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Patricia Nelson's commentary on Six Feet Under (TV movie review)
Yes, it is about death.
Yes, it is about morticians/funeral home directors.
Yes, it can be morbid,
BUT it is TRULY about life and Six Feet Under is one of THE best shows on the tube!
HBO really took a chance on this one, just ending its third season (June 2003). Created by American Beauty writer Alan Ball, it is about the Fisher family of Southern California.
The show's first season opens up as the patriarch, Nathaniel, is going to pick up a corpse on Christmas Eve. He dies in an auto accident.
Then the journey begins.
I know there is not enough space for me to go into the permutations and combinations, but the primary characters are:
Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy): Wife/widow of Nathaniel, mother of Nate, David and Claire. She loved Nathaniel, but is basically a cipher, who is emotionally estranged from her children, and herself.
Nathaniel, Jr/Nate (Peter Krause): Nate is a lost soul. He lived (1st season) in Seattle, far, far away from the family and the family business. He comes home for the holidays. After his dad's death, he becomes what he did not want - a funeral director in the family business.
David (Michael C. Hall): The second son who upholds the family business, but is so unhappy - one reason is because he is in the closet (1st season). He eventually finds true love with Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), but that love is tested by family, friends, religion, and their own baggage.
Claire (Lauren Ambrose): The rebel daughter, who is the most intuitive of the family. Still in school, she is the one with the most heart and that gets trashed constantly by men for whom the red flag should have been raised real early.
Brenda Chenoweth (Rachel Griffiths): Nate met and had sex with her at the airport....but she really falls in love with him. She is a licensed bodywork therapist whose family is more dysfunctional that the Fishers. Two psychoanalyst parents, and a brother who is REALLY in love with his sister (yes, he has MAJOR BOUNDARY ISSUES).
Rico Diaz (Freddy Rodrigues): The best restorer in the business, he worked for Nathaniel who gave him a chance. Many of the big funeral home chains want him, but he goes back to the Fishers. In season three, it becomes the Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home. Yet life is not easy for Rico: his wife Vanessa is clinically depressed after the birth of their second child; his hated sister-in-law comes to live with them and he goes out and meets another woman....
Through ups and downs and some incredible twists in each episode, this show keeps you caring about everyone.
Actor Peter Krause (Nate) was interviewed on "David Letterman" and says that funeral home directors come up to him on his travels to thank him and HBO for showing them in a positive light.
The fourth season will begin in 2004. The first season is now available on DVD. You definitely will NOT be disappointed!
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