TV Review: Six Feet Under (Season 1)

I've been watching the first season of a whole bunch of series while on summer break. I heard about Six Feet Under years ago and how it kept winning Emmy's and Golden Globes. I never watched because I never really understood what is what. I'm actually happy about that though because I don't think I would have liked this show had I seen it 5 years ago.

"Nathaniel Fisher, his wife Ruth, and their children David and Claire run a small funeral business that offers the best care to be found anywhere close by. Prodigal son Nate Jr. arrives home for Christmas just as his father is killed by a bus, and has to stick around when he and David are willed the funeral service together. How does a family who helps others deal with grief deal with its own? Written by rmlohner" (thank you IMDB)

If you never got the chance to catch this series on tv don't let that stop you. This is one of the greatest series i've ever seen. It's the perfect balance of character and story and it really comes together nicely. At first some characters feel boring and not fun to watch but as their story arcs unfold pretty much all the characters are fun to watch. Michael C. Hall is the best example of someone who I hated for the first 3 or 4 episodes of the series but by the end he became my favorite character on screen.

All the characters are struggling with where their life should go and how to get along with each other. I like that there isn't a true main relationship, they establish Nate as the main character but all the other members of the family get episodes of their own that are most of my favorite ones. This is one of the earlier shows to bring a cinematic quality to the camerawork and it really shows not only in cinematography but editing as well. There are sequence with dead people acting as the conscience that are just brilliant to look at.

I'm unsure of where the series will go from here but I'm really looking forward to it. It was a fantastic start to a show with some excellent performances. I have to take special note that I don't think i've ever seen a better or more respectful portrayal of a gay character on television. This show doesn't judge it's characters but just acknowledges we are all just people trying to make it by day by day.

5 out of 5