Six Feet Under: New/Final Season Starts Tonight (June 6)

[DMark]

Just a reminder to those who are interested in seeing how this show wraps up in this, its final season.

[DMark]

One last "bump" before it starts on the East Coast tonight.

Hmm...didn't realize this show had sunk so low in popularity...not a single, "Whoopie!" or "Hooray!' for the new season?

Guess I don't need to be looking for a flurry of Six Feet Under threads and spoilers tomorrow.

[BiblioCat]

Whoopie! Hooray!

I'm looking forward to it - I didn't realize it was starting tonight until just recently. I was thinking the new ones weren't starting till the fall.

I was catching the repeats of last season on HBO, and saw the last one last week. I'd forgotten that one gruesome scene with Lisa's BIL when Nate confronts him about his involvement in Lisa's disappearance, when he realizes his wife has heard everything - holy shit. It was shocking when I saw it the first time and shocked me again this time.

Are we getting 13 episodes again?
I wonder how poor George is doing. He had really gone off the deep end when we last saw him. He said the bomb shelter was where he was going to live.
And David and Keith. I hope they can be happy for a while.
I wonder where they'll go with Rico. I always liked him, and hated when he cheated on Vanessa.
Oh, and Claire and Billy. They ended up in her apartment after her big art show. That can't be good. Can it?

[UncleRojelio]

I'm boycotting HBO because they cancelled Carnival.

Bastards!

[FairyChatMom]

I'm glad I came to this forum - I didn't realize the season was starting. I'm going to watch it only because I've watched it from the beginning. I was very let down by the last season - I liked the earlier shows better - when there was more interplay with the departed. It became way too much of a soap opera for my taste. We shall see...

[hajario]

I liked the earlier shows better - when there was more interplay with the departed.

Exactly my feeling!! I loved the way that they used that device and wish that they would have done it more last season.

The big question is who is the biological father of Maya, Nate or Hoyt? I wonder if they'll touch on that.

It really does seem like they are running out of steam. I love the show but it's probably good that they're ending it now.

Haj

[AuntiePam]

I almost forgot to watch too. Shouldn't it be on Sunday night, instead of Monday?

Good episode. The neverending misery gets to you after awhile, but at least it's well-written misery.

Since the ep hasn't aired everywhere yet, I'll just say that I thought everyone looked really good tonight, especially David. He positively glowed.

[annieclaus]

Well, wasn't that an uplifting hour!!!
I feel really, really bad for poor Ruth. She's going to crack soon and be as looney as George.
I can't believe Nate and Brenda and Claire and Billy are anything other than doomed.
But there does seem to be light at the end of Keith's and David's tunnel! Good for them!

[Johnny L.A.]

The wedding. Was that where Shayna and Spiny Norman got married, at the former site of Marineland?

[ISiddiqui]

I almost forgot to watch too. Shouldn't it be on Sunday night, instead of Monday?

It looks like HBO is trying to branch out to grab other nights. Since the greater proliferation of digital cable and multiple HBOs, it seems their plan is to make HBO1 the 'show' channel. It seemed that the premiere the "Contender" was on tonight as well (though I have to catch it on On Demand).

Interesting episode... we had to know that:

The baby wouldn't be born

Right?

[BiblioCat]

I liked the earlier shows better - when there was more interplay with the departed.
That's just what I was thinking. Just the quick bit at the beginning with the death and then another quick bit with the sister at the funeral home. I lked it better when the DGDJ (Dead Guy/Girl du Jour) talked to one of the Fishers or we saw the funeral scene. This did feel more like a soap opera.

Would they really let Brenda wait several days after a miscarriage for a D&C? It seems like something that should be done as soon as possible.

What was Ruth's problem with Claire taking that picture of George? Why did she freak out so much?

[annieclaus]

The wedding. Was that where Shayna and Spiny Norman got married, at the former site of Marineland?
I thought it was the same spot where Brenda's Dad's ashes were tossed into the wind and sea.

[annieclaus]

What was Ruth's problem with Claire taking that picture of George? Why did she freak out so much?

I think it was a "last straw" for poor Ruth. She didn't want her crazy husband to come to the wedding at all. And then as they were posing, he had wine spilled all over him. I don't think Ruth wanted any permanent record of George at all. I think she wants him gone. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up on a slab in the Fischer's basement before the end of this season.

[Chefguy]

Seemed like the actors were having trouble getting back into their roles, but not a bad episode. Claire has lost some baby fat and is looking pretty hot. Ruth's character has evolved nicely throughout the series, from ditsy mom to obsessive neurotic. She seems very close to having her cheese slip off her cracker.

[chefjef]

Claire has lost some weight - she looks amazing. I hope she doesn't lose any more though.

George's character is moving in an interesting direction - I guess I should have seen it coming that this insanity would be permanent.

Brenda depresses me to no end. So does her brother Billly. They're two of my favorite characters though. I wonder if Billy is going to lose the cheese off his cracker again...?

[BiblioCat]

I thought it was the same spot where Brenda's Dad's ashes were tossed into the wind and sea.
Nitpick: They had his funeral on a cliff (could have been the same one), but Brenda's mom tossed his ashes over the balcony of her apartment.

And yes, I also think Billy is going to lose it again. Go off his meds, get jealous of Claire's success or something.

[BiblioCat]

I don't think Ruth wanted any permanent record of George at all. I think she wants him gone.
I rewatched it this morning on On Demand (I missed a few parts last night, like the bit with him being taken out of the house in cuffs) and I think you're right. I think she regrets marrying him now.

[«Ðëëp¤F®ïêd»™]

I enjoyed the scene of Nate, Claire and David all comparing their weed on the porch. Something about the way they all had excuses about how their partners shouldn't know seemed to really get at how inwardly isolated they all are.

The pacing of the episode seemed much quicker as well. I don't know if I like it yet or not but I am still watching till the end.

[«Ðëëp¤F®ïêd»™]

Ohh ya, Did Nate say his weed cost $200 an eighth??
Either he is getting ripped off or it is laced with gold...

[Cyros]

So glad the show is back. Hopefully now that this is the last season, they'll step up production on the DVDs. I can't believe they only just released season three. Annoying.

Good episode, although I the plot line with Brenda made me cry.

My hubby and I both think Lauren Ambrose (Claire) has lost a bit too much weight.

[commasense]

I liked the first season or two of SFU, but last year it just got to be too much. Every episode has all these heavy painful things that are just too unpleasant to watch. With most of the HBO/SHO original series, I watch each ep at least twice to catch all the little details. But not SFU. I just can't take it.

The real turning point for me was "That's My Dog," the episode in which David is abducted by the psycho. ::shudder::

I still watch, because the acting and writing are good. But I don't look forward to it the way I do The Wire (my top favorite), Deadwood, The Sopranos, etc. The best thing about it is that it reminds me how boring and normal my family is.

(BTW, I felt the same way about Huff on Showtime by the end of its first season. Every character was experiencing major life crises simultaneously. It was just too much.)

[fiddlesticks]

For what its worth from a non-LA resident, but occasional visitor to that part of LA, the place where the wedding took place did look to be the Palos Verde Peninsula (home of the ex-Marineland) to me.

They look to be setting up some ugliness with Billy in the future. With George the vegetable and late Mrs. Nate Fisher dropping in to insult the bride on her wedding day, it doesn't look like this season will be any "brighter" than that last one.

[Ellis Dee]

I enjoyed the scene of Nate, Claire and David all comparing their weed on the porch. Something about the way they all had excuses about how their partners shouldn't know seemed to really get at how inwardly isolated they all are.
[...]
Ohh ya, Did Nate say his weed cost $200 an eighth??I loved the writing and delivery of that bit. Not verbatim, but close:

"Mine cost $200 an eighth."
"Well then let's smoke that."

Such a natural response, if one is a smoker.

There was another exchange late in the episode I wanted to mention. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I liked it almost as much as the KGB exchange. (kind green bud...not mentioned, but obviously implied.)

On preview, I'm starting to remember. It was when the bride was getting verbally attacked by the ghost. Something about being a fuckrag or slut causing bad things to happen, and the bride muttering something about not seeing a connection. I'm remembering/describing this extremely poorly, but I thought that conversation was excellent.

I only started watching last season, and found the ghosts too gimmicky for my taste back then, but this epi has softened my opinion of them.

Interestingly, I find I don't really care about the backstory I missed, but in a good way. Normally, if I come into a show in midrun, I get very annoyed at any backstory knowledge gaps, and it bugs the shit out of me. In SFU, it doesn't bother me in the least. I may or may not check out the earlier seasons at some point, but not having seen them in no way detracts from the pleasant melancholy of watching these trainwrecks circle the drain.

[Ellis Dee]

No wait, now I remember. While I did like the dressing down from the ghost, the line that stuck with me (or not) was the bride saying that it was only natural that her perfect day involved having her baby leaking out of her.

Yikes that was a jarring line.

[BiblioCat]

IOn preview, I'm starting to remember. It was when the bride was getting verbally attacked by the ghost. Something about being a fuckrag or slut causing bad things to happen, and the bride muttering something about not seeing a connection. I'm remembering/describing this extremely poorly, but I thought that conversation was excellent.
I think that was some sort of leftover thing from Brenda watching the video of Nate and Lisa's wedding. What's-her-name, the movie producer (Catherine O'Hara's character) made some snarky comment about slapping a coat of fresh white primer on a bride and she looks good as new. No matter how slutty and trashy she is, all brides look good on their wedding day... something like that.
I think Brenda was thinking people maybe thought that about her, or thought Lisa would have thought it about her.

[Johnny L.A.]

For what its worth from a non-LA resident, but occasional visitor to that part of LA, the place where the wedding took place did look to be the Palos Verde Peninsula (home of the ex-Marineland) to me.
The interiors (what they showed of them) looked like The Catalina Room.

I agree that this show has too much sadness in it. In the first season they had fun with it; but later seasons seem to have too much hardcore drama. Having such things happening to all of the characters may (or may not) reflect real life, but to cram it all into an hour is soul-crushing. I'll still keep watching, though. ;)

[fiddlesticks]

The interiors (what they showed of them) looked like The Catalina Room.

I'd say you are right (http://www.weddinglocation.com/page.phtml/lid/6985/pageNum/1/numGen/3/pos/6985/rel/100/ra/CA-S/subregion/Rancho+Palos+Verdes). Available at very reasonable rates, no doubt.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, you'd think at some point someone would have something good happen to them without something horrible following soon after! Even for a family that messed up!

[Johnny L.A.]

I'd say you are right (http://www.weddinglocation.com/page.phtml/lid/6985/pageNum/1/numGen/3/pos/6985/rel/100/ra/CA-S/subregion/Rancho+Palos+Verdes). Available at very reasonable rates, no doubt.
The photo on your link does indeed look like the place in the show. I was only there the one time for Shayna and Spiny Norman's wedding. Nice place, and a wonderful view. In the show, I kept trying to see the old dolphin tank. (They never got it in the shot.) As for rates, I don't know.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

No wait, now I remember. While I did like the dressing down from the ghost, .

You know, I never really liked Lisa, she seems to be humorless and judgemental. Brenda, for all her faults, seems a much pleasanter human being.

Actually I never cared for Lili Taylor at all, so there!.

[BiblioCat]

Oh, I do like Lili Taylor. I think she's a good actress.
I don't much like the character of Lisa, and I think Nate and Brenda are a better match.

[Ellis Dee]

I think that was some sort of leftover thing from Brenda watching the video of Nate and Lisa's wedding. What's-her-name, the movie producer (Catherine O'Hara's character) made some snarky comment about slapping a coat of fresh white primer on a bride and she looks good as new.I have a question about that scene for the longtime fans. Did that wedding actually happen on the show, or was it backstory from before the pilot?

I ask because I got the distinct impression that the O'Hara character didn't actually make the over-the-top slut comment at the wedding on the tape, but that Brenda's delusional mind projected that statement onto the tape as a realiztion of one of her worst fears.

Any thoughts?

[commasense]

Well, the wedding didn't happen before the pilot. I think in the timeline it comes between series 2 and 3. And (although I could be wrong about this) I don't think we had seen any part of it before. Claire's video in this week's ep was the first time, IIRC.

[commasense]

Oh, and I forgot to add: I don't think much of Lili Taylor. She has no depth as an actress. She's always playing the same whiny character.

[BiblioCat]

No, we'd never seen any of the wedding video from Nate & Lisa's wedding before. One season ended with Nate having his surgery and Brenda leaving (driving off in her car) after they broke up. Maya had been born but was still an infant. IIRC, the white fade-out was with that "beeeeep" that accompanies someone dying in surgery and we got the placard that said "Nathaniel Fisher, Jr., 1963-2003" (or whatever the correct dates were).
The next season started off with Nate having the weird dreams of slightly different Fisher families (no Claire, a sister with a different name, him and Brenda married with a couple of kids), a weird scenario of him and his father playing chess with other dead people, David teaching a stroke-stricken Nate to talk again - then we got the placard of Nate's death date with the "2003" fading out, and it cut to a present day barbeque, six months later, and Nate and Lisa were married.

[flickster]

The entire set-up on the COTW was interesting. I just knew that something was going to happen. At 1st I thought it would be her dad as a result of her leveling, but then the antique fireplace got in the way....

It ws like, "Hey, this is 6FU - we can't have any healing around here"

[FairyChatMom]

I enjoyed the interplay between Brenda and Lisa - but then, I always liked the dead talking to the living. I felt like it gave some insight into Brenda, who for the most part tends to annoy me.

I felt really sorry for Ruth - George was a flake, and now he's little more than another child for her to care for.

I find it hard to care about David because he's been such a weenie for so long. Criminy, man, grow a spine! Keith deserves better.

Claire and Billy can't be a good thing.

I just want to smack Nate. But then, I usually do. I also want to smack Vanessa. She and Rico need to get to a counselor and work things out. They were the only stable people on the show!

So, which characters will die before the season is over? Will we go full circle and have Ruth bury another husband?

[Ellis Dee]

Did anybody catch the TV Guide article about the new season? Talk about unboxed spoilers! Luckily, unlike every other show, I don't mind being spoiled for this one, and it's similar to how I don't mind not having the backstory. My enjoyment is much more mood-driven than plot-driven.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention how, since I read that article, I already basically know what happens to everybody, so avoid it if you don't want spoilers.

[DMark]

Finally got around to seeing it.

Wasn't the wedding scene filmed at a church in Pasadena...All Saints if I remember correctly. At least the exterior shots of the church.

It certainly was a cheery episode. And what is it with Gay guys suddenly all wanting to adopt? Same thing is happening in Queer As Folk...I'm Gay and I can count on zero fingers the grand total of Gay couples I know who have adopted children. Is this some new trend I am missing?

It was nice to see that Brenda's mother finally came through and said something to cheer up her daughter...about how a lot of people had miscarried before having perfectly healthy children.

The only spoiler I know is that Kal Pennwho played Kumar in the film Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle has been signed to be a major character in this last season.