When the funeral director is killed in an accident, the family comes together to mourn and decide the fate of the funeral home.When the funeral director is killed in an accident, the family comes together to mourn and decide the fate of the funeral home.When the funeral director is killed in an accident, the family comes together to mourn and decide the fate of the funeral home.
Freddy Rodríguez
- Federico 'Rico' Diaz
- (as Freddy Rodriguez)
Dina Spybey-Waters
- Chatty Mourner
- (as Dina Waters)
Maximillian Kesmodel
- Young David
- (as Maximillian Orion Kesmodel)
Dennis Lau
- Morgue Attendant
- (as Dennis J. Lau)
Audrey Gelfund
- Crying Sicilian Mother
- (as Audrey Gelfand)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEric Balfour was only supposed to be introduced as "Claire's Meth Date" for the show's pilot, but the director found his chemistry so satisfying with Lauren Ambrose that his role was developed into the character Gabe Dimas. Similarly, Dina Spybey-Waters's and Gary Hershberger's roles were only listed as "Chatty Mourner" and "Kroehner Representative (though the latter was already identified by the name Matthew Gilardi in the episode).
- GoofsAt the cemetery, Brenda gives Nate her phone number, but she had already spoken to him on his cell phone which would have have identified her number.
- Quotes
Elderly Man: [in front of a casket] You did a real good job on her.
David: Well, we do our best.
Elderly Man: If there's any justice in the universe, she's shoveling shit in hell right now.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2002)
- SoundtracksL'amour Est Un Oiseau
by Georges Bizet
Featured review
A superb pilot episode that strikes a fine balance between drama and comedy, both of which revolve around the subject matter of death and mortality
Before I go any further, I must state two things. One, I have never before seen 'Six Feet Under' so the task of reviewing a pilot to a show that I have never been exposed to is difficult for me. And secondly, I have given this episode a distinguished star rating that I very rarely give to movies or TV shows/episodes and for this episode, a pilot, to earn it must say something about how much of an immediate impression the series has made with this one episode.
The opening credits is the viewer's first glimpse into this series and right here, I was glued to this show. The hypnotic, mildly dark and gloomy score combined with the elegant, stylized cinematography that invites the viewer into the world of the show completely spoke to me. By the end of the opening credits, I was invested into the series before a moment of 'actual' footage began. There's only one other pilot to a show that accomplished a similar feat for me personally and that was 'Twin Peaks'.
To combine such contrasting tones of humour and drama around the sensitive and deeply personal subject matter of death is a risky endeavour to put it simply and the end result could have very easily been a disaster. But because of realistic characters at the forefront as well as a restrained use of black comedy within the script, Alan Ball has created a wholesome work.
All the characters introduced here are simply fantastic and I mean no hyperbole. Among all, my favourites were Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall as brothers Nate and David Fischer respectively. There's immediately such high tension between the two characters that I cannot wait to see play out during the show and both Krause and Hall are simply magnificent here. I hope the quality level of their performances do not drop because they translate such wonderful humanity to the characters from script to screen.
The cinematography deserves another mention outside of simply the opening credits. This is a beautifully shot episode, superbly framed (many great uses of high angle shots and tight framing) and beautifully lit (whether it's having the camera bask in the warmth of the daylight or immersing the camera into gloomy scenarios) and the direction is equally fantastic. The cinematography serves the direction and the direction does a stellar job of bringing the material to life.
I absolutely adore this pilot episode. It's one I was hoping to enjoy but for it to have made such a high immediate impression was not something I was necessarily expecting. The world that is created here by Alan Ball is one that I find totally immersive once this first hour ends and the pacing within the hour is perfect. It's an episode that hits the nail on the head for both the drama and the comedy, an uneasy task and in doing so, creates such a uniquely engaging world. The characters all feel so sincere, credit to excellent writing and wonderfully honest lead performances. I cannot sing praises enough for this episode and am curious how it holds up in the context of 'Six Feet Under' as a whole.
Cannot recommend highly enough.
The opening credits is the viewer's first glimpse into this series and right here, I was glued to this show. The hypnotic, mildly dark and gloomy score combined with the elegant, stylized cinematography that invites the viewer into the world of the show completely spoke to me. By the end of the opening credits, I was invested into the series before a moment of 'actual' footage began. There's only one other pilot to a show that accomplished a similar feat for me personally and that was 'Twin Peaks'.
To combine such contrasting tones of humour and drama around the sensitive and deeply personal subject matter of death is a risky endeavour to put it simply and the end result could have very easily been a disaster. But because of realistic characters at the forefront as well as a restrained use of black comedy within the script, Alan Ball has created a wholesome work.
All the characters introduced here are simply fantastic and I mean no hyperbole. Among all, my favourites were Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall as brothers Nate and David Fischer respectively. There's immediately such high tension between the two characters that I cannot wait to see play out during the show and both Krause and Hall are simply magnificent here. I hope the quality level of their performances do not drop because they translate such wonderful humanity to the characters from script to screen.
The cinematography deserves another mention outside of simply the opening credits. This is a beautifully shot episode, superbly framed (many great uses of high angle shots and tight framing) and beautifully lit (whether it's having the camera bask in the warmth of the daylight or immersing the camera into gloomy scenarios) and the direction is equally fantastic. The cinematography serves the direction and the direction does a stellar job of bringing the material to life.
I absolutely adore this pilot episode. It's one I was hoping to enjoy but for it to have made such a high immediate impression was not something I was necessarily expecting. The world that is created here by Alan Ball is one that I find totally immersive once this first hour ends and the pacing within the hour is perfect. It's an episode that hits the nail on the head for both the drama and the comedy, an uneasy task and in doing so, creates such a uniquely engaging world. The characters all feel so sincere, credit to excellent writing and wonderfully honest lead performances. I cannot sing praises enough for this episode and am curious how it holds up in the context of 'Six Feet Under' as a whole.
Cannot recommend highly enough.
helpful•94
- SLionsCricketreviews
- Jan 26, 2018
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 3 minutes
- Color
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