nickname "Spider". When J.F. the frog was left on her doorstep following the death of her dog J.D., she became convinced (correctly) that George was responsible. She used to believe that George was a ghost, but has abandoned that notion (or pretends to have). Even though she is unsure of George's whereabouts, she (correctly) believes George is still "living" somehow, and in "Haunted" her beliefs were apparently confirmed when she saw George face-to-face. At the end of season 2, she appears to have been gradually warming up to her mother, Joy.

Related Topics:
Britt McKillip - Goth

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Phyllis (Barbara Barrie). "Grandma Phyl", Joy's mother, is constantly at odds with Joy. Whereas Joy is a compulsive, constantly worrying neat-freak, Phyllis is laid-back, worry-free and seems to live day-to-day. She practices Buddhism. Reggie appears to be fascinated by her, and Phyllis was apparently very close to George. Phyllis and Joy have a confrontational relationship.

Related Topics:
Barbara Barrie - Buddhism

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Delores Herbig (Christine Willes) "as in 'her big brown eyes'". Delores is George's boss at Happy Time. She displays a high appreciation for "Millie", both professionally and emotionally. She occasionally mentions things from her past, such as having a cocaine habit in the 1980s, having tattoos removed, and having restraining orders against her. She runs a webcam show from her apartment called "Getting Things Done with Delores". She seems very happy and positive but is in fact quite sad and lonely, and is looking for a long-term relationship. She believes Rube is George's Alcoholics Anonymous counselor. In a conversation with Joy, she described George as being "difficult, but smart and with potential", which is why she hired her. In "Always", she colluded with George to falsify George's personnel records for Joy's benefit. Ironically, Delores based the forgery on George's "Millie" persona.

Related Topics:
Christine Willes - Cocaine - 1980s - Webcam - Alcoholics Anonymous

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Crystal Smith (Crystal Dahl). Crystal is the receptionist at Happy Time. She can be very strange, and George initially finds her intimidating, though the two eventually establish a rapport. In "Vacation", she actually helped the reapers complete some long overdue reaper-related paperwork, giving no indication whether she understood exactly what it was all about. She has a lookalike boyfriend at Happy Time. In "Always" it was revealed that she is fluent in Spanish, French, Russian and Swahili, and that she was also a member of the Special Forces. In "Haunted", she was caught (by Mason and George) using her computer to pinpoint the best areas for trick or treating in the Happy Time office on a Sunday; ironically, she was dressed as a grim reaper. After seeing Millie and possibly recognizing her as George (due to it being Halloween) she looked up files regarding Georgia, after Mason and "Millie" had left, but those files were unavailable. Crystal also likes to sneeze in other people's work areas/cubicles. There is some evidence to suggest that Crystal may be a reaper; she has a closet full of Post-its which she steals from work, and in the episode "Business Unfinished" she seemed to notice the soul that Daisy brought into the office.

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Kiffany (Patricia Idlette). Kiffany is the reapers' regular waitress at Der Waffle Haus, and meets the odd goings on among the reapers (bizarre conversations; Roxy shooting Mason; Mason committing a "lewd act" with a coconut slice) with extraordinary . She has shown sympathetic interest in the characters, but never pries. She described Rube as a special customer, perhaps because he gives a $2 tip on a $7 breakfast. In the episode "Always", she banned Mason from Der Waffle Haus for stealing tips, relenting after he apologized and giving him money. Has evidently worked there for some time, as she knows Penny.

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Thomas "Trip" Hesburgh III (Robin Dunne). Journalist; George's first serious relationship. George thought that Trip was her reap, when it was Trip's father instead. He seems very unhappy despite being raised in a wealthy family, and seems tired of the social superficialities of his wealthy upbringing. He is often nagged by his older sister Ashley. He became George's first lover and called her his girlfriend, but it is uncertain whether any sort of relationship will actually develop. After spending the night with George, he never called or sought her out again, sending George into a rage. He knows George by her real name (rather than by her Millie alias).

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Angelo (Peter Williams). Angelo owns a loft apartment that Joy and Reggie looked at in "In Escrow", and is Joy's recent love interest. He is smooth-talking, urbane, and artistically talented, but seems very mysterious. Angelo is apparently the only male suitor for Joy that Reggie approves of.

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Ray Summers (Eric McCormack) d. 2004. Ray was a reality television producer who struck up a romantic relationship with Daisy when she met him during an assignment in "Death Defying". He came off as extremely obnoxious and overbearing and was disliked by Rube, George, and especially Mason. He provided Daisy with an acting job, working on a sleazy TV series that exposes cheating husbands. Ray disliked Mason, identifying him as a rival for Daisy's affections. He was manipulative and abusive towards Daisy, and, unknown to her, had a criminal record, including assault and fraud charges. In "Forget Me Not", Mason killed Ray when he attacked Daisy. There was no Post-it for his death, and a graveling emerged from his body. This may be because he died before his destined time, he possessed an evil soul, he was not reaped on time and his soul rotted in his body, or that he was a graveling all along. This graveling began stalking Daisy. Gravelings have harassed reapers before, although it has not previously been "personal". (See "Ray the graveling", above, for more information.)

Related Topics:
Eric McCormack - Reality television

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Misty Favreaux (Meghan Black). Misty is a promiscuous co-worker of George's (Millie's) at Happy Time. She has no inhibitions and is willing to have sex in the office. She said she works 35 hours a week, spends 34 of those hours thinking about sex, and the other hour having sex. She was a fan of a rock singer that George reaped in "Rites of Passage". Has two children named Jordache and Sassoon. Is married in the states of Louisiana and Kansas. (Meghan Black also played a bank teller in "Pilot".)

Related Topics:
Meghan Black - Louisiana - Kansas

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Charlotte (A. J. Cook). Charlotte is a university student. She and George met in "Sunday Mornings", after Mason saved her from being raped. They became friends, and she took George to her course on the sonnets taught by Clancy. She and Clancy had an affair, which precipitated the Lass divorce, though by "Be Still My Heart", she had broken up with him.

Related Topics:
A. J. Cook - Rape - Sonnet

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Others

Gravelings. The gravelings are mischievous gremlin-like creatures that help preserve the balance of life by causing the accidents and mishaps that kill people. Make their home in graveyards. The living cannot see them, though one schizophrenic man seemed to be able to. Reapers can see them, but only "in the corner of the eye". Reapers can also apparently communicate with them to some extent (Daisy once shushed a graveling). George, however, appears to be able to see them more clearly than the rest, and it has been implied that she encountered them at least twice as a child. It has recently been revealed that they are produced from either evil or rotted souls, or possibly from the un-reaped soul of a person who dies before their destined time.

Related Topics:
Gremlin - Schizophrenic

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J.D., d. 2004. One of George's reaps left behind J.D., a Golden Retriever in "A Cook". George agreed to take care of the dog and tried to keep him, but passed him on to her family. Reggie decided that J.D. stands for "Just Dog". He seemed fond of Clancy. In "Last Call", he was killed by a car, after Charlie had reaped his soul.

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J.F. formerly known as Mr. Frog, is a yellow frog that belonged to George's first reap, a young girl, and which apparently followed George home. Following the death of J.D., George secretly left the frog with Reggie, who dubbed it J.F. for "Just Frog" and is convinced the frog came from George. The frog ? along with other frog imagery ? has been used from time to time to symbolise the cycle of life and death, a recurring motif responding to George's tale about the origins death, from the beginning of the pilot episode.

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