Six Feet Under: Complete Series (Repackage)

Though the concept is strange and may appear to be off-putting, it's really one of the best dramas ever produced. The characters are quickly able to get into your head and under your skin--the stories are engaging and absorbing, the acting and settings are fantastic. You will find yourself haunted by the tales--each one of which begins with the death of someone, sometimes known, but mostly unknown, by way of introducing the action and characters--and adds irony, plot twists or even humor to the rather somber concept. This is the story of the Fisher family in California, who own and operate Fisher and Sons funeral home and mortuary. You might think that's creepy--but what you learn quickly is that this is a viable and not at all unnecessary way to earn a living. There are a lot of things you may never consider yourself about this business, and those things will sometimes be difficult to deal with. But it is the people drama surrounding the family that is at the center of the series. Wife and mother Ruth Fisher (Francis Conroy), who becomes a widow in the first episode; eldest son Nathaniel Fisher (Peter Krause), who has to give up his life in Seattle to come home and run the business with his brother David Fisher (Michael C Hall), a closeted gay man struggling with being a business owner AND gay, and youngest daughter Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose), a burgeoning artist and slacker who struggles with life in many ways, including alcohol and drug abuse and her place in the family and the world--all work sometimes together, sometimes against each other, to find their way after the death of their father and patriarch Nathaniel Sr. (Richard Jenkins) who appears to each of them with advice, commentary and sometimes surprising plot twists to consider. Additionally, there is Frederico Diaz (Freddy Rodriguez) the assistant mortician and general dogsbody, a young married man who struggles with his Latino identity and his place in the family business--while trying to make a reputation for himself. The stories are sensitive and topical, and even after all these years, still relevant to our life today. Once you begin watching, you'll be hooked. You'll see both life and death portrayed in ways you probably can't imagine now, and may never have thought about until you watch. Each episode is well-crafted and beautifully produced, and acted, there are great co-stars who make it even better at times (James Cromwell, Rachel Griffiths, Kathy Bates, Lili Taylor, Joanna Cassidy and LOTS of others.) And the bonus is that this series has the ABSOLUTE BEST FINAL EPISODE ever produced for any series EVER. (I'm not kidding. Seriously.) Once you become part of the Fisher family, you'll never forget them.

for the greatest television show of all time? I'm going to stress to you right off the bat that for those of us who followed this show as it aired... we would have bought this set at five times the price. As I write I also find myself envying those of you who will get to experience all of it for the first time. Enough waxing nostalgic though. Let me just say get past the price (which is honestly a very good deal if you work it out), that's the last time I'll mention that. Six Feet Under is about a family that owns a funeral home. Like all great things you can sum it up in a sentence, but the substance of it doesn't come across in less than... well in this case... about 62 hours. In the show we follow Nate, who fears death and hates funeral homes. David, who starts off as a self-hating gay man who may just want to stop being a funeral director. Claire, our rebellious young woman finishing high school. Ruth, the mother of the bunch... a highly neurotic and fickle woman... and everyone who comes in contact with the family during the course of their business. I will say that though the show can hook you from the close of the first episode, the characters don't really feel completely fleshed out until about the fourth or fifth episode. Then again there are some shows that NEVER flesh out any characters. You can trace the entire voyage of the show to Nate. It is about his fear of death, and the death business. It's about how he matures over the course of about six years... to me, all else is secondary. David's struggle with who he is, Claire trying to find herself, and Ruth attempting to find her place in the world now that her children are all grown up... all of those stories are brilliant as well, but they still mostly center on Nate. This truly is the best show that has ever aired. The weakest season of it (four) is still better than everything else out there. You WILL be hooked from the first episode... and unlike so many other recent series finale's... you will not be left hanging, nor will you be disappointed. I've not yet come across one human being who is not moved to tears at least a few times a season... and not yet met a person who hasn't sobbed at the end. Television can be art, it can move you, it can challenge you and shake you up. It can change your life. The proof is in this package. Get it.

It seemed sad but fitting when HBO's "Six Feet Under" came to an end in 2005 after five seasons, because it was, after all, a series that forced the viewer to confront the reality that everything ends. Thus it is ironic that, this being the early twenty-first century, television series, good and bad, never die but enter an eternal afterlife of reruns in syndication and on video. If they are especially fortunate they are rewarded with the treatment "Six Feet Under" gets here. Viewers who are aghast at the bowdlerized, commercial-infested version running at present on the Bravo network can take luxurious refuge in this deluxe reissue of the entire five seasons, sixty-three complete and uncut episodes, in one, surprisingly heavy (like a body, one imagines) package. They can settle down and enjoy the sharply drawn characters, the infallibly tuned dialogue and mordant humor of life at the Fisher family's funeral home. Looking at the series again one appreciates anew the uniformly brilliant acting, the attention to detail and the carefully composed visuals that make watching this series unlike any previous television experience. I do not think it is overstating the case to say that Alan Ball in this series created a world of Shakespearean scope, where the dead walk, speak, interact with, quarrel with and ultimately enlighten and comfort the still living. The willingness to find laughter in subjects that are normally treated, if acknowledged at all, with a kind of reverent dread may offend some, notably those of the same mentality that have prohibited photographing coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq; all others will see Ball's vision for what is, an affirmation of life and joy in the face of all possible heartache and discouragement. Seeing the episodes themselves is so satisfying that the extra features, dare one say it, seem barely necessary. Still it is good to hear Ball, the cast, and the writers speak about the show in interviews and voice-over commentary. For all fans of top notch television and drama in general, this box set is an essential item.

I was going to rent the series to watch having had it recommended by this really intuitive, caring and fun psychiatrist that I know when Bravo started showing it. I started watching. It is what my generation used to call "an experience." In other words, I can give you some arbitrary description of events and so forth which might give you some sense of storylines, characters, etc. and it won't come close to what it actually is about - in particular what it is about for you. I've seen it now about 4 times. My boyfriend who has a hard time watching an hour of television in one sitting couldn't stop watching. After I got the series from Amazon we ended up watching nothing else. It was like a book he couldn't put down (and he's not a reader either). We watched the entire 5 years in marathon chunks until the end! Now he keeps saying that he misses the Fishers. Again, like a really good book that you hate to turn the last page on . . . Buying from Amazon: I actually received the whole series two Christmas's ago from [...]. There was something wrong with some of the DVD's so I returned it. They assured me that they had several in stock so I got a gift certificate for another set and thought I'd be walking out with it. Nope, they have some sort of inventory quirk and then I found out they won't turn a gift certificate into cash-even if you have the original product receipt. (Their representative told me, "You might just use the money to go and buy drugs!" Huh?!) I got groceries for Christmas that year . . . I KNEW by buying it from Amazon that I would be able to return it, exchange it, etc. no problem! It is because I know that I have their guarantees that I have bought so many gift DVD's here. And THIS is the BEST PRICE I've seen it at - and I have been looking! (This is the only place that I found that you can get it home for under $[...]) So, it is an incredible (historic) series worth the bragging power of having not only seen it but having it as part of your collection. And get it from someone who's policies cover you in the real world!

It is essentially impossible to write an appropriate review for this engaging, amazing, wicked, dark, and realistic series that graced the television landscape for the first half of the new millinimum. Considered by many critics and fans alike as "the best television series to grace the small screen," SIX FEET UNDER was the prenimulate HBO series: it featureted everything that the HBO names expects (sex, drugs, violence, and rock'n'roll) but adds a fresh almost family-friendly twist to the proceedings. The series focuses on the lives of the Fisher family after everything they've ever known is turned upside down with the patriarch of the family dies suddenly in a car crash on Christmas Eve; with the majority of the first season summarizing the families attempt to "move-on with their lives, and learn that life goes on, forever, until it ends." With their fathers death in the pilot, the two oldest children Nate (the rebel, who always ran away from his responsibility) and David (the closeted `good son') take over the family business as their much-younger sister finished her high school years and their mother learns how to continue her life without her husband of 35 years. Throughout five seasons the series focused on this ecletic mix of quirky characters, and the people that come in-and-out of their lives. And this is where the heart of the series can be found - it is always realistic and while the stories seem far-fetched they are quit the opposite: everything presented in this series is a normal part of the human exsistance, and for the first time SIX FEET UNDER (as a television series) captures the monotomy of human esistance into a seemingly perfect television show. HBO has included all 63 episodes of the series (including the emotion series finale (which I personally consider the single best of hour television I have ever watched) in this one elaborate collection (also including a large booklet that gives the history of the series and a character map, as well as the two previously-released soundtrack CDs).

Over the past fifteen years, HBO has brought production values and creative talent of theatrical quality to the small screen and presented the American public with some of the most brilliantly innovative television dramas ever created. Aside from landmark series such as "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" , other critically acclaimed programs such as "Deadwood" , "Carnivale" , and "Rome" were born on this premium cable network. The prestige and influence of HBO original programming is such that upon discovering this cheaper re-release of the "Six Feet Under" series in early 2010, I bought it without having seen so much as a single episode. I hadn't checked out the program before because what I knew about the series didn't sound particularly interesting, but as with all great fiction the hook that sells the show isn't so much the plot as it is the characters. "Six Feet Under" is an hour-long drama series about the Fisher family, who operate Fisher & Sons funeral home in Los Angeles. In the first few moments of the pilot episode, the Fisher family patriarch Nathaniel is killed in a tragic accident, and the audience is at once thrust into the affairs of the surviving Fishers and the continuing aftermath of Nathaniel's death. Each episode briefly details the day-to-day operations and struggles of running a privately owned funeral home, but the primary focus is always centered on the trials and tribulations within the Fisher family. In the pilot, oldest son Nate (Peter Krause) has just arrived from Seattle for a visit, middle son David (Michael C. Hall) is a closeted homosexual who takes over the funeral home after his father's death, youngest daughter Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is a troubled and confused high schooler, and their mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) is a deeply unhappy woman formerly resigned to her fate as a simple housewife. Other major players include David's boyfriend and police officer Keith Charles (Mathew St. Patrick), restorative artist and Fisher employee Federico Diaz (Freddy Rodriguez), Nate's eventual love interest Brenda Chenowith (Rachel Griffiths), and her brother Billy (Jeremy Sisto). The supporting cast is equally as impressive as the principals. Some of my favorite character actors such as Rainn Wilson, Ben Foster, James Cromwell, Catherine O'Hara, Mena Suvari, Justin Theroux, and Richard Jenkins have recurring roles. No less than three "Deadwood" regulars have small parts, and even the future Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) both make appearances (though not together). The cast is uniformly excellent in these roles, helping to gloss over the occasional character inconcistencies present in certain episodes. Nate is perhaps the most uneven, variously alternating between extreme compassion with strangers and extreme self-absorption around his loved ones. There's painstaking detail devoted to his relationship with Brenda, most of which is quite well-realized but occasionally stifles the pacing of certain episodes. David and Federico are, without question, the most likeable characters. David's continual struggle, gradual acceptance, and growing comfortability with his homosexuality is by turns heart-breaking and heart-warming to watch unfold. David is masterfully portrayed by Michael C. Hall, and it's a testament to his abilities as an actor that he can so adroitly convince the audience he is a mild-mannered gay man as well as a cunning serial killer on "Dexter" with equal aplomb. Federico's boyish looks and charming naivete earns him the most compassion through his own struggles, as he aims to provide more for his family than just a modest living. Claire generally follows a rather pedestrian path of teenage self-destruction and angst, though it bears noting this is the fault of the writers and not the talented actress Lauren Ambrose. The writers script her character as if she inhabits some higher plane of individualism because she's a 'deep' artist, while one of her boyfriends is portrayed as "unhip" because he listens to Top 40 radio and supports the war on terror. It's as if the series itself is perpetuating the juvenile notion that it's a penchant for the obscure that sets forward-thinking people apart from the hordes of conformist drones. As for Ruth, it's a genuine joy to watch her never-ending quest to find true happiness, as she branches out in ways she never did before her husband's death. That, of course, is the thread that unravels all the cobwebs and skeletons in "Six Feet Under". It's through Nathaniel's demise that the Fisher family is gradually able to transform, over five seasons, from dysfunctional family-in-name-only into cultivating thriving relationships between each other. As they come to terms with their loss and the realization that none of them really knew who Nathaniel was, they're forced to realize through his death what truly matters in life. Though the start of the series is a bit slow and occasionally rocky, the series quickly grew into what I've come to expect from an HBO program: top-notch cast, killer dialogue, a good mix of pathos and humor, and a myriad of interesting plotlines. Thematically it is quite obviously a platform for exploring the way people deal with death and, by extension, life. The other major themes revolve around characters coming to grips with homosexuality and attempts to understand and live with mental illness. Every episode, with but a few exceptions, opens with the last moments of a future Fisher & Sons client. These deaths, mirroring reality, range from the mundane to the horrific. Sometimes a red herring will be employed, misdirecting the audience into believing one person will die only to realize it is actually someone else's time to go. Within the microcosm of the program, this is a great way to illustrate how unpredictable and surprising death can be. Occasionally a cleverly scripted series of events will culminate in a fatality, like some sort of cruel Rube Goldberg machine only God finds amusing. A few are even, dare I say it, amusing in their absurdity. Unfortunately, some of the idiosyncrasies native to the series aren't quite as clever as the writers appear to think they are. Case in point, another narrative device the program employs are surreal moments of a character acting on their most private thoughts. These can range from an emotional outburst of screaming, to characters bursting into song and dance, to one character blissfully shooting her ex-lovers as if in some sort of bizarre carnival game. When it is necessary to provide clarification, particularly following a extreme outburst of emotion, the scene will jump cut to moments earlier, illustrating that it never actually occurred. At times this can present confusion, with the audience wondering "Which part actually happened and which didn't?" Even worse, sometimes a truly shocking event will occur, only to discover once again it never really happened. This can feel like a slap in the face to the audience, as if being toyed with or mocked by the writers, akin to the controversial last moments of the "Sopranos" finale. Most of the time, however, the scenes are sufficiently over-the-top enough that it doesn't ring of conceit so much as a clever manner in which to convey the internal thoughts of the characters. Yet another, more effective, method for exploring the internal conflicts within the characters has main cast members speaking to the dead as if they were alive. This complete series set is beautifully presented in a series of paper DVD sleeves assembled like a book. This isn't the most protective method, but is a greener and more compact way to package the series. The two soundtrack discs included on the previous complete series edition are not enclosed here, but the small character booklet is. If you're new to the series, I strongly suggest not reading the booklet until you've watched all the episodes. Regarding the packaging, out of twenty-four discs, I only had a slight skipping problem with one disc. Otherwise all episodes played perfectly and the majority (but not all) of them were scuff-free. For the admittedly modest price I paid, I really have no genuine complaints in this department. "Six Feet Under", again mirroring reality, will not tie up every loose end, and not all lingering questions will have a definitive answer. There are a few plot threads that build incrementally only to dissolve into nothing. There are patches of weak writing, such as the puerile and impotent stabs at political commentary that betray the otherwise superlative scripting. The series does get lost in its own creativity at times, and sometimes gorges itself on certain characters who are not quite as interesting as their screen time would suggest. But, ultimately, what prevents "Six Feet Under" from a full five stars is that there are significant amounts of extraneous filler peppered within the series, particularly in later seasons. I feel that this series should've been four classic seasons instead of five excellent, but slightly bloated and overwrought seasons. I can promise this: you will find yourself caring deeply about these characters, you will find your heart racing when things aren't going as you had hoped, and you will find yourself staying up much later than you had intended to squeeze in one more episode. You will also discover one of the most satisfying television finales ever conceived, during which each character finds some place of stable contentment, bringing warm smiles to the audience, until those final ten minutes when the series delivers an emotional gut punch that perfectly summarizes the entire idea of the series. Watching those last moments unfold, I kept thinking of something Nate said earlier in the series: "Everybody dies. Everybody. What makes you so special?" I'm glad I met the Fisher family.

My husband and I decided to buy the complete series when it was available on amazon for $115 during one of their Friday sales. I had watched the early seasons and loved the series, but then kind of drifted away from it. My husband had never seen it. We spent about 6 weeks watching the entire series and just loved it. I believe this may be on of the best dramas (the best perhaps?) ever on TV. The characters are true-to-life and gripping. Even the things that annoy you about them (Ruth's passivity, e.g.) are believeable. I love the way that each episode begins with a death. Often sad (infant death from SIDS brought tears to my eyes), occasionally funny (drunk woman celebrating her 40th b.day in a limo with friends stands up and sticks her head out of the sunroof and is beaned by a low-hanging street sign), it really forces you to examine life and death issues. I also love how each episode ends with a fade to white (hopeful?) as opposed to the traditional fade to black. The acting is outstanding. I think that the Nate and Brenda characters were truly wonderful. Warning to parents: You probably don't want kids under 15 watching due to adult situations and language. That said, I can't urge viewers strongly enough to give this seris a shot. It's outstanding!

NO STARS My husband bought this for me for Xmas a bunch of years ago from this vendor I only started watching Six Feet Under yesterday. Most of disc's are unreadable. I even tried them on another dvr and same result. If you Google this issue, "Laser Rot", many cd's that came from Warner Brother have these issues . $115.00 down the toilet. I'm flipping angry.

Me encantó la serie está muy entretenida aún me falta para terminarla pero lo que llevó está muy bien, aparte la presentación está bien sin daños buen empaque

Anno 2004 begann der Sender VOX mit der Ausstrahlung einer Serie, die zwar zunächst meine Aufmerksamkeit erregte (zwar auf Grund eines akuten "Mystery"-Etikettenschwindels, aber das ist nebensächlich...), aber mich nie so recht zu fesseln wusste. So ganz ließ mich die Faszination "Six Feet Under" aber nie wirklich los und so gab ich der Serie in der vorliegenden Komplettausgabe eine zweite Chance und stelle eines fest: Für manche Serien braucht man einfach ein gewisses Alter, um sie entsprechend ihrer Qualitäten würdigen zu können. "Six Feet Under" erzählt, über fünf Staffeln und 63 Folgen hinweg, die Geschichte der Bestatterfamilie Fisher, die nach dem Verlust des Familienoberhauptes Nathaniel vor drastischen Veränderungen steht. Sein jüngster Sohn David führt zwar das Familienunternehmen weiter, aber benötigt dazu die Hilfe seines älteren Bruders Nate, der davon anfänglich überhaupt nicht begeistert ist. Ihre sorgenvoll-neurotische Mutter Ruth und das künstlerisch begabte Nesthäkchen Claire, die gerade die Höhen und Tiefen der High School durchlebt, vollenden das illustre Familienpanoptikum. Ergänzt wird diese bereits faszinierende Zusammenstellung von durchaus ungewöhnlichen Charakteren, unter anderem durch Brenda, eine frivole und beziehungsunfähige, intelligente junge Frau, in die sich Nate verkuckt, Rico, einen äußerst talentierten Einbalsamierer, und Keith, Davids Partner in dessen homosexueller Beziehung. Jede Episode startet mit dem Tod eines zukünftigen "Kunden" des Bestattungsunternehmens "Fisher und Söhne", aber innerhalb der Staffeln und auch darüber hinweg sind die Folgen durch die tragende Familiengeschichte eng miteinander verwoben. So kämpft die Bestattungsfirma in der 1. Staffel um ihr nacktes wirtschaftliches Überleben und gegen einen übermächtig erscheinenden Großkonzern, der viele andere kleine Unternehmen dieser Richtung bereits aus dem Geschäft getrieben oder aber übernommen hat. In Season 2 steht Nates AVM-Erkrankung ( eine angeborene Fehlbildung der Blutgefäße, die schlimmstenfalls zu Gehirnblutungen und Tod führen kann) und die aus der Behandlung entstehenden Konsequenzen und Fragen im Mittelpunkt. Nates Familienplanung und das Verschwinden seiner Frau bilden den Kern in Staffel 3, während sich der folgende Handlungsbogen der 4.Season einem tragischen Verlust, der Aufdeckung dessen Hintergründen und einer schleichenden Krankheit eines neueren Familienmitglieds widmet. Die letzte Staffel verbindet die bisherigen Handlungsfäden und stellt Nate und seine Familie vor viele geschäftliche und private Entscheidungen. Viele der Ereignisse, insbesondere die tragischen Schnittpunkte zwischen den Verstorbenen und ähnlichen Schicksalen innerhalb der Fisher-Familie, werden teilweise recht absurd (im positiven Sinne!) durch die Verstorbenen selbst kommentiert - allen voran der zu Beginn gestorbene Nathaniel Fisher senior höchstpersönlich, der das eine oder andere Mal seinen Kindern auf die Beine hilft oder sie zu bestimmten Handlungen provoziert. Gepaart mit dem allanwesenden makaberen Humor und den, insbesondere in Staffel 5 einfließenden kritischen Äußerungen zur republikanischen Bush-Regierung, baut "Six Feet Under" eine unnachahmliche und einzigartige Atmosphäre auf. "Six Feet Under" wäre vermutlich nur halb so gut, wenn die verschrobene, aber liebenswerte, Familie Fisher und ihre Mitmenschen nicht von einer sorgsam ausgewählten Darsteller-Riege verkörpert werden würden. Da wäre zum einen Michael C. Hall als todernster und zu Beginn recht humorloser Bestatter David, bei dem man über die Serie hinweg wunderbar beobachten kann, wie er schauspielerisch reift und der Figur zunehmend neue Facetten abgewinnt - wenn man bedenkt, wie blendend er einige Jahre später in der Killerserie "Dexter" auftrumpfen wird, ist das nur um so bemerkenswerter. Peter Krause alias Nate wirkt zu Beginn wie der freundliche Junge von Nebenan, entwickelt aber im Laufe der Serie einige Angewohnheiten, die man ihm so nicht zugetraut hätte und die den Charakter durchaus in ein emotional zwielichtiges Feld rücken lassen. Gerade umgekehrt verhält es sich mit seiner zunächst recht egozentrierten Freundin Brenda, dargestellt von Rachel Griffiths, die mit jeder Staffel stabiler und stärker wird, auch wenn sie Rückfälle erleidet. Zu einer ähnlich starken Bank entwickelt sich Matthew St.Patrick alias Davids Lebenspartner Keith, der mehr als einmal der entscheidende Fels in der Brandung ist, aber angenehm zurückhaltend agiert. Und natürlich Frances Conroy als Ruth - die immer besorgte Mutter, die ihr eigenes Leben anderen unterordnet und sich doch insgeheim nach einem Ausbruch aus der alltäglichen Tretmühle des Lebens regelrecht sehnt und manchmal gar danach greift. In die gleiche Kerbe schlägt die exzellente Reihe von Nebendarstellern, die allesamt maßgeblich das hochqualitative Bild der Serie prägten. Stellvertretend seien hier natürlich insbesondere Kathy Bates als Ruths rebellische Freundin Bettina und James Cromwell als Ruths enger Freund George Sibley erwähnt. Speziell dessen tragische Geschichte und das sich daraus ergebende Spiel zwischen Wahnsinn und Gebrochenheit dieses Charakters hat mich begeistert und manchmal verkrampft auf dem Sofa hinterlassen. Kurz zur Box selbst: In dem äußerst dezent, aber zur Serie mehr als passend im Grabstein-Design gehaltenen und stabilen Pappschuber, finden sich die fünf Einzelstaffen in separaten Plastik-DVD-Boxen. Im Gegensatz zu den handelsüblichen Box-Sets, befinden sich die einzelnen DVDs jeweils auf einzelnen Befestigungen und sind nicht lieblos übereinander auf einer Spindel befestigt worden (z.B. immer wieder in dieser Hinsicht negativ auffallend: "Bones"). Das freut Sammler und Liebhaber der Serie und verspricht lang währende Freude an der Box und deren Inhalt. Bild- und Tonqualität gehen ebenfalls in Ordnung, spielen aber auch eher eine sekundäre Rolle, da nicht die Technik, sondern die erzählte Geschichte entscheidend sind. Dennoch kann ich beruhigend darauf hinweisen, dass es sich um vernünftige SD-Qualität handelt, wobei die einzige kleine Einschränkung das im 4:3-Format vorliegende Bild der ersten beiden Staffeln ist. Ab Season 3 wurde auf 16:9 umgestellt, wovon natürlich aktuelle Fernsehgeräte entsprechend profitieren. Zu guter Letzt muss einfach noch einmal gesagt werden, dass "Six Feet Under" eine Serie für Genießer ist, von der man selten viele Folgen am Stück einfach so "konsumieren" kann. Mir ging es oft so, dass ich mir vorgenommen hatte abends 2-3 Folgen "herunter zu reißen", um dann bereits nach einer Folge den "Kanal voll" zu haben - jedoch nicht auf Grund mangelnder Qualität, sondern weil die Serie über dermaßen viele Reflexionsmöglichkeiten in Bezug auf das eigene Leben verfügt, dass man diese kaum im Akkord verarbeiten kann. Nach zahlreichen Episoden stellte ich mir viele Fragen, fand Parallelen zu meinem eigenen Leben und setzte mich insbesondere mit dem Thema "Tod in der Familie" auseinander, das mich bisher glücklicherweise noch nicht allzu sehr begleitet hat, es aber definitiv irgendwann tun wird. Natürlich bereitet einen auch ein Stück TV-Geschichte wie "Six Feet Under" nicht auf die kommenden tragischeren Ereignisse des Lebens vor, aber es gibt Impulse zum Vordenken und lehrt auf verschrobene Art und Weise universelle Werte wie Toleranz und Vergebung. Das dies ausgerechnet eine US-amerikanische TV-Serie schafft, die sich um das Leben einer Bestatterfamilie aus Los Angeles dreht, deren Existenz von Tod, Untreue und viel Selbsthass bestimmt wird, ist nicht minder bemerkenswert. Was soll ich also machen, außer fünf Sterne (die im Zweifelsfall nicht annähernd der ungeheuren inhaltlichen Qualität gerecht werden) zu verteilen?

The boxed set of every episode of one of the most original, well cast, brilliantly performed series ever. The setting of a family run funeral home in America may seem strange for a hit series, but the stories and sub plots portray flawlessly the trials and tribulations of a diverse family. I do not want to give away anything, but this is way above most series of recent years. All of the characters are faultless and interesting, and the very last scene in the very last episode is the most brilliant, original and heartbreaking ever. Highly recommended if you are a fan of high quality drama.

El pack es una pasada, el césped artificial le da un punto increíble pero (y aquí viene el problema) aunque la foto es de la versión en inglés el que se envía es la versión francesa (sin subtítulos en español). No sólo no era la versión que creía que llegaría por las fotos que se muestran sino que la caja venía dañada a pesar de estar dentro del plástico protector. El film estaba roto y reparado con trozos de celofán, las esquinas un tanto dañadas y la lápida de la parte superior despegada. Toda una lástima porque la edición es maravillosa. Ya lo he devuelto.

In einer aktuellen deutschlandweiten Umfrage gaben 75% aller Männer und 63% aller Frauen an, Gedanken an den Tod aktiv zu verdrängen. 60% aller befragten Personen gaben gleichzeitig zu, große Angst vor dem Tod zu haben. Auch wenn Verdrängung in manchen Fällen psychologisch sinnvoll sein kann, müsste doch jedem klar sein, dass gerade der Tod sich denkbar schlecht dafür eignet. Spätestens wenn einem selbst irgendwann die Stunde schlägt, wird man zu einer Auseinandersetzung damit gezwungen, auch wenn man sich noch so sehr bemüht, das Sterben in sterile Krankenhauszimmer und Hospizen zu verbannen... Wer eine offensive, intelligente und tiefgründige Auseinandersetzung mit dem Tod bevorzugt oder ausprobieren möchte, ist bei Six Feet Under an der richtigen Adresse. Selten wurde dieses wichtige Thema so vielseitig, d.h. mit allen dazugehörigen Facetten beleuchtet: die philosophische Ergründung, Tragik und Dramatik des Sterbens wird mit Banalität, schwarzem Humor und Gelassenheit hier so gekonnt verwoben, dass ein unfassbar lebensnahes, allumfassendes und gleichzeitig emotional tief berührendes Abbild des gesamten Themenkomplexes Tod und Sterben geschaffen wird. In dieser Hinsicht ist diese Serie einzigartig und übertrumpft dabei manch einen philosophischen Wälzer, ohne dabei langweilig, abgehoben oder zu komplex zu werden. Und ja, ich persönlich habe durch diese Serie tatsächlich etwas mehr Gelassenheit im Umgang mit der eigenen Sterblichkeit entwickelt, genau wie mit der Sterblichkeit von geliebten Menschen. Eingebettet wird das Ganze in die Geschichte der Familie Fisher, die ein Bestattungsunternehmen leitet. In typischer HBO-Manier werden die Figuren komplex entwickelt und die Beziehungskonstellationen und Interaktionen bilden einen gelungenen Rahmen für die Inhalte der Serie. Die Beziehungen und der Alltag der Hauptfiguren rücken bisweilen in den Vordergrund, das Hauptmotiv Tod und Sterben bleibt allerdings durch den Alltag der Bestatter und den Todesfall am Anfang jeder Serienepisode immer präsent. Drehbuch, Kamera, Ausstattung und schauspielerische Leistungen sind dabei durchgehend exzellent. Die Einstellungen und Bilder sind extrem ästhetisch und grenzen ab und zu an ein Kunstwerk. Die Serie ist sehr alltagsnah, sie lebt von Dialogen und bietet dementsprechend wenig Raum für Action und Spektakel – dadurch erreicht sie allerdings eine unvergleichliche Authentizität, die auf ihre Weise spektakulär ist und einen bis ins Mark trifft. Keine leichte Kost und definitiv nichts zum Abschalten, aber so ziemlich das wertvollste und bereicherndste, was einem ein Fernsehbildschirm bieten kann.