Six Feet Under

For a while I have been wanting to check out Six Feet Under, a relatively new show on HBO. The ads on the subway trains promoting the show were really intriguing. One had the caption "How popular would you be if you drive this to school everyday?" underneath a picture of a funeral wagon. Another caption read "Get Married. Raise Children. Bury Husband. Start Life." A third one read: "Fly home for the holidays. ID Dad's body. Cancel Return Flight."

After watching 3 episodes of Six Feet Under, I understand now why it's such an acclaimed show. It's hilarious, dark, thought-provoking, twisted, gripping. It has fantastic dialogue, great acting, gripping plot and fascinating characters. An all around kick ass show. It says a lot about the quality of a show when its opening credits were more interesting than many movies I have watched. In a lot of ways, this show reminds me of American Beauty, which isn't surprising since Alan Ball, the creator/director/writer of Six Feet Under also wrote the script for American Beauty. The guy is absolutely brilliant, totally on the same level with Charlie Kaufman. I don't know how he could come up with a show that revolves around a dysfunctional family of morticians.

So far, in the beginning of every episode some poor sap dies and gets the royal treatment from Fisher and Sons. The dead father makes periodic appearances to admonish or guide each member of his family. Interspersed in the pilot episode were hilarious commercials for embalming fluids, skin sealant and funeral wagons, some of which featured dead people. Each character is screwed up in some way, but they are so much more realistic than the stereotypical characters typically found on network TV. They all have endearing qualities that make me care about and sympathize with each and every one of them. Although the show deals with a seriously morbid subject like death, it still manages to be humorous. Just what I am looking for. Thank you HBO!!