Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Six Feet Under season 1 ::
by William the Bloody
Nate Fisher is going home for the holidays. Christmas seems to be the only time the whole family gets together any more, especially since he moved up to Seattle all those years ago. However, when his dad is driving to the airport to pick him up, his car is struck by bus and he is killed instantly. Instead of a Christmas party, the Fishers now have to prepare dad's funeral; which is even more difficult for them since dear old dad ran the funeral home. At the reading of the will, all moneys and financial holdings are left to mom and the two sons, stay at home David and usually AWOL Nate, inherit the business. Nate decides to start his life with his family over and move back in to help with the funeral home. He now has to get reacquainted with the family he so eagerly left behind, including a teenaged sister he barely knows.
A family who lives in a funeral parlor and make their living preparing dead bodies may seem like dark subject matter, and I suppose on the surface it is. This is when you have to take that look closer (which is appropriate considering the show was created by American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball). Yes, at least one person dies in each episode, but the show is not about that. Not really. It's more about the Fisher family in their daily lives and relationships. The overall themes of Six feet Under suggest ever more poignantly that in the midst of all this death, there is, above all else, life.
The Good: This show has some of the most realistically screwed up people I've ever seen on TV; Nate's bizarrely growing relationship with the woman he meets at the airport, Mom's silent neurotic struggle with her stifled emotions, David's confusion and shame at his homosexuality, and Claire's quest for belonging and a feeling of being needed. In order to pull off such complicated people, the acting would have to be phenomenal, and it is. The direction of every episode is gorgeous. I love how at key moments the scene doesn't dissolve to black, instead it dissolves to white. Very nice. The opening of every episode with the featured death is very clever and creative, eventually making you say, okay how's this guy going to snuff it?, but some how manages to keep you guessing. The causes of death range wonderfully from murder, to senseless accident, to natural. The humorous bits in the show are outstanding, having that subtle hint and wink at the twisted. The shows outlook on sex and sexuality is refreshingly open and honest. This IS an HBO series, and there IS nudity (even the Full Monty), but never to be "sexy;" just to prove a point. Meaning, the nudity present IS an important part of the series and NOT just being raunchy.
The Bad: Some people may have a problem with the HBO series' "adult" themes. Not just the nudity in every other episode, but also the swearing and sometimes grotesque violence and mutilated bodies. Some people may not "get" it, also. I'll admit that the first few episodes felt kind of dull, but sticking with it made the characters grow on me.
Overall, I found this show to be excellent. It is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Seriously. The characters feel wonderfully real, the acting is superb, the writing and direction are even better. The perfect show for the sophisticated adult with that sick twist in their sense of humor. And, hey, that's me.
A+
