Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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Six Feet Under – The Complete First Season
Studio: HBO
Year: 2001
Rated: Not Rated
Film Length: 780 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Standard
Audio: DD 5.1
Color/B&W: Color
Subtitles: Spanish
MSRP: $99.98
Package: 5 panel Digipak in a hinged top box
The Feature:
There are four ways of dying in this bizarre world; homicide, suicide, death by natural causes and death by misadventure. The Fisher family has seen it all. The Fisher’s run a small independent funeral home in the Los Angeles area and they’re as dysfunctional as any other family (and then some). Truth be told, we’re all part of dysfunctional families… it’s just that the level varies from family to family.
Six Feet Under is a unique drama with a hint of dark comedy which features Nate Fisher Jr. (played by Peter Krause) who is the happy go lucky son who fled to Seattle to escape from the family business and his younger brother David (played by Michael C. Hall), who is a rather solemn and conservative man who unofficially, runs the family business. David is gay and has difficulties with his friends and family due to his trepidation of expressing his sexuality. Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is the youngest sibling who is a typical generation “X” teen who is fiercely independent and equally as radical. Ruth Fisher is mom (played brilliantly by Frances Conroy) and dad is Nate Sr. (played by Richard Jenkins). Nate’s girlfriend is Brenda Chenowith (played by Rachel Griffiths) who is the daughter of two psychiatrists and is an enigmatic figure who specializes in mind games.
Interestingly, each episode starts with the death of an individual and the progression of the show deals with the family’s ability to cope with their loss and how the Fisher family helps them through the process. Ironically, the Pilot episode deals with a member of the Fisher family who’s killed in a car accident. As a result, the episode chronicles the grief (and sometimes guilt) of the family while coping with their loss and the struggle to carry on with the family business.
The show embarks upon many difficult topics such as death (on a business and personal level), homosexuality, drugs, and adultery. I had never seen the show prior to the arrival of this set. It was interesting to learn that the creator, Alan Ball, who was also responsible for American Beauty, brought with him a style similar in nature to this show which included a magnificent score by Thomas Newman. The show is a quirky drama with a mixture of dark humor which offers up an interesting and different look at the rarely discussed real life topic of death and the bizarre way it can rear its inevitable head. The show is also rich in symbolisms in a manner of the dead who appear regularly to impart their wisdom and advice.
As for the set, the four discs are packaged in a 5 panel Digipak that fits in an oversized cardboard box which lifts as the lid of the outer box is lifted, presumably to be “coffin like”. It is as nice and unique as any other box set I have encountered.
As for the episodes for the season, they are as follows:
Disc One:
Episode 1. The Pilot
Episode 2. The Will
Episode 3. The Foot
Episode 4. Familia
Disc Twp:
Episode 5. An Open Book
Episode 6. The Room
Episode 7. Brotherhood
Disc Three:
Episode 8. Crossroads
Episode 9. Life’s Too Short
Episode 10. The New Person
Disc Four:
Episode 11. The Trip
Episode 12. A Private Life
Episode 13. Knock, Knock
Typically when reviewing such a set I try to select three or four episodes and base the review on the randomly selected episodes. In this case, I watched the entire series.
Video:
Similar to most TV shows to disc, each episode is unique with its own look and feel. For the most part, the series shows up quite nicely. Shown in its correct full frame aspect ratio, most of the series is shot somewhat soft with some definite exceptions. A good example of such an exception can be located on Episode #11. Some of the image detail is exquisite, but for the most part, expect the series to appear slightly soft. And, as I emphasize this, I’m not criticizing it, just noting the observation.
Colors, again, vary to some degree between episodes but would generally describe them as nicely saturated with an almost warm feel to them. I noticed that much of this series appears to be shot slightly darker (with a warm look) than what we’re used to, but the colors looked natural. Black levels were certainly adequate and conversely, whites looked crisp and clean.
Unfortunately, there were obvious signs of compression artifacting particularly in the earlier episodes of the series but most notably during the opening title sequence. Also present were occasional signs of light instability however, neither of these issues were overly bothersome.
Edge enhancement could be seen occasionally and as we might expect there were no signs of any scratches or dust etc.
To sum things up, I would give the video transfer a pretty good grade. I would have preferred an image with greater detail, and I’m assuming it was shot that way.
Audio:
Interestingly enough there is an entire special feature pertaining to the show’s theme score. I can’t think of a TV show that has a theme which is as equally evoking and fitting as this one is. Thomas Newman’s brilliant theme music draws you in to this show and captures perfectly the mood and the atmosphere of the show. All of which is delivered beautifully on this 5.1 track. The opening credits really sounded great with some help in the rears to render a great sense of envelopment.
Much of this series is dialogue driven and it is delivered quite effectively and cleanly. Rarely (other than the music score of the credits sequence) is there music or filler so most of the information is center driven.
While there wasn’t an abundance of rear support information, when it was called upon, the rears were tactfully employed to assist during a few school hallway scenes, casino background noise, passing cars etc. They were never overly abundant but present when necessary. As for LFE, nothing stuck out in terms of any LFE use nor did I find I had made any notes regarding its use, other than the opening theme.
Nothing flashy, but it did was it was required to do in a pleasing manner.
Special Features:
There is a decent spattering of special features offered on this set. The first are:
[*] Commentaries for the Pilot and the final episodes of the season. Alan Ball does an admirable job of keeping these relatively interesting. These are informative, entertaining and worthy of a listen.
[*] Deleted Scene from episode one with/without commentary which offers very little.
[*] Under The Main Titles – Opening Credits. This is a great little featurette showing many of the crewmembers and how the formation of the opening title credit sequence was formed. Thankfully, Thomas Newman is included. For those not familiar with the show, this opening sequence is perhaps the best I have ever seen for a TV intro. The music is hauntingly fitting and lends itself perfectly to the feel of the show. This is my favorite feature and is one that shouldn’t be missed for fans of movie/TV scoring and theme music. Duration: 15:47 mins.
[*] Behind the Scenes is a featurette which cast and filmmakers.
This featurette has a number of interviews with cast members. Duration: 21:37 mins.
[*] Cast & Filmmakers is a multi-page listing of the members of the show with mini bios included.
[*] Series Index is a text listing of each episode complete with a brief synopsis about each one.
[*] Music Tracks There are two music tracks of the theme song and the Kid Loco remix – no video, music only.
[*] Finally there is a DVD-ROM link which I didn’t get in to.
Final Thoughts:
Simply put, this is not your typical mainstream TV drama fare. It is a unique drama with a quirky flair which relies heavily on great acting and subject matter that is a different from what we’re used to seeing. Admittedly, the show is somewhat more “serial-like” for my tastes but that is not to say I didn’t enjoy it. I did indeed. And having said that, I would go on to say it’s better than most of what’s on TV today. Considering the subject matter, I was left with each episode offering an introspective look at some of life’s little complications.
I have become increasingly impressed with HBO’s recent offerings. It seems as though they are committed to delivering a product that differs from the rest of mainstream TV and equally as impressive is the quality of the set itself. Six Feet Under is no exception. The Complete First Season Set is sure to leave fans of the series eager for the arrival of Season Two.
To be honest, the hardest part of this review was whether to give this set a “Recommended” or “Highly Recommended” grade. I was reluctant initially due to some of its “soapy like” material but ultimately, I opted for the higher grade due to the show’s originality.
Highly Recommended..!!
Release Date: Already Released
