Customer Reviews

Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season [4-Disc DVD]

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Season One of Six Feet Under didn't live up to my expectations for it. Hoping for something fantasticly abnormal, weirdly humored comedy/drama, what it has become so far is an occasionally humorous, sometimes weepy drama that sporadically bursts out into fits of soap opera surreality, and, alternately, inspired inverse gallows humor.

As it stands, Six Feet Under is definately above-average compared to most TV programing. I will probably rent successive seasons (especially after reading glowing reviews of the 2nd on Salon), but probably not until a day I'm very very very bored.

As for the dvd, it's pretty skim, but the feature on the very good looking title sequence was interesting. I wouldn't recommend buying it, especially since it seems to be popular at rental stores (well... even my town's mom+pop rental place carries it...).

"Six Feet Under" is truly one of the finest shows to ever grace the small screen. Its first season proved to be a very strong start for the provocative HBO series. Viewers immediately became intrigued with the Fishers, a Los Angeles family who own a funeral home. When patriarch Nathaniel is killed in an accident, wife Ruth, sons David and Nate, and daughter Claire are forced to suddenly deal with the loss of their beloved, but twisted family member. The plots center around the family moving on (slowly and emotionally) from their father's death, and then trudging through the issues of their separate lives.

Ruth (Frances Conroy) becomes riddled with guilt for cheating on her husband while he was alive. Nate (Peter Krause) begrudgingly rejoins his family after his rebellious escape to Seattle and begins a chaotic romance with bizarre Brenda. David (Michael C. Hall) suffers with the secrecy of his gay life and the responsibility of running the business in his father's absence. Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is caught up with a bad crowd in school, uses drugs, and has a volcanic relationship with her criminal boyfriend. They are not the perfect family, which always makes for great drama.

Other characters add depth as outsiders to the Fisher struggles. Freddy Rodriguez is excellent as Rico, a young embalmer who is trying to decide if staying with Fisher and Sons is the right thing to do. It goes without saying that Rachel Griffiths is a scene-stealer as Brenda, Nate's dysfunctional massage therapist lover. She's already won an Emmy and much critical acclaim. Keith, played by Matthew St. Patrick, is also a unique character. He is David's lover, but he's not the stereotypical gay man. He's a huge, authoritative, intimidating police officer.

The plots thicken after the family mourns Nathaniel. Everything from a monopolizing company's threats to shut Fisher and Sons down to Nate discovering the twisted nature of Brenda's relationship with brother Billy (Jeremy Sisto) lend some soap-opera moments to keep viewers glued to their sets. One thing you might not expect from such a dark series is all of the humor. There are many dry jokes and embarassing situations; it's not all death and depression. Need proof? Watch the episode involving the foot. Or simply watch for appearances by the ghost of Nathaniel, who loves commenting on his family's ups and downs.

Overall, this show is a great mix of macabre and humanity. You'll cry, you'll laugh, and you'll be endlessly fascinated. This is the most realistic fictional series on television.

HBO have definitely become the purveyors of top quality television with the likes of Sex And The City and The Sopranos becoming cultural icons and jdging by the first season of this superb series, Six Feet Under is next in line for that recognition and just watching the first five minutes as to should be described as one of the best pilots, it's easy to see why. Yeah, dysfunctional families - every US series seems to endorse it these days, but the Fishers really do come as the dysfunctional without it being drilled down your ears every five seconds. The father Nathaniel Fisher, owner of ailing funeral home Fishers & Sons get killed in the pilot and haunts his loved ones of a regular with wife Ruth confessing to having an affair wi th her hairdresser at the funeral. That leaves the Kids - Nate, the prodigal son who reluctantly has to take charge of the funeral business with closeted brother David (who spends most of the season in denial of his sexualty) and social misfit Claire, with an unstable boyfriend to boot. Other characters include Nate's complicated girlfriend Brenda (whose family really is messed up), David's cop lover Keith and Fisher & Sons talente mortuary worker, Federico. Episode highlight include both opener and finale (Six Feet Under and Knock,Knock - both have commentaries for), the revealing An Open Book, directed by the wonderful Kathy Bates, the harrowing instalments Life's Too Short and A Private Life, in which David's sexuality is brought to the fore. Extra wise, besides commentaries for the opener and fianle, there's interviews with the main cast and behind the scenes fun, including a detailed look of the making of the title sequences.

Under $90 --- I noticed it there the other day.

like alot of people I was a bit put off with the concept of this show but upon watching it you can't help but peep it out.it has a true trip out element at the funeral family owned business.anything&everything goes with this family.in the Jerry Springer era this is the kind of show that truly represents that vibe&is even more twisted than Jerry on some levels.

This is a watershed series in American television. HBO, which has created some of the best written and realisticly in-your-face programming in the history of television (the Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Oz) has re-written what is possible on the small screen with Six Feet Under.

The first season of the series deals with issues such as death, drug use, homosexuality, family alienation, mental illness, divorce, bankrupcy, co-dependency and incest. The amazing part is that it NEVER comes across like a soap opera or ABC Afterschool Special. It is very real, and moving.

Alan Ball, the extraordinary writer of the film "American Beauty" writes and directs this tour de force in television excellence. While this show is not for everyone, if you enjoyed Ball's previous work, you no doubt will love this show as much as the critics and millions of fans have. I think the Sopranos and Six Feet Under are reason enough to get HBO.

Ball creates multi-layered, complex characters for this ensemble cast, and allows them to develop throughout the season. What you see up front is not always what you get in the end.

For the price, I would have liked some extra features, like behind the scenes or a "making of" featurette, or interviews with the stars. Many of those are already available on HBO's website, I don't think it would have killed them to include a little extra for the {price}. However, that being said, you are paying {much} for 13 HOURS of entertainment. That is fairly in line with the 2 hour movie average price on DVD. And this is INFINITELY better than 99.999% of the movies that have come out in the last 10 years.

Buy it, enjoy it, and wait patiently for the next season...coming soon.

Arguably the best show on HBO's stellar lineup. Great ensemble cast, storylines and all.

However, the price for the 1st Season's 13 episodes on DVD is entirely out of line with any other series. I am seriously considering putting my pre-order purchase of this DVD on ice until the price is lowered by a couple of feet.

Fortunately I taped seasons 1 + 2 and can afford to wait, although I'd rather have a quality DVD with background material on the show.

It's too bad that the reviews of this show are going to be tarnished by the distraction of greedy producers trying to bleed the consumers / viewers dry.

This product is so overpriced that it's laughable. Other online companies are offering the very same thing for under half the price. You're my first stop Amazon but you're letting me down here.

One of the BEST TV Series ever. When you finish the series, you find yourself missing the characters.
I HIGHLY recommend!

American Beauty and Twin Peaks rolled into one, this series offers black humor, twists and turns and more character development than the first three seasons of Sex and the City. I will not go into detail as many reviewers have already done so. Only one thing: What's with that price? I bought it in Europe with four different language soundtracks and subtitles for only EUR 39.99 ! I would suggest boycotting until the price gets lowered, but die-hard fans will buy it anyway. I must admit, it's still worth it :-)