In the annals of American television, Six Feet Under will always stand apart.
Certainly it will stand beside The Sopranos as an example of HBO's enormous impact on American TV drama at the turn of the 21st century. But while The Sopranos is a serious, sophisticated series for adults, it is a genre drama. It's a mob story made magnificent by the subtleties of the Tony Soprano character. It is a series noisy with male rage and full of sentimental flourishes.
In contrast, Six Feet Under is an atypical American drama. It stands alone. It is about family and personal fulfilment, but it is also and very obviously about death.
Six Feet Under (Sunday, TMN, Movie Central, 9 p.m.) ends forever this weekend. As a series finale, Sunday's episode is immensely smart and elegiac. It is a fitting conclusion to what has been a magnificent fifth season for the drama. The final three episodes stand with anything produced in Hollywood in the past few years as a statement about the contemporary American quest for happiness, stability and optimism.
The death of Nate Fisher, with two more episodes still to air, telegraphed the intention of creator Alan Ball to deal directly with what has been part of the series since its beginning -- the imminence of death and the effect of death on those who survive. (If you're still watching old episodes from previous seasons on some other channel, no apologies here. The death of a central character on a current TV series is news. It gets reported.) In the second-last episode, Nate's funeral was starkly moving. The sense of loss felt by his family was intense and utterly lacking in contrivance.
In the very last episode -- it does go about 15 minutes over an hour, by the way -- David Fisher (Michael C. Hall) is still traumatized by Nate's death. His grief frightens Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) and their adopted boys. Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is a self-destructive basket case. Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) shows signs of descending back into her own personal hell. Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy) sits and broods, immersed in unutterable grief.
What the Fisher family and its allies need are stability and rejuvenation. They need a new model for living and for living optimistically in peace. That happens by the end of the episode. As somebody leaves the Fisher Funeral Home, the Fisher family is seen standing on the porch, waving and smiling. This is what Six Feet Under is ultimately about -- the reconfiguration of the American family.
There is substance, wit and sensitivity in the final episode. There is even an unsubtle encapsulation of the confusion and anger that many Americans feel about the war in Iraq. Right at the end, there is a journey and, through it, all your theories about what might happen to the Fisher family are dealt with. The series goes out elegantly and with grace.
Also airing this weekend: The Tournament (tonight, CBC, 9 p.m.) is a welcome repeat on CBC's lockout schedule. It first aired in January and slowly gained a loyal following. Hilarious and dead-on Canadian entertainment, in the tradition of Trailer Park Boys, it's a mock-documentary about ordinary life in Canada. Because it's really about hockey, it features a bunch of crazy, annoying and absolutely recognizable types. The story, such as it is, is set in the small town of Briarside, Ont., home to the Farqueson Funeral Home Warriors, an Atom hockey team with some good kids, some bad kids and a bevy of bickering, crazy parents.
Family Plots (Sunday, A&E, 9 p.m.) is ideal if you're not watching the finale of Six Feet Under. Although sometimes classified as "reality TV," it's more your traditional fly-on-the-wall observation series. It's an observation of life and work inside an average American, family-run mortuary. And the contrast couldn't be greater. It is as funny as Six Feet Under is deeply serious. The producers found a bunch of people who are endlessly bickering and joking in the face of death.
Don't forget CTV is sensibly repeating Robson Arms (Sunday CTV, 10 p.m.), this summer's true gem. Sunday's two episodes feature Nick (Fred Ewanuick from Corner Gas) looking for love. First he seems to find it with 50-year-old neighbour Elaine (Margot Kidder) and then less successfully with neighbour Sault Ste. Marie (Alisen Down).
DOYLE'S QUICK PICKS
MONDAY
ENCHANTED SUMMERS
This sweet, nostalgic documentary is about the Muskoka region's romantic period, when it wasn't only wealthy Torontonians but the rich from all over North America who went to the area for its grand hotels and fine entertainment. There is much archival film footage and photographs, plus music from the 1920s when the Big Bands played the hotels. It's a reminder of what summer once meant for those who could afford to indulge themselves.
History Television, 9 p.m.
TUESDAY
HOUSE
There are two consecutive episodes of the series tonight -- a chance for people to catch up with the acerbic, utterly compelling Dr. House, played with aplomb by Hugh Laurie. He's mean-spirited, but only on the surface. He's a genius, but only with medical problems, not the people who bring them. In a hospital environment swarming with egos and icons, he's the alpha anti-hero.
Fox, Global, 8 and 9 p.m.