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THE MOVIE
Those of us who have given commercial, free to air television the big flick, are pleased that the wait period between a TV series going to air and its release on DVD is decreasing. Those with high-speed broadband are even able to (illegally) download episodes long before they even get to television, but for those of us that can’t stomach our favourite shows hacked up, water-marked and over-layed with advertising to the point of frustration, the DVD box set is still the perfect answer.
America’s most dysfunctional family continue their rocky path to wherever it is we all end up (and being set in a funeral home , the Fishers of Los Angeles know where we all end better than most) but not before enduring some of the most destructive and event filled lives on screen. Like most dramas, there are extremes, but knowing that this one comes from HBO is of great comfort.
At the end of Season Three, Ruth and George married, Lisa was officially listed as missing, Brenda was her loopy self, Federico was getting jiggy with a nightclub ‘dancer’, David and Keith were in another of their ‘on-again, off-again” phases, Nate was suicidal over the missing Lisa and Claire was still searching for the answers to life’s big questions. It’s never been happy families at Fisher and Diaz Funeral Home.
Season Four continues where Season Three left off, naturally, but many of the cliff-hangers are quickly resolved to make way for new ones over twelve erpisodes. Sorry, you won’t get any spoilers from moi. All I will confirm is that the roller coaster ride continues for all, the acting is as brilliant as always, Kathy Bates makes a welcome return as Ruth’s friend, Bettina, Mena “American Beauty” Suvari does a stint playing a somewhat unexpected love interest , the scripts continue to be tight and everything is of the quality that you might have come to expect of both Six Feet Under and HBO in general.
Death and mortality may be the overriding themes of Six Feet Under, but there is so much more to this excellent series. If you haven’t managed to catch it yet, then you owe it to yourself to start from the beginning. Those who have been keeping up, Season Four is on the shelf. As for Season Five, the final series, well that’s anyone’s guess. I just hope the DVD set becomes available before a certain commercial channel (rhymes with benign) decides to honour us with it on our screens (or have they already screened it – who knows?).
THE TRANSFER
Video:
It’s all good news folks. The 16:9 enhanced 1.75:1 aspect ratio is spectacular. The image is a crisp and as clear as you could hope for. There is a film-like look to much of the series, with a nice mix of light and dark to match the mood of the show. All colours and black levels are glorious, solid and natural, and there are no artifacts, no distractions and no nasties.
There is some arty use of colour palettes and some ‘swooshy’ drug-related sequences, but as these are deliberate, they are very effective when placed against the sharpness of the other sequences.
Audio:
Again, it’s all good news. Crisp, clear, loud, audible and rich – what more could you want? The Dolby Digital 5.1 is mostly subtle, with the rear speakers used mostly for ambience. All dialogue is thoughtfully placed across the front speakers and will not cause any problems. As usual, there are snippets of popular music used throughout the series which is a nice touch. There is a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that matches the quality of the 5.1 minus the occasional use of the rear speakers.
THE EXTRAS
Unlike many TV show box sets, this one has quite a few extras that are bound to entice a few more punters than a series ordinarily might. There are seven episodes that come with a solo commentary though none are from cast members. They are provided by either a director or writer of the particular episode and while some of each is interesting, sitting through all seven is quite a chore due not only to some repetition from the commentators but because of the dryness of the delivery. Most are little more than descriptive with insight into why certain scenes are filmed the way they are or why a particular character does what s/he does.
Moving right along, folks. Cut by Cut is a twenty minute look at the editing process of a show such as Six Feet Under. Crew resolve the many quandaries that constitute the editing process from framing to cutting and pasting.
Costas Plus spends a little over fifteen minutes with the Fishers as interviewed out of character by Bob Costas. This would appear to be a DVD specific effort as it was funded and organized by HBO itself. Brief, but nice.
There is some Bonus Music by way of a dance remix of the opening theme tune and a track listing for the ‘Six Feet Under: Everything Ends’ soundtrack.
Lastly, there are three or so minutes of deleted scenes which seem a bit pointless in isolation.
SUMMARY
There is no need for me to bleat on any longer about this much-loved quality show. The run is now over after five seasons, but what a fun ride. For the newbies, get yourself the first three seasons to catch up and then grab Season Four as reviewed here. By then you’ll be just about ready for Season Five |
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