Six Feet Under - The Complete First Season

Rating:
Summary: Multi-Layered, Psychotic, Funny, Emotional, and FABULOUS!
Review: At last a drama series (i. e. Soap Opera) with honesty and unapolagetic humor, looking at real-life issues of a handful of "very messed-up" people. A closer look at the central characters reveals that they are dealing with the same problems, feeling the same joys and pains, as we all do.

The opener shows a recurring character, the quiet patriarch of a small "Funeral Business" family, becoming a "customer", when he crashes the newly purchased hearse. The long-lost oldest son (who escaped the cycle of death years ago) returns to re-join his family, and the business. Henceforth all 3 children (the mid-30s eldest, a 31 year-old brother, and the "baby", a seemingly rebellious teenage girl), as well as their mother, experience strange hallucinations, "chatting" with the dead, advice-giving father.

A brilliant cast, including an array of supporting characters, are a joy to watch episode after episode. One of the most bizarre (but never boring) cast members is the older son's girl-friend, Rhonda. This series will hook you from the first opening credits. Many innovative camera moves, colors and dream sequences contribute to the mezmerising big picture.

This is the top of the crop, easily the very best in TV Drama out there today! This is St. Elsewhere with a "kick". There are regular scenes and dialog that may shock the Mayberry crowd, but everyone else will appreciate the realism and honesty in such elements. This isn't for the Brady Bunch set, and that should not make it "illegal". We won't ask for Sesame Street to be cancelled, so chill! A 5 Star viewing experience, highly recommended!*****

Rating:
Summary: Six feet under rocks!
Review: Six feet under is one of the best shows on television. It is so real and people can relate to the shows characters in certain ways. They really do a wonderful job portraying these characters everyday lives and what they go through. If you have not watched SFU you need to, it is amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, dark, quirky, funny, and very well-written
Review: I'm new to Six Feet Under, having never watched the original broadcasts. I'm glad I watched it on DVD - it's so addictive, I can't imagine having to wait a week or more for each new episode.

6FU is quite an amazing show. Dark, funny, dramatic, quirky, often touching or otherwise emotionally affecting, well-acted, and EXCEPTIONALLY well-written (like the film "American Beauty," but not nearly as depressing. In fact, not depressing at all). For a show ostensibly about death, it ends up being very life-affirming. Each episode has self-contained storylines but fits into a few overall storylines, so watching all the episodes is kind of like reading a great novel. The main characters are all flawed but sympathetic and likeable, and most of them undergo significant growth over the course of the series.

The DVD extras are a bit scant, but that's no problem - you watch this for the show, not the extras. (And you can always visit www.hbo.com/sixfeetunder for more info about the show.)

My only complaint is the price. Even with Amazon.com's generous discount, this set is expensive. This is true for all HBO series on DVD. You pay more to get 13 episodes of an HBO series than you would pay to get 22 or more episodes of shows like Alias, 24, or CSI. If HBO priced their series even just a little lower, I think a purchase would be a no-brainer. But with the high prices they charge, it's more worthwhile to rent the DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Got better from second season onwards
Review: I began watching Six Feet Under in the second season, but did not realise that it was the second season. This is because in Australia, they started it from the second season (stupid decision!).

Anyway, when the chance came along to snatch up the First series on DVD at a reasonable price, I grabbed it. I assumed I would love it as much as Season 2 and Season 3. Not the case. The first season is rather dull in comparison, and I guess we should expect that as there is alot of time spent developing main characters.

Trust me, "Six Feet Under" really started coming to life (excuse the pun) in the second season where it was totally absorbing and I craved the next episode.

Pass on Season 1, save your money and invest in Season 2 and Season 3.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated and Uninspiring
Review: At first promising, this series quickly unwinds into a livejournal-worthy whinefest. You come to wish that the macho psychiatrist from SNL would come on, shake the characters, and then tell them to stop acting like spoiled 14 year olds.

Not any of the characters acts like the adults that they are supposed to be, and not one of them is aware of the simple truth that if you're miserable, being in a lousy relationship isn't going to cure you of being miserable.

If you enjoy laughing at self-indulgent crybabies, you could probably gather a group of friends, rent one of the discs, and MST some of these episodes. But if you were to buy this set you'd probably end up clawing your own eyes out in order to protect your mind from the crap onscreen.

Rating:
Summary: Darkly funny
Review: The DVD collection gives you a commentary on the series which explores the symbolism used throughout the shows. I enjoyed the interviews with the producers and the special effects team.
Six Feet Under is a story of losers and their struggle through the societal boundaries of life. We see that people can find happiness and love despite themselves.
I enjoy the way the father speaks from the grave to each family member and former employee. This builds in subtle layers of why the family and the funeral business has grown in its quirky way.
The story line is of course about the meaning of death and life and how people interprete its inevitability - denial. The reappearing dead father adds that reminder that death is out there and today, it could be tickets for you. So get off your sofa and get out and love your family and the people around you.
A strangely upbeat message for a dark topic.