Channel 4 and E4 have succeeded in bringing us yet another top class television programme, ok its not British, but, made by the Americans.
Oscar winner Alan Ball of 'American Beauty' fame as written an absolute corker. Six Feet Under is a black comedy drama about the Fisher family, who run a funeral home Fisher and Sons.
The family consists of two brothers, one sister, their mother and their recently departed father who died on Christmas Eve, when a downtown bus was in collision with their father driving the herse.
The eldest son Nate lived and worked in Seattle, who upon hearing of his fathers death flew directly home to be with family. On his journey home he meets up with a girl named Brenda. Who is also on her way home to California, these two are in my completely sex crazed.
David the second son is what can only be described as anal when it comes to the family run business. He is also having trouble telling his family that he is gay and in love with a very good looking cop. Who is a little pissed that his father left him and his brother 50% ownership of the funeral parlour.
The sister Claire is a good old rebelious teenager, who gets up to no good and smokes a lot of Cannabis. She has some very good dialogue. Check out her well equiped passion wagon, a lime green herse!
And then their is good old mum, Ruth who seems to be totally unaware of what any of her children are up to, this makes some excellent conversations between her and the rest of her family.
They have only one employee which is the fabulous Freddy, his make up techniques would put Barbara Daley to shame. Okay, one works on live people and the other works on the dearly departed, but, what a whizz with foundation!
The story in brief so far centres around the Fisher Funeral home, with dad gone they come into all different problems. Every week the story is based around a family who have lost a loved one, with the continuing saga which is continued from the week before.
The programme starts with the scene of the person dying, in the past 4 weeks we have seen one person who died in a dough machine, a young gang member who was shot, a young father who literally took a nose dive off a spring board and banged his head, and of course their late father.
This programme has it mad moments too, when it switches to something that is completely bizarre like an ad for embalming fluid or make up for the deceased.
Father also has a weird way of continuing his appearance in this programme by popping up in everyones conscience, take one for example. David was having a dream about him and his lover when he looked over the room their was dad sitting in the chair watching him tutting.
It is primarily shown on Channel 4 on Mondays at 11pm, then repeated on E4 on Wednesday at 9pm and again on second chance Sunday on E4.
The cast:
(Son) Nate Fisher - Peter Krause
(Son) David Fisher - Michael C Hall
(Mother) Ruth Fisher - Frances Conway
(Daughter) Claire Fisher - Lauren Ambrose
(Girlfriend)Brenda Chenowith - Rachal Griffiths
(Assistant) Freddy Rodriguez - Fredrico Diaz
(Cop) Keith Charles - Matthew St Patrick
There is nothing morbid about this programme, even though it is about a funeral parlour and you will see a dead person being prepared from time to time, it is made so that you are not thinking about what you are seeing but what dialogue is being said.
If you liked American Beauty you will definately love this, if you didn't give it a go. It is fastly becoming one of the most talked about TV programmes in the States and soon will be over here.
Many thanks
Zoe30
x
05.07.2005 19:38
i love this show, kinda didnt watch the last series tho. good review. samxx
11.09.2004 13:38
I LOVE this show! Great review PlaceboFan x
26.05.2003 18:16
I really liked this but still prefer the Sopranos. Andy