SIX FEET UNDER: FALLING INTO PLACE {FOURTH SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The fourth season premiere in this series about the Fisher clan, a loving -- if dysfunctional -- family struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy in the face of the stressful day-to-day operations of the eccentric family business, a funeral home in Los Angeles. In this episode, in 1972, Bruno Walsh leaps off a roof to his death while under the influence of LSD. In the present, Brenda cares for a battered and grief-stricken Nate, while back at home Claire complains about her brother's self-destructive behavior. Everyone in the house is embarrassed by Ruth and George's noisy wedding-night antics, after which Ruth tells him that she longs to meet his children, though he hints that he is not involved in their lives in the same way that she is with her kids. Nate and Brenda's night together turns physical, but he abruptly leaves in the morning and returns home, where he informs his shocked family that Lisa's body has been found, stating that she apparently drowned with no clear evidence of foul play. David offers to accompany Nate to Santa Barbara to collect her remains, and on the way there Nate admits that he never believed that their marriage would last and recalls her statement about her final wishes.
Joe arrives at Brenda's for another non-date, and David is repulsed by the coroner's tactless comments about the state of Lisa's remains. Lisa's friends and family, including her parents Peg and Ed, soon arrive for the services, and David bonds with Lisa's young niece Michaela. Elsewhere, Vanessa finally asks her sister to consider moving out, and Angelica reacts with resentment. David hides upstairs with Claire and they have a heart-to-heart about the challenges of relationships, and Nate argues with the Kimmels about Lisa's wishes, stating that she wanted to "return to the earth" and be buried directly in the ground without being embalmed. Her parents are disgusted by the idea, however, and demand that she be cremated and stored in the family mausoleum, and David attempts to keep the piece and find a "middle ground." Claire calls Russell and confides in him about her sister-in-law's death, and David tries to reason with an angry Nate, pointing out that Lisa's wishes are in fact illegal. Rico, feeling guilty about his encounter with Sophia, heads to confession, and when Brenda calls Nate, he tells her that she should not attend Lisa's funeral.
Barbara performs the eulogy, stating that her sister is still "everywhere," and her sons sing a song for their aunt. Dana and Todd express their sorrow about Maya's loss of her mother, and Claire thanks Russell for attending the service, but then blurts out the truth about her abortion. Russell is stunned, upset that she did not tell him and allow him to be there to comfort her. Shaken by Nate's profound loss, David and Keith decide that they do not want to lose one another despite their problems, and they ponder the idea of "starting over" and making positive changes in their relationship, deciding that they will quit therapy and that Keith will finally leave his hated job. Brenda and Joe continue spending time together, and Nate gives Lisa's parents the ashes as they depart the house and apologizes for the conflict. It is then revealed, however, that he actually gave them Bruno Walsh's long-unclaimed cremains, and he drives out to a remote field and singlehandedly buries Lisa's grisly remains in the ground before giving in to his despair.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: June 13, 2004 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:16
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:86522
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection; Drama; Comedy; Families
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001-2005
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Alan Ball … Executive Producer, Created by
- Robert Greenblatt … Executive Producer
- David Janollari … Executive Producer
- Alan Poul … Executive Producer
- Bruce Eric Kaplan … Executive Producer
- Scott Buck … Co-Executive Producer
- Rick Cleveland … Co-Executive Producer
- Jill Solloway … Supervising Producer
- Lori Jo Nemhauser … Producer
- Robert Del Valle … Producer
- Kate Robin … Producer
- Michael Carroll … Associate Producer
- Michael Cuesta … Director
- Craig Wright … Writer
- Richard Marvin … Music by
- Thomas Newman … Theme Music by
- Peter Krause … Cast, Nate Fisher
- Michael C. Hall … Cast, David Fisher
- Frances Conroy … Cast, Ruth Fisher
- Lauren Ambrose … Cast, Claire Fisher
- Freddy Rodriguez … Cast, Federico "Rico" Diaz
- Mathew St. Patrick … Cast, Keith Charles
- James Cromwell … Cast, George Sibley
- Rachel Griffiths … Cast, Brenda Chenowith
- Justin Theroux … Cast, Joe
- Ben Foster … Cast, Russell Corwin
- Justina Machado … Cast, Vanessa Diaz
- Lili Taylor … Cast, Lisa Kimmel Fisher
- Rainn Wilson … Cast, Arthur Martin
- Veronica Cartwright … Cast, Peg Kimmel
- Jonathan Tucker … Cast, Bruno
- Angela Goethals … Cast, Cindy
- Melissa Marsala … Cast, Angelica
- Andrew Prine … Cast, Ed Kimmel
- Julie Dretzin … Cast, Barb
- Jeff Yagher … Cast, Hoyt
- Myndy Crist … Cast, Dana
- Robert Cicchini … Cast, Todd
- Idalis de Leon … Cast, Sophia
- Steffani Brass … Cast, Michaela
- Tré Moyé … Cast, Crambone
- Michael Viens … Cast, Simon
- Matthew Viens … Cast, Shawn
- Giancarlo Rodriguez … Cast, Julio Diaz
- Robert Baker … Cast, Priest
- Shawn Michael Patrick … Cast, Coroner