Saturday TV Special: Six Feet Under

"All that lives, lives forever. Only the shell, the perishable passes away. The spirit is without end… Eternal… Deathless…"
Plot: The series follows Fisher family who is running a funeral home. In the first episode the father of the family dies in an car accident, leaving his two sons, one daughter and wife Ruth to deal with his death and the business. When older son Nate returns home for Christmas he finds out the news about his father's passing, but that comes after he has sex with mysterious Brenda, the woman he met on the plane who will continue to be a prominent part of his life. Nate decides to stay home to bring some consolation to Ruth and his brother David, who now has to run the business on his own. There is also Claire - Nate and David's teenage sister who has terrible taste in men and who experiments with drugs, which leads her to many troubles. As the series progresses we see those people trying to cope with their loneliness, trying to find happiness in their love lives, handling the family business and finding their own way and purpose in life.
Structure: Each episode begins with a death of a person the Fishers will be burying in that episode. The deaths are sometimes ordinary but more often than not they are absolutely crazy. Auto erotic asphyxiation? Running over your own head with a car? Falling on the poker - eye first? Check, check and check!

Verdict: If I were to chose the most profound, thought provoking and exhilarating series that I've ever seen I'd chose Six Feet Under. Though the show sometimes loses its way, the amount of flawless episodes is impressive and the stories in episodes and deaths of the people we see on screen always lead to beautiful and affecting moments - and as characters wonder about things that those deaths made them think of, we wonder along with them. The series gets real surreal at times, as the ghosts/visions of people who died appear to the members of the family and we often see the dreams, fantasies and hallucinations the Fishers experience. Six Feet Under has top notch acting, especially from Rachel Griffiths as damaged and disturbed brilliant Brenda and lonely and misunderstood Ruth played with so much heart by Frances Conroy. I also adored Kathy Bates's amusing Belinda and absolute tour-de-force - Patricia Clarkson as Ruth's bohemian sister Sarah.

Everybody's waiting - series finale, possibly the best TV series finale ever made.

What's so great about it? The show presents the most unsetteling subject out there - death. It does so with a lot of grace, understanding and surprisingly - humour. Six Feet Under is not a pitch black drama, though certain aspects of the show are truly heartbreaking and I have never cried more in my entire life as I cried during last 10 minutes of season finale. The show is a perfect mix of dramedy and dark comedy - you will laugh, cry and most importantly - I know people who after seeing this show stopped being afraid of dying.

Whom you may recognize: Frances Conroy who currently stars in American Horror Story, Michael C. Hall from Dexter, Peter Crause from Parenthood, Lauren Ambrose from Wanderlust, Rachel Griffiths from Brothers and Sisters, Freddy Rodriguez from Planet Terror and many supporting and guest appearances from excellent and well known actors such as Richard Jenkins, James Cromwell, Kathy Bates, Patricia Clarkson (who won 2 Emmys for her work here), Mena Suvari, Ben Foster and Joanna Cassidy - unforgettable Zhora from Blade Runner.
Who will like it? Fans of great writing, wonderful performances, quirky and complex characters.
When and where? 5 seasons are available on DVD.