Actually we're pretty normal

'Six Feet Under' - originally broadcast on theAmerican cable channel HBO from 2001 to 2005 - is a widely acclaimed awardwinning family saga. Taking as its starting point the sudden deathof funeral home owner Nathaniel Fisher the show explores the widerfamily's reaction to the bereavement - and how they continue to copewith running the business and their daily lives. This study focuses onthe first three seasons of the drama and concentrates on three mainthematic areas: different ways of dealing with grief and how Nate's'open' attitude to grieving triumphs; David's struggle with hissexuality and Brenda's descent into sexual addiction; and Nate's deludedmarriage to Lisa as well as other relationships in the show. What dothese issues have to say about this particular family? What do they sayabout wider American society? And what do they tell us aboutcontemporary television drama and popular culture?