Six Feet Under: Complete Seasons 1 - 5 Box Set (24 Discs)

This is just astonishing in every way.

From the achingly beautiful title sequence which sets a mood that drips class over each episode to follow, Six Feet Under is a marvel that stands out like a diamond in crud compared to most other TV shows.

Each minute is important, each scene is integral, and each episode is a masterpiece.

Not a single established character is without merit, and not a single performance is less than glorious - Rachel Griffiths, Frances Conroy, Patricia Clarkson, Lauren Ambrose and Michael C. Hall especially.

It may be unfair to single out certain performances just because that may create the illusion that other performances deserve less praise, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

This is a show that explores the meaning of life both confidently and desperately in equal measure; never once demanding it's audience of anything, and never once asking too much of them.

Instead, it lets the audience ask all the questions. And, it doesn't feel too obliged to answer them all either - never once hitting any messages home too hard.

Alan Ball uses the characters to enjoy it's moral freedom and ambiguity with so much dignity that you look forward to a character doing something despicable just so you can question why they are so loveable, and so easy to relate to.

It's not only that you question. At times this show hits you so hard you question your life until it hurts. At times it creeps up on you unawares and you don't even realise you're thinking about it until the tears are dripping off your chin.

By the time the last scene wraps up you will grieve these characters and the time you have spent with them as if they are your nearest and dearest (or maybe I have just read into it way too much). Even now, almost three years later, I sometimes think - while in a similar state as to what she is in during season two - 'I miss Brenda'...

This show will change your life if it hasn't already.

I did not know anything about this show other than the fact that it was created by the genius Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty) and starred Michael C Hall (I had already seen Dexter and thought he was superb in that). Suffice to say, I didn't really expect it to live up to their previous works. But guess what. It did. And then some. Six Feet Under is one of the most superbly written, brilliantly acted, superlative inspiring TV show I have ever seen.

The series starts with the death of Nathaniel Fisher Snr, head of Fisher and Sons funeral home. This fatality sees the business being passed onto David and Nate, his two sons. As they, along with their mother Ruth and sister Claire, try to cope with their loss, they must also try and stay in control of their own complicated personal lives.

There is not a single weak series in this boxset. The show grows and grows and whilst it may take a little while to adjust between some of the seasons, the overall quality doesn't dip.

The show is a multi Emmy winner, and has also won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series (with both Frances Conroy (Ruth) and Rachel Griffiths (Brenda) picking up Golden Globes for their parts).

There is strong language, but it never feels forced, and whilst there are fairly explicit sex scenes, there is never any unnecessary nudity.

This is a show which deals with such emotive issues as sexuality, relationships, religion and above all, death, yet you don't feel like you are being preached at; rather the messages are conveyed through both wonderfully original dream sequences and the terrific script.

It may sound like an almost faultless show. And, to be honest, it is. I could not think of much higher praise than to say that to miss a show this good would to be boardering on the criminally insane.

And oh yeah. The final episode, Everybody's Waiting, is probably the best ending to a show ever.

This series is guaranteed to change the way that you look at life. It has everything - comedy, drama, action, suspense, thrills...

Opening every episode with a death may not appeal to all television fans, but this series is worth a go. I can personally guarantee that you will not be left disappointed.

A typical family is thrown into turmoil when the father of the house, and leader of the family funeral home, is killed in a car crash. The remaining family members need to regroup, and fast, to keep the business on its feet. With bids from rival companies coming in thick and fast, and more and more dead bodies being sent for treatment, the story focuses on Ruth, Claire, Nate, and David Fisher.

It may be hard to understand how a TV show can change your life, but this one will...and for the better!

This is one of my favourite TV shows of all time, I followed the series on TV and now I have this DVD boxset which is a great purchase if you are a fan of the show. It really won't come as a surprise that this show came from the same writer as American Beauty, both are incredible. Alan Ball's HBO series about a dysfunctional Pasadena family who run an independent funeral home was a wonderful meditation on life, love and grief. Headed up by Peter Krause as the prodigal elder son Nate Fisher and featuring Michael C Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose and Rachel Griffiths, the cast, like every facet of this compelling production, oozed class.

My favourite episode is 'It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year' which is episode 8 in series 2. This is a really funny and emotional episode.

It is just such a shame that the series couldn't have continued a little bit longer but these 5 series should keep you occupied for quite some time.

Created by Oscar winner Alan Ball of American Beauty fame Six Feet Under may never have received the same level of attention as other HBO series but it certainly comes very close in terms of quality.

Telling the darkly comic, yet often dramatic, story of Fisher and Sons funeral home each episode started with a death. On occasions this death played a part in the episodes story but they were always able to grab the viewers attention from the very start. Six Feet Under never held back in terms of adult content but throughout its five seasons every character was really allowed to develop and it was only on rare occasions that the series took even a slight misstep in its storytelling.

From start to fantastic finale Six Feet Under was a joy to watch.