Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season

     The Fishers are your typical dysfunctional family. Ruth (Frances Conroy) is the stern matriarch who has trouble expressing emotion and snaps at the slightest problem. Daughter Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is an underachiever who cultivates a moody, mysterious loner image in high school (she's indulging in illegal substances too). Brother David (Michael C. Hall) works in the family business, and is uptight beyond belief (he's indulging in a secret homosexual relationship too). Elder brother Nate (Peter Krause) is the black sheep, who, eschewing responsibility, fled to Seattle but got lured back. And Dad (Richard Jenkins) watches it all bemusedly. Did we mention Dad's dead? Oh, and that the Fisher family business is a funeral home? It might sound off-putting, but coming from the mind of Alan Ball, the man who strip-mined suburban life to find the mordant wit underneath in American Beauty, Six Feet Under is a trenchant, stylish spin on standard family dysfunction. This HBO series initially aspired to fits of Twin Peaks-like whimsy, with each episode starting with a death more outlandish than the previous, but soon settled into a comfortable groove that harkened back to the most familiar of TV family dramas (in fact, it's almost a mirror image of '70s drama Family, down to the three sibling archetypes). Of course, its HBO roots allowed it ample leeway with sex, drug usage, profanity, and violence. While the writing strove to be a little too clever, the overall look and tone of the show remained solid and sometimes profound (sometimes absurd too, but usually with good reason). Krause and Hall, as initially warring brothers who come to a wary understanding, are solid anchors, but it's the women in the cast who do the most phenomenal work. Conroy infuses her almost stereotypical mom with an obstinate but ultimately accepting heart, and Ambrose's Claire is by far the show's most appealing character. And stealing scenes left and right is Rachel Griffith's Brenda, a mystery woman with an outlandish backstory who meets Nate on a plane, has sex with him at the airport, and infiltrates his life. Like Brenda herself, Six Feet Under is fascinating--and highly addictive.

      From Alan Ball the Oscar winning writer of "American Beauty" comes a series that digs where others fear to tread. When a bus kills Nathaniel Fisher owner of the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home in Los Angeles the tragedy casts a pall on the homecoming of his prodigal son Nate. Together with with mother Ruth brother David and sister Claire they must address the family business and the many more personal matters that arise when your life is Six Feet Under.

Comment:
    First off I want to say that a review of a product is not supposed to be about the cost. A buyer can make that decision on their own, what they choose to spend. A review is supposed to be about the PRODUCT: in this case, Season 1 of Six Feet Under. Is it worth watching? YES Is it an entertaining show? YES Are the storylines and characters engaging and interesting? YES Is it worth the hours spent watching it? YES Over the last few years I started renting TV shows on DVD and watching the series consequtively, I found that I enjoy it more this way. I can watch one or two episodes a night- many nights in a row if I want. It is helpful in getting sort of hooked on a show, and also keeping the momentum of the storylines going, and also my memory of events (vs. watching it over a period of say 5 years). So, if you're looking at Six Feet Under as a series like this to buy/watch- I highly recommend it. Buy it, rent it, borrow it from a friend, watch re-runs, whatever you want. But do NOT miss this show! I might just bite the bullet and say perhaps this is my favorite TV show of ALL time. Ok, as for Season 1...it's a bit slow going for me at first. I think my hubby and I were on disc two and we sort of looked at each other and said, do we want to keep watching this? The characters just weren't clicking for us. And the funny dream and daydream sequences were annoying. But, I said, let's finish the season out and then see what we think. I am SO glad that we did! By then, we were hooked. Each night we looked forward to an episode or two of Six Feet Under. Sometimes I ran out to the video store at 10pm to get a new one because we just couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. So ya...the stories get better, the characters get a bit more defined and fun, and eventually there are less weird dream sequences. So if you are looking for a TV show that will keep you up at night watching, this is it! Stick it out, give it a try and I bet you won't be disappointed.After watching a few episodes of the Showtime original series, Dexter - The First Season on NBC, I immediately ordered the the complete season on DVD. The result was becoming a Michael C. Hall fan and ordering the first season of Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season. Warning this is not for the family. This very adult series is full of great acting and shocking scenes. I recommend this series but please keep it under lock and key away from your pre-teen! Being typical hollywood, they dont miss a chance to sock it to the religious right and conservatives i.e., me. That being said, I will be ordering season two. Six Feet Under is simply one of the finest television series ever produced. Cast of characters and quality of the writing is quite exceptional throughout all five years of episodes. Fans of coarse do not need to be convinced. However for those of you who feel SFU is just not your type of show... do yourselves a huge favor and check it out...it really is "that good".