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LttP: Six Feet Under

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Six Feet Under was one of those shows that I was just too young to get into when it started (I was 12, I think), so even though I'd always heard great things, I just kind of shrugged it off. Well, there was a great deal on the box set for Black Friday, and I ended up getting it as a gift (my family is weird like this - Christmas is for eating, not gifting). I'm a little more than halfway through the first season and WOW, I didn't expect to like it this much. I knew Alan Ball was a talented screenwriter from American Beauty, but I don't really care for True Blood at all, so I figured he was kind of hit and miss. But this is great. My only complaint is that Claire seems to go from being a down-to-earth, kind girl to a raving bitch. Maybe she's supposed to be that inconsistent, I dunno. By far my favorite character is David. So much damn repression - it's hysterical.

I'd definitely recommend that anyone who's passed it over get the complete series. It's fantastic.
 
I watched all the seasons last year and i really really enjoyed it. The ending of the show is probably the best ending i have ever seen, first (and still only) time i cried watching tv, movies or whatever.
 
I made a LTTP thread awhile ago too, I loved it.

My favorite is easily David too. One of the best endings ever.

And it made me cry. Alot.
 
It's good show, very consistent throughout.


The first season is my favourite though, particularly as the themes of the episodes and the way those themes would traverse through each one of the storylines were utterly brilliant. I'd definitely recommend thinking about each episode as you're watching it, not just on a plot level but on a theme level, and you get so much more out of it.

In latter seasons, it seems they lost that focus and episodes were less about themes and more about plots and character development. Sometimes there seemed to be nothing below the surface that linked various storylines together at all, it was just like a (classy) soap.
 
The greatest ending to a television series ever, and add me to the list of people who cried like a child watching the final scene. No other movie or television show has made me cry.
 
Great show, or greatest show?

The stuff with George and his schizophrenia or whatever was totally shitty though.

The Nate/Lisa arc is one of the greatest stories in TV history :)
 
I've only ever watched it once, when it aired way back.

Not sure if I could sit through it again, it would be a fair few hours of television, just to feel like shit, feel great, feel like shit... and so on.
 
The first two seasons are brilliant television, 3 and 4 are quite awful. 5 is a bit of a re-stabilization. But the very end is...well, just shut it off after the sideview mirror. You'll know what I mean when it happens.
 
In the last season when David
is...I don't even know what it is, held hostage / hazed by that guy seemed really unexpected. The way he deals with it for the rest of the season was kinda sucky.

Also, could we get a gif of
seeing Nate chase Claire down the street when she leaves for NYC please...that was the beginning of the waterworks for me.
Don't know why I blacked that out. For those that haven't seen it they wouldn't know the significance of it.
 
Only managed to catch the first 3 seasons when it was on TV but my gf never saw any so we re-started watching it last week. Almost finised season one and am enjoying it as much as I remembered last time. The Mum or David is still my favourite character.
 
I also watched it earlier this year. I went through the whole 5 seasons in a span of 2 months.

Its a very emotionally draining show though. I think Alan must be real happy to be doing less serious stuff now.

All in all, its the best TV drama I've ever seen, and the David and Claire characters are the ones I can relate to the most.

Oh and you havent seen anything yet, wait til the "Thats not my dog" episode. Shit man...
 
The marketing was so edgy and about death I was so hyped. And while it wasn't what I expected I totally fell in love with the characters. Recently started watching again and I've got almost to the end of season 4.

I don't like the direction they took with season 4 except for Claire. It was all so extreme all at once it felt like the death was the abnormal thing in the house.

Loved the format, crazy hilarious. I think 3 was the high point.
-Mikey- said:
In the last season when David
is...I don't even know what it is, held hostage / hazed by that guy seemed really unexpected. The way he deals with it for the rest of the season was kinda sucky.
Click to expand...
I think the scenario was bullshit. But the character development after was pretty amazing, totally smoothed me over on it.
 
Ohhh man, so good memories about this show.
I think I was 17 when I watched it (20 now), definitely have to watch it again. It raised the bar on so many levels.

PS: Yes, I cried
at the final scene
.

Edit: Fixed for Visualante ;)
 
Amazing show. I watched it when I was younger and I definitely need to go back and revisit it. Wish I would have looked for a deal on it on Black Friday...


Anyway David was always my favorite too. The black sheep type of characters always attract me. Plus I loved his relationship with Keith, it mirrored a lot of things that I've gone through in relationships.

Easily one of my favorite shows of all time.
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
The first two seasons are brilliant television, 3 and 4 are quite awful. 5 is a bit of a re-stabilization. But the very end is...well, just shut it off after the sideview mirror. You'll know what I mean when it happens.
Click to expand...
What the hell? the ending is one of the best and most perfect endings in television history.
However i haft to somewhat agree with your post overall. Seasons 1-2 are brilliant, it gets to dark and veers towards soap opera territory in season 3 & 4. (they still have their redeeming points though), season 5 is a big improvement, while it still has the soapy feel, it's far better executed then seasons 3 & 4 (episode 4 - time flies is one of my favorite television episodes ever), and as i said earlier in the post, the ending is WOW.
 
I started watching it earlier this year, absolutely loved the first two seasons, then the episodes started being really hit and miss with me, eventually becoming a lot more miss than hit and I pretty much lost interest and stopped watching half-way through season four.

I still have the DVD set (borrowed from a friend) here, I wonder if I'll get around to finishing it.
 
Milk Lizard said:
I watched all the seasons last year and i really really enjoyed it. The ending of the show is probably the best ending i have ever seen, first (and still only) time i cried watching tv, movies or whatever.
Click to expand...
This. I watched the series for the first time earlier this year and it was the most depressing, beautiful thing I've seen in a while. The ending was amazing.
 
Season 1 and 2 are absolutely fucking phenomenal; some of the best TV ever made. The way they weaved each week's death into the themes of the show and main characters arcs was incredible. The series lost its way (its humor, wit and charm) when Lisa became a core tenet of the show; she was a fucking poisonous terribly acted obnoxious character that turned Nate into one as well. Season 3, 4 and 5 were still good tv but don't live up to what Season 1 and 2 started even if the series finale is the best I've ever seen.

Nearly every Nate-Brenda scene in Season 1 and 2 is fantastic. Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall did excellent work, as did the entire cast really. Plus the music while ambient and subtle was perfect.
 
Naked Snake said:
I started watching it earlier this year, absolutely loved the first two seasons, then the episodes started being really hit and miss with me, eventually becoming a lot more miss than hit and I pretty much lost interest and stopped watching half-way through season four.

I still have the DVD set (borrowed from a friend) here, I wonder if I'll get around to finishing it.
Click to expand...
Season 5 is more on par with the first two seasons. I didn't like that in season 3 and 4 they basically destroyed people's characters by making them crazy or making them do things that went against their characters. George is a really good example of this... even the russian guy... and that pop star chicks arc was just annoying, same with Claire and her friends. Aside from that I really enjoyed the show and despite its imperfection is my favorite Tv Show of all time ( Live action)


DevelopmentArrested said:
Season 1 and 2 are absolutely fucking phenomenal; some of the best TV ever made. The way they weaved each week's death into the themes of the show and main characters arcs was incredible. The series lost its way (its humor, wit and charm) when Lisa became a core tenet of the show; she was a fucking poisonous terribly acted obnoxious character that turned Nate into one as well. Season 3, 4 and 5 were still good tv but don't live up to what Season 1 and 2 started even if the series finale is the best I've ever seen.

Nearly every Nate-Brenda scene in Season 1 and 2 is fantastic. Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall did excellent work, as did the entire cast really. Plus the music while ambient and subtle was perfect.
Click to expand...
Yup they seemingly rewrote Lisa's character its as if the character that Claire meets in Seattle and the woman that shows up later are two different people.
 
I will say though the writers of SFU did an even better job than The Wire or The Shield, showing how flawed and imperfect people can be. Even if the characterization of certain ones wasn't consistent throughout the show.

My main question after all this - what happened to Gabriel Dimas? Claire's dream wasn't closure enough for me. Also, the scene where Nate gets high in Season 2 may be my favorite in the show.
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL1M5pqhp1E
 
This was a fantastic show. I can understand some of the complaints about seasons three and four, but calling them any degree of awful goes too far. They're still damn good television. The ending was one of my favorites.
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
The first two seasons are brilliant television, 3 and 4 are quite awful. 5 is a bit of a re-stabilization. But the very end is...well, just shut it off after the sideview mirror. You'll know what I mean when it happens.
Click to expand...
Yep. Fuck what's after the mirror.

If they ended it at the mirror, it would have been PERFECT.
 
I adored the first two seasons. And then suddenly the show lost it's balance between misery and humor. It just became depressing and the characters became over dramatic and irritating. It was a real shame because I loved those first two seasons.
 
missbreedsiddx said:
I adored the first two seasons. And then suddenly the show lost it's balance between misery and humor. It just became depressing and the characters became over dramatic and irritating. It was a real shame because I loved those first two seasons.
Click to expand...

This. Just had to stop watching.
 
saelz8 said:
Yep. Fuck what's after the mirror.

If they ended it at the mirror, it would have been PERFECT.
Click to expand...

Hi five. They killed the absolute perfect ending with one of the hokiest ever. In terms of how the show started and what and who it was really about, that was one of the most poignant, meaningful images I've ever seen on television.

Then, well, yeah. No comment.

It proved to me that Alan Ball isn't at all why Six Feet Under was great. He just happened to stumble into one of the best casts ever. Everything he's done before and since has been pretty forgettable, but Nate and David and Claire and Rico and Ruth and Brenda? Nathaniel Sr.? Man.
 
Oh shit! Claire's boyfriend just
shot a motherfucker through a car window
! That's so fucked! Goddamn!
 
I started watching the series when it first came along. About season 3 I canceled HBO so I didn't get to watch anymore.

Bummed that I didn't see it on sale. I'd really like to finish up the series based on what some of you guys are saying about the ending. Now I've gotta get outta here at risk of being spoiled.
 
So, I just finished watching the final season, and of course me and the wife were in tears. I see what you people mean when you say it should have ended at the rearview mirror, but I liked the way it ended, provided some much needed closure after spending so much time getting to know and love/hate these characters. We took a big break after season 1, but once we dived back into it, we were hooked. I'm glad I managed to get through it unspoiled except for the
Nate, Brenda and Maya forming a family
I found out about while randomly changing channels.
 
crispyben said:
So, I just finished watching the final season, and of course me and the wife were in tears. I see what you people mean when you say it should have ended at the rearview mirror, but I liked the way it ended, provided some much needed closure after spending so much time getting to know and love/hate these characters. We took a big break after season 1, but once we dived back into it, we were hooked. I'm glad I managed to get through it unspoiled except for the
Nate, Brenda and Maya forming a family
I found out about while randomly changing channels.
Click to expand...

I finally finished it as well but the fucking dvd menu background of season 5 was guilty of one of the biggest spoiler giveaways ever, cunts!

Overall though, I loved the show. Season 3 was still the low point for me but it managed to get back some of it's mojo in the final season.
 
I just started this series.

It was around when I didnt have cable at all so with being a big dexter fan I was naturally drawn to see what else Michael C. Hall could do. Really enjoying it and hoping I can get through it all and see what all the fuss is about.
 
Amazing show.

Funny how most people dislike season 3 and 4. I think it's due to
lisa being such an obnoxious character that made you want to write her off but hey ! the show did just that didn't it. So however I disliked her character and the story's arc around her I think that was actually part of how emotionally engaging and coherent the whole series was
.

Despite less statisfying middle seasons
(and narm!)
it's well worth going through the whole show. Very rewarding.
 
J Tourettes said:
I finally finished it as well but the fucking dvd menu background of season 5 was guilty of one of the biggest spoiler giveaways ever, cunts!
Click to expand...

This.

If you haven't seen the show and plan on doing so please refrain from taking even the slightest look at the dvds backcovers, and try to navigate the menu without sound nor image :D
 
J Tourettes said:
I finally finished it as well but the fucking dvd menu background of season 5 was guilty of one of the biggest spoiler giveaways ever, cunts!
Click to expand...
Didn't get that, mind telling us? (spoilered of course)
 
My fav show of all time, I watched every single episode over the course of a week or so, for hours every day. I was exhausted by then end, I felt like I'd been on an incredible journey.

I cried a few times and don't mind admitting it, fucking loved it. The characters are truly excellent.
 
crispyben said:
Didn't get that, mind telling us? (spoilered of course)
Click to expand...


Attention real SPOILER:

There's a pic of the Fisher's (minus Nate) looking very sad at a funeral and another scene where David (with Keith at his side) chucks dirt onto the camera beneath him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
 
I started watching this show last year, but only got up to season 3 maybe (it was right after he
had his first seizure
) and yeah, I loved every bit of it. Thanks for reminding me that I need to pick this back up.
 
J Tourettes said:
Attention real SPOILER:

There's a pic of the Fisher's (minus Nate) looking very sad at a funeral and another scene where David (with Keith at his side) chucks dirt onto the camera beneath him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
Click to expand...
Oh, OK, that is indeed spoiler material :lol
 
The series finale of Six Feet Under is probably one of the five or six best ever and definitely the most emotional. I haven't rewatched the show since the first time I saw it, but I rewatch the finale every few months. After following "a group of people" for five years, what a screeching conclusion. God, just a masterstroke of pacing.
 
Add me to the list of folks LTTP. The girlfriend and I just started watching this recently. Only a few episodes into S1 but loving it so far.
 
Dusted off the old box set because of this thread. The last 4 episodes of season 5 are pretty much untouchable when it comes to TV. I cry every damn time. :(
 
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