Lucid
The Freeman
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 14,879
- Reaction score
- 38
"Every day above ground, is a good one."
To start off, I'm a huge fan of the show who has recently finished the entire series. And because I loved it so ****ing much, I'll make a thread for it.
Synopsis (Wiki'd)
The show stars Peter Krause as Nathaniel Samuel "Nate" Fisher Jr., the son of a funeral director who, upon the death of his father (Richard Jenkins), reluctantly becomes a partner in the family funeral business with his brother David (Michael C. Hall). The Fisher clan also includes widow Ruth (Frances Conroy) and daughter Claire (Lauren Ambrose). Other regulars include mortician and family friend Federico Diaz (Freddy Rodriguez), Nate's on-again, off-again girlfriend Brenda Chenowith (Rachel Griffiths), and David's long-term boyfriend Keith Charles (Mathew St. Patrick).
On one level, the show is a conventional family drama, dealing with such issues as interpersonal relationships, infidelity, and religion. At the same time, it is a show distinguished by its unblinking focus on the topic of death, which it explores on multiple levels (personal, religious, and philosophical). Each episode begins with a death – anything from drowning or heart attack to sudden infant death syndrome – and that death usually sets the tone for each episode, allowing the characters to reflect on their current fortunes and misfortunes in a way that is illuminated by the death and its aftermath. The show also has a strong dosage of dark humor and surrealism running throughout.
A recurring plot device consists of a character having an imaginary conversation with the deceased; for example, Nate, David, and Federico sometimes "converse" with the person who died at the beginning of the episode, while they are being embalmed or planning or during the funeral. Sometimes, the conversation is with other recurring deceased characters, most notably Nathaniel Fisher Sr. The show's creator Alan Ball states they represent the living character's internal dialogue by exposing it as an external conversation.
The Characters
Main Characters and Backgrounds
Nate Fisher
Nate is a part of the Fisher family. When he was younger, he traveled to Seattle as a refuge from the family business, avoiding to be sucked into it. He comes back in the first episode and meets Brenda at the airport. The story is a based a lot on him and his several struggles.
David Fisher
David, unlike Nate, had stayed with the family and became a mortician and helped in the family business. To make things more interesting, he's actually a gay mortician. The show focuses on his struggles with him and his boyfriend Keith and a few aspects of being gay.
Claire Fisher
Claire is a troubled young adult, who is pretty wild. She always finds herself in bad situations. A lot of people like Claire because she is loving, and dramatic. Her struggles are very interesting and she does a lot of human things we can all relate with.
Ruth Fisher
Ruth loses her husband Nathaniel Sr in the first episode, which isn't much of a spoiler because it happens in the Pilot. She goes through stages of grief, and throughout the series she meets a few guys, and it focuses on her loneliness and troubles. She's a lovable and interested character.
Brenda Chenowith
Brenda is pretty much a main character. She is very intelligent and adds a dark realist point of perspective to the show. She's troubled and deals with her psycho-brother Billy and her shrink parents. I personally love her character, and she's a very nice dynamic to the show.
George Sibley
George comes in at the very end of Season 3. He becomes a pretty major character from then on. Without spoiling anything, he's troubled and has had prior marriages which all went downhill. He's fascinated by science and likes rocks.
Why I think you should watch this show
The main theme of the show is death, and dealing with it. Every episode, and yes, every single one, someone dies in the beginning minute or so. Some of the deaths are humorous, and some are disgusting, and some may be of side characters. This show is a risky show for television, because it's such a slow, dark drama that looks at life in the realist sense possible. The show covers several topics that are relative to life as we know it. This show is downright depressing. I cried so much throughout the show. And the acting is brilliance. You develop a attachment to all the characters. And you weep as you watch every single one crash. The season 5 finale is purely brilliant, and by far, the best finale of all shows. It puts life at a perspective, and makes you appreciate what you have. I love this show, because the tone of it is so melancholy and depressing, with some perks of loving characters and morbid humor.
I am so sad that I finished the show. I loved it. It made me cry so many god damn times.
And the finale is quite possibly the best finale to any television show that I have ever seen.
I honestly can't recommend this enough.
