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A week ago last night was the final episode of Six Feet Under after five years. I looked forward to watching a new episode every Sunday night and feel like an old friend has left town. The only other TV sitcom that seemed to hit me like that was Cheers!
Six Feet Under was weird to the max; and, naturally, I liked it. Not really about a funeral home but about how we approach death. The show always had some really good points like how we avoid talking about death in our culture.
An insightful series retrospective before the finale revealed that much of the philosophy and direction of the show came from the creator, Alan Ball. He had been impacted by death in a personal way. His sister, 22, was driving with him as a passenger and was broadsided by another car and instantly killed. Alan Ball was unhurt. He's never gotten over it!
Six Feet Under forced you to deal with death in its most rudimentary way. They always did some pretty quirky things. For instance, the show always started with someone dying. And, most of the deaths were unusual and sometimes humorous like: 1)Some hiker is out walking and is attacked by a mountain lion. 2)A woman is following a truck full of blow up dolls; the dolls get loose and float into the sky; the woman sees them and thinks it's the rapture, jumps out of her car, and gets run over.
And, then there was the dysfunctionality of the Fisher family including mom, Ruth; brother, Nate; younger brother, David; sister, Claire. They fought, cried, and engaged in histrionics, but ultimately were supportive of each other.
David was gay, had an African-American partner, kissed lots, and eventually adopted two African-American boys. Nate, my favorite, was always struggling. His girlfriend and eventual wife Brenda, always had drama. But before marrying Brenda, Nate got another girl, Lisa, pregnant. Nate married Lisa, had a child and later was not sure it was his child because Lisa had been having a long time affair with her brother-in-law. Nate's wife, Lisa, dies. Why Lisa died was a mystery; but at the end of last season it was revealed Lisa was killed by her brother-in-law with whom she was having an affair. This season Nate was killed off in the show after having sex with Maggie, a gentle and caring Quaker. For those that have not seen the show, I know you are thinking what I stated before This show is weird to the max.
There was no subject that the show didn't deal with. Six Feet Under covered every subject of life: sex, mental illness, career paths, family dynamics, divorce, remarriage, extramarital affairs, gay adoption, violence, religion, and incest.
Every character was flawed like all of us. I don't have the license to discuss all the nuances of Six Feet Under and the ancillary characters. There were scores of memorable characters that came in and out and all very good.
I'll miss them all.
Thumbs up on the finale. Tied most everything up. Rent the DVD and watch a season or two or all, not entertaining per se but thoughtful and weird with lots of histrionics. And, much more so than most TV and movies, Six Feet Under truly imitated life. The show is messy as life is messy. Thanks Six Feet Under for five years of thought-provoking television.
For more on the finale, read this pulse article about Six Feet Under: `Six Feet Under' is laid to rest in a satisfying series finale.
Six Feet Under DVDS: Season 1 Season 2 Season 3
Season 4.
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