Product Description

There's a new pecking order at the Fisher & Diaz funeral home but Nate Ruth David and Claire still try to make every day above ground a good one. Death and dysfunction are par for the course in The Complete Fourth Season of Six Feet Under.Running Time: 780 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 026359238420 Manufacturer No: 92384

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5669 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-08-23
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: .95 pounds
• Running time: 720 minutes

Amazon.com
This penultimate season of Six Feet Under continues further down the darkly disturbing path so evident in the third season. To be sure, the signature--and ultimately undefinable--blend of tragic mishap with tripped-out comic eccentricity that has stamped the series from its debut remains pervasive. It's the concentration of the mix that has changed. Leavening moments seem less organic, much as the bizarre death sequences that open each episode often turn out to be rather contrived preludes to the ensuing thematic obsessions. Which isn't to say season 4 lacks the delightfully memorable quirkiness fans have grown to expect. Recurring incidents of fecal revenge bring tensions to the surface between Ruth (Frances Conroy) and her new husband George (James Cromwell), in turn leading to young intern Arthur's resignation (Rainn Wilson's spot-on characterization is so enjoyable that his self-imposed exile from the Fisher nest early in the season is a real loss). Ruth meanwhile hooks up again briefly with the irrepressible Bettina (Kathy Bates) for an excursion south of the border.

But brooding glimpses into chaos beneath the surface provide the emotional momentum of this season, right from the opening scene, as Nate (Peter Krause) inevitably gravitates back toward Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) in the aftermath of his wife's death. As usual, writers and directors vary for each episode, but the dark eccentricities of creator Alan Ball's original characters have become more sharply focused and sustained. We seem to spend even more time viewing the world through individual points of view: Nate's roiling anger and grief or Claire's (Lauren Ambrose) newfound sexual and artistic experimentation as she learns about "grinding the corn" and attains respect as a photographer. The toxicity of relationships continues to be a preoccupation. We get the Ruth-George meltdown as well as the painful unraveling of Rico's (Freddy Rodriguez) marriage to Vanessa (Justina Machado). But the most harrowing episode follows David (Michael C. Hall) through an increasingly perilous carjacking. This nightmarish fugue, midway through, ripples out into the rest of the season, posing another threat to his tenuous relationship with Keith (Matthew St. Patrick). It sets a course for further apocalyptic imagery of environmental collapse and fallout shelters. There's little to gentle the downward slide and exposure of vulnerability, save taking refuge in the quirkiness that seems to be the Fishers' birthright. But that, as they say, is to die for. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews

Great series
I never can get around to watching these when they're on and usually catch them in syndication. Loved this enough to buy the whole series.

Good continuation of a variety of story arcs
The fourth season of this series shows the writers' and producers' attention to various story arcs: Claire and her ongoing conflicts with other artists and art teachers; the reappearances of Brenda and Billy; the long and painful fallout after Lisa's death; the difficulties with George Sibley and his offspring; Rico's and Vanessa's crumbling marriage; and, most harrowingly, David's night of torment and near-death at the hands of a psychotic carjacker.

That's what made this season particularly rich and detailed; it plumbs the depth and complexity of the characters' lives and comes back to various storylines so as not to leave the viewers with loose ends.

I'd rate it, if I ever get the package sent to me.
I like the series, but I never got this season in. Can you please send it to me???