The greatness of Six Feet Under (HBO) can never be overstated

Doing another re-watch lately. Just an amazing show on every level.

Feels like it is a time for a deep dive discussion.

 

I never finished it during its first run. Sometimes I just get tired of a show. My wife finished it and raved about the ending.

Spurred by a 20th anniversary reunion of the cast I saw posted on another forum, I decided to try again. I'm now in the middle of the 3rd season. I hope to finish it this time.

It was amazing. It was basically a very well-written soap opera for a new generation.

 

As I recall there was a reality series about an actual family run mortuary, maybe on A&E, that ran about the same time. I watched but didn't really watch Six Feet under. I think it was called Family Plots.

 

I used to watch this every week when it first started , loved it, especially the little story at the beginning every week.

 

I started to watch it a few months ago, but couldn't get past the second episode. The dynamics laid down in the first episode didn't resonate with me. Maybe I should have given it more of a chance but during episode two I was losing interest and asking myself why I'm watching it. Was there one episode in particular that makes you a convert?

 

Get through three episodes. I was hooked from the start, and I think "The Foot" (the 3rd episode) is one that will make you want to keep going.

 

Also, for anyone who has only watched the first episode or two, the silly funeral home commercials that were in the pilot do not show up again in the series. They were smart to abandon that quickly.

 

One of the greats. We just re-watched it a year or two ago and it still resonates very deeply on a lot of levels. Very smart writing throughout the series, not to mention that the acting by everyone involved was always top shelf.
I fell for it immediately, but I'd say give it a few episodes to let the rhythm of the show sink in.

 

I bought the entire series on DVD back in 2008 or so, watched it several times, until I decided to sell it, for reasons I no longer remember.
In my, and my son's opinion, it has THE best final episode either of us have ever seen.

 

Yep, I was hooked from the start as well!

What I really love about the show is how deeply flawed each of the seven main characters were, yet there was still a lot to like about them all, although Rico was really hard to like at times.

The acting was definitely top notch by all of them.

 

Yep, absolutely. Also has one of the most satisfying final episodes I've ever seen

 

Those were classic! My favorite was among the first episodes involving a bachelorette limo party, a sun roof, and a traffic signal.

 

Sounds great. Need to check it out sometime

 

Re-watched it, too, maybe 6 or so months ago. I remember reading somewhere that the finale was ranked one of the best TV series finales of all time. I can believe it.

 

Fantastic series. Haven't seen any episodes at all since it had a rerun, and I don't remember when that was.

Lauren Ambrose is 43 now. Can't believe that much time has gone.

 

Claire became my favorite character on the numerous re-watches. I didn't always like her storylines (the relationships with Gabe and Billy were both things that couldn't end soon enough), but I absolutely loved all of the stuff once she started going to art school, with Olivier, Russell, Anita and that whole crew.

 

Loved her character and the growth she goes thru during the show. Also loved Rachel Griffiths as Brenda, she brought a lot to what could have been a one dimensional character. She gave her nuance and an emotional pull that was, at times, heartbreaking.

 

Agreed. She was a mess, but who wouldn't be with a mother and brother like that? She didn't have a chance. Her behavior wasn't always pretty to watch, and Nate's frustration with it was both annoying and understandable. It's like he never learned to not be so aggressive and press an issue once anything not involving him hit the fan with her, but dealing with that roller coaster on a daily basis would be mind-numbing.

 

OK...some of this is coming back to me now. Thanks!

Rachel Griffiths is always interesting, in just about everything. I honestly forgot about her in SFO. Brenda was a trainwreck.

 

SFU was my first binge TV show. A lot of humanity there. It helped me get through my father's death before he even died.

 

The thing about Brenda that stood out, too, was that she had a good heart. She was a mess, but she had a good heart. I loved the way she looked out for Claire at times, from giving her a shoulder after Billy blew her off in S1 to driving her to the clinic to get an abortion.

 

Them was the days, this on one night, The Soprano’s on another night looking forward to both each week before all the streaming services started.

 

Rico always had to push to make the family recognize his contributions. They often disregarded him. He and his family were rarely invited to their family events.

I liked his evolution from an obnoxious homophobe to a more open person. It actually happened too quickly (this is my one complaint about the series, that characters would see-saw from one extreme to another from episode to episode). Anyway, I just rewatched the episode where the man had an opera setting for his partner's funeral. While the tenor was singing an aria, the camera lingered on Rico's face. You could tell he was genuinely moved and close to tears.

 

Perhaps the greatest show ever. Philosophical, comical, tragic- it had it all. I have not watched it since it concluded. Might come in handy for binge watching this Winter.

 

They also had the extremely good sense to get Lili Taylor in the cast as Lisa. Fine, fine actress and she gobbled that role up.