Six Feet Under 4/14/02 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Ah...this is a bit more like it for a 6FU episode. There were plenty of good tidbits and insight into all of the characters in this episode:
Nice opening death. I loved the way Brenda summed up the death by auto-eroticism/asphyxiation, and the pop cultural reference to Michael Hutchence (I think that's who Rico was referring to).
Ruth - while feeling isolated from her children, and Nikkolai being grumpy, she finally consciously rids herself of the "My life as a house" metaphors. The dinner scene was a hoot as her flower shop bud just drones on and on.
Claire - saw a totally different side of not only her aunt, but her father through the eyes of her aunt's guests for the weekend. Not too crazy about the 19 year old guy. Bringing home the "Sarah's Songs" tape and watching her mom re-live a bit of her youth was a nice touch. We often forget how powerful songs/music can be in triggering past memories (good/bad).
David - what a snit, but understandable given Keith's treatment of him, but for a guy pining away for Keith, at least he wasn't going to take any crap from Keith. Good thing Keith had a legitimate excuse in his no-show at the restaurant. Keith's a mess, maybe too much for David at this point in his life (taking care of his niece and still dealing with his use of his firearm a few months ago).
Nate - always seems to have a dark cloud hanging over him due to his brain condition. I found it quite humorous he was trying to "make time" with the female rabbi (I found her quite attractive as well). Perhaps we'll see her again. I really don't see Nate marrying Brenda, their love-making made it seem like they were so far away from each other while being so close in proximity.
Brenda - her relationships with screwed up people just keep piling up. Melissa (hooker) has opened up a very naughty side of Brenda's. The fantasy sequence was well-done for an audience fake-out. That cactus as a house-warming gift was classic Brenda. The dichotomy of seeing Brenda's mom reject Brenda's "help" definitely contrasts well with Ruth's isolation from her children. There doesn't to be much common ground in between for these parent/children relationships.
Rico - hahahaha! The writer did a great job building up the audience expectations for his wife to be cheating on Rico with his cousin/contractor, and then pulling the rug out from under the audience. To quote Rico "What the F-ing F-F!?!" summed up the situation perfectly.
All in all, I thought it was quite a solid episode, setting in motion for more character development.

 

[John Berggren]

What an excellent episode.
Ruth finally tears down her scaffolding . I was about as sick of "the Plan" as anyone could get - though I think that was the point. I always love it when she gets assertive. Her comments to Robby at the dinner table were excellent.
I wish Claire could find a way to open up to Ruth, but I think it would likely be unrealistic. Ruth definitely needs more love and attention. Watching her eat alone was painful.
I think David and Keith are good for each other. David has the patience and the love to work through Keith's hard times with him. That's why David was waiting outside the hospital room, and not Keith's ex-boyfriend (who's name I never learned). As perfect as it could be - Keith walks out of the hospital room when David's beard is at the perfect time for the "oops I didn't know I was sexy" look.
I think Nate is ready to come clean to Brenda, which should likely get her interested again. Her boredom with Nate is unfortunate, though not unlikely. I would hope that they would not tie to one another if she is bored and disinterested.
I loved the character of the Rabbi. She was very insightful. Interestingly the family was quite _reformed_ Jew. Orthodox and other conservative sects of Judaism would never allow for a female Rabbi or *gasp* a woman singing. I think that Nate's agnosticism is very interesting. It leaves him open for a variety of perspectives. I would hope the Rabbi would reappear. I think she would make a very challenging friend, or more, for Nate. I don't want to see Brenda go, mind you.
The 19 year old was neither here nor there for me. I think his character may have been realistic, but the rare exception. It remains to be seen if his ideals are all in his head or if he actually acts on them.
Hopefully Sarah will continue off and on in the series. I think it would benefit Claire to have both Ruth and Sarah to look up to. I think between them, she could be quite well balanced.
This series has yet to dissapoint.
Anyone know which episode # of season 2 this was, and how many there are to be?

 

[Mike I]

John and Patrick,

Y'al's insightfulness into the characters of the show is really incredable and I enjoy reading your posts..

There are a lot of show's on TV I really enjoy watching, but there is something so incredably addicting about this show....

 

[Steve Tannehill]

The "Rock Star" reference could have been Kevin Gilbert of Toy Matinee. He died in this manner.

- Steve

 

[MickeS]

Steve, except I don't know of anyone who's heard of Toy Matinee (never heard of them myself). I'm sure they meant Michael Hutchence.

I too enjoy reading Patrick's and John's comments about the episodes.

/mike

 

[Leo Hinze]

I've heard of Toy Matinee.

I had not heard that either Michael Hutchence or Kevin Gilbert died this way. Did they really go out that way?

 

[Janna S]

I watch this series regularly with a friend. We always try to guess the cause and manner of death as quickly as possible. I pegged this one as autoerotic asphyxiation before the guy even walked into the room with the exercise equipment, although I must admit I never heard about the use of a lemon wedge.

The debate about whether the man's death was accidental or suicide (the cause of death is the same but those are two completely different manners of death, and the choice of which one goes on the death certificate can have a significant emotional and financial impact on survivors) is very like the debates that I participated in with coroners in Alaska a number of times. (I wrote the coroner's handbook for Alaska, which was used until we switched to a medical examiner system in 1996).

There is a very interesting court case in which "new evidence" was approved on appeal (it wasn't really "new evidence" the way that is defined in the law). The evidence was about the kind of knot that was used in an autoerotic asphyxiation case - in a nutshell, the court allowed the testimony about the knot that the decedent used to be placed into evidence, allowing an "accidental" finding for manner of death, and thus allowing death benefit recovery. (In other words, the decedent used a knot that should have prevented death from occuring, but the knot "slipped" and the guy died, and thus it was an accident, not intended - so the manner of death was accidental, not suicide, and the life insurance paid up.) The bottom line is that the appellate court stretched the law out of sympathy to the beneficiaries.

Sorry to go on about this, but I rarely get to chat about autoerotic asphyxia!

 

[Mike Soltis]

Patrick--

Rico's "What the F-ing F-k?" line was my favorite line from the show.

MickeS--

Toy Matinee is known enough that their lone CD is available on a DTS 5.1 disc. I have it, and it doesn't suck (actually a pretty good demo of 5.1 music as it makes good use of all six available speakers).

This is one off the wall show, and it's really been addictive to me since the first episode.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I had not heard that either Michael Hutchence or Kevin Gilbert died this way. Did they really go out that way?

As for Kevin Gilbert, apparently yes:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/me...obit-9631.html
Hutchence's death was ruled a suicide by the coroner:
Link Removed
- Steve

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Anyone see Brenda and the Call girl hooking up. There's been some sexual tension between the two and I'm wondering if itwould be acted upon. Love to see Nate with the Rabbi, I like Brendaas a character, but she seems screwed up beyond repair.

 

[Kelley_B]

the Ricco finding his cousin was so great! When he pulled back that curtain I just screamed "Oh shit!" It was so funny...and you are right the way the writer led up to it was great.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Anyone know which episode # of season 2 this was, and how many there are to be?

Hard to believe we're already in the back half of the season. That was episode 7 of 13.

M.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Mmmm...I guess "Center Of The World" just got put on my "to rent" list. I knew I'd seen her before somewhere else (and I did see the trailer for COTW last year).

 

[Michael Reuben]

I guess "Center Of The World" just got put on my "to rent" list.

Then I should add this disclaimer: I found it interesting but not great. The test for me is whether it's something I'm eager to see a second time, and Center doesn't fall into that category. Molly Parker's the best thing about it, though (well, there's also one scene with Carla Gugino that's pretty remarkable).

M.

 

[John Berggren]

I suppose the main benefit of SFU being more than half over this season is an impending DVD announcement. They usually seem to occur between broadcast season 2 and 3 of HBO programs of late.

Showtime has a one up on them for that count.

I think Rico is going to be dealing with his feelings on homosexuality for a while. From what I understand there is a very machismo ideal in hispanic families that prevent acceptance from occurring. It would explain why his cousin would marry rather than just being gay. I expect Rico to displace his anger toward David since he feels he can't talk about it to his wife.