Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, all that TV could be
Review: This is a beautiful show. It explores all sorts of issues and it made me think! The writing is astounding, Alan Ball is possibly one of the greatest movie writers ever with American Beauty, and now he's done a SHOW. I don't get HBO, so I bought this set based off the first episode and one other that I had seen with a friend. It took me two days to watch all of it, I had to sleep sometime. I became instantly addicted, it literally made me at least cry or laugh (if not both) with every episode. Beautiful show, just beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly one of the best shows television has offered
Review: Ground breaking doesn't even BEGIN to cover it. This is a damn fine show. The cast is excellent. They KNOW their characters... their concerns, inner thoughts, motivations... The writing is superb. Plotting is terrific. Pacing is great. There is just nothing to NOT like here. O.k. o.k. if you are homophobic, you may struggle at times. But other than that, this show ROCKS! Family drama, relationships, healing, and issues all right there for us to see. EXCELLENT
Rating:
Summary: best serie ever!
Review: deep, funny, intelligent and light at the same time. the frist couple of episodes will leave you unconfortable in the beggining. death is everywhere... but soon will find it easier and easier to approach this issue. u can even laugh about it. the complexity of the characters makes this serie even more interesting. you will soon find yourself less and less surprised by the strange events and characters in the story. a great lesson of tolerance to open your mind a little bit more!
Rating:
Summary: Positive Addicition
Review: I am an avid fan of a number of TV series, from the comedy of Cheers, Frazier, Will and Grace and Friends, the sexy fantasy of Xena and Lexx, the mystery of X files, the vampires of Buffy to the neurosis of The Sopranos. But I almost always get into a series after few episodes or as in the case of Sopranos and Friends after a couple of seasons. Never,was I hooked from the very first episode to any series as I was on Six Feet Under.
Words can not justly describe how wonderful it is,but I will try anyway,otherwise this would be one short and empty review!
It is truly addictive, and this is not by chance: The writing is wonderfully superior, the acting and direction are above average: A morbid setting, a dysfunctional family,very colourful and distinctly different characters, dialogue that is at times funny at others poignant,and a plot that has some unexpected twists and development.This is all tied together by a sort of Lynchian surrealism and dream like flow.
As I meantioned above,all the actors are brilliant, but one in particular gave Six Feet Under an indirect and invaluable boost, Rachel Griffiths: her character is neurotic,complex, pretty, naughty and very sexy.
Six Feet Under is a series that I hope will continue for several seasons to come, one that on no account should be missed.This is one positive addiction!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't wait for it!
Review: Great show! Can't wait for the new season and seasons 2 & 3 to come out!!
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing and expertly written - the best drama on TV
Review: I had the privilege of coming to the DVD set of "Six Feet Under" without ever having seen any episodes on television prior to that. This allowed me to not have the (annoying, though effective) hindrance of waiting a week or more for a new episode, and the end result of "Six Feet"'s first season is spectacular. Within season one, the various writers and directors juggle numerous plot strands that seem to get more interesting each episode, and have the classic peaks and valleys of any great drama writing. This is no "put-people-on-a-desert-island (on in this case, a funeral home) and-see-what-happens" stunt, as some may think. This is television drama at its best - don't be put off by the contuining gag of a new death at the beginning of each episode - much more richness lies in the hour that follows it. What may be most interesting about the show, and even more than its constantly great intertwining plots, has to be the way that actors Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, and Rachel Griffiths evolve their characters. Krause proves to be an excellent lead, and the arc of his change from prodigal son to man of the house could be the show's most well-fleshed character trait. Hall alternates between staunch professionalism and childlike sexual desire, and his character is only aided by his at-first hidden homosexuality. Griffiths is often the comedic relief of the show in her own quirky and care-free way, but the show's writers don't let her get off easily. As Krause's girlfriend, she steadily draws him into a web of secrets and psychological games aided by her severely disturbed brother and psychiatrist parents. All of these characters are fantastic in their own way, but the two red-heads of the show, Frances Conroy and Lauren Ambrose, are the best. Ambrose often has the burden of the emotional weight of an episode as its only teenaged family member, and the way that the family's experiences interact with her constantly mixed-up life give her an opportunity to display her unusually prodigious talent of stealing the show not with comedy, but with honest, moving acting. This leaves Frances Conroy, the most unforgettable and enduring character on the show, and also the family's matriarch. A veteran of Arthur Miller and Woody Allen, she is THE character one can't take their eyes from. Sure, she may not have as many scenes as the others, but time and time again, she handles her material with the grace and skill that every great actress should. This may be a stretch here, but Conroy may be the great, overlooked joy of television today. She certainly is the finest actress in the business. Conroy and the amazing cast that help her shape "Six Feet Under" prove to be the finest ensemble cast on, yes, the finest drama on television today.
Rating:
Summary: arguably the best show on television
Review: Six Feet Under is, in my opinion, the best show on television. It is probably my favorite television show of all time. Unfortunately, it has ruined me for most network television. The writing is superb. The show is always unpredictable and captivating, and yet nothing that happens ever just feels like a stunt. It is beautifully acted by the entire cast. Instead of stock characters, the people who inhabit this world appear as three dimensional, flawed, tragic, comic, and beautiful human beings. Instead of being a "show about nothing", the trend started by Seinfeld that pretty much every show since seems to be imitating, Six Feet Under is the opposite: it's a show about everything. Life, death, love, God, religion, family, sexuality, tragedy, comedy ... it's all covered. I know I'm gushing, but when you've been fed a steady diet of [garbage] for so long and something gourmet comes along ... it's hard not to. When this show ends I will be deeply saddened.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Soapy
Review: 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...).
Rating:
Summary: A Superb & Addictive Series-You Can't Stop With One Episode!
Review: I am HBO deprived. Since I don't watch much TV, getting this popular cable channel was never an issue. Recently I took out the entire first season of "Six Feet Under" on DVD, and may reconsider my HBO decision. I am hooked on this exceptional series, one of the best I have ever seen on television. (except I viewed it on DVD). The Fisher family owns and runs a funeral home, the setting for this unique series. Each episode begins with a death, and the subsequent plot revolves around the deceased, preparing the corpse for burial, (which is oddly fascinating), services for the bereaved, and an update on the lives of the extremely interesting Fishers. Some say that the Fisher family is dysfunctional. I, who have become very in tune with them all, believe that though the individual family members are unusual, to say the least, as a family they function well, and continue to do so and to grow with each new episode. There is palpable love between them, and much effort made to communicate with each other, and to understand and accept one another. The Fisher family and friends are a pure delight! Unfortunately, the first episode deals with the sudden death of Fisher family patriarch, Nathaniel, on Christmas Eve. Ruth, dedicated wife, mother and control freak, loses it when she learns of her husband's accidental death, and in her hysteria admits to having a two year affair. Her "other man" takes her camping, an activity she adores, and which she has had to forego being married to an undertaker with little time, and little love, for the outdoors. The eldest son, Nate, escaped the family and the family's business at an early age, by leaving home right after school. He is on his way to the family manse in Los Angles, for the holidays, but presently resides in Seattle, where he runs a natural foods co-op. Handsome, still single, in his mid-thirties, Nate is literally closeted at the airport, having wild sex with a dynamic woman he met on the plane, when his cell phone rings and he is informed of Dad's death. Younger brother David has remained at home to work with his father as co-directer of Fisher and Sons Funeral Home. David is a super straight gay man, with a wonderful, but uptight, in-the-closet-relationship with Keith, a member of LAPD's finest. Dave is resentful that Nate was able to get away from everything and everyone Fisher, and that he was stuck with assuming all the responsibility of brother, son, and undertaker. Claire Fisher, teenage daughter with mega growing pains, frequently steals the show. She is an adorable, artistic, sensitive, talented, underachiever who doesn't fit in with most of the kids at school. One is tempted to say "Thank God" to this, but remember, Claire is a teenager who desperately wants to be like everybody else. When she learns of her father's death, she is at an after school "crystal meth" session with the in-crowd. Ooops! Alan Ball, the Oscar winning writer of "American Beauty," has created a masterpiece with "Six Feet Under." Amazing as it may seem - everything works in this family drama, that will have you laughing your head off, as much wiping away tears, at some of the brilliantly sensitive, occasionally disturbing, and sometimes profound scenes. The acting is wonderful, always. Peter Krause as Nate, and Michael C. Hall as David, are appropriately cast as the two brothers who, when not in conflict and competition with each other, are loving, caring men who are trying to grow into brotherhood. Mom Ruth, brilliantly played by Frances Conroy, is a real study in character, as a middle-aged woman who has long been confined in her corseted lifestyle, and longs to break free and tear loose. She is able to transform herself, in the blink of an eye, from an uptight frump to an attractive, sensual woman ready for love and life. And the amazing Lauren Ambrose, as Claire, is luminescent, awkwardly graceful, and so appealing. The series' surprising show-stopper is Rachel Griffith, as Brenda, the lady from the airport closet, who becomes Nate's girlfriend and an essential mamber of the cast. It is hard to miss with this DVD collection of "Six Feet Under's" 1st year. I think history will prove that this one is slated for the Television Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, I have a call to make to my local cable station. I can't wait for next year to watch what happens next!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining!!!
Review: The acting is real, the story is real. It could happen anywhere to anyone. Its not just a soap opera, its real life. I can't wait until the second season comes out.
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