When muddling our way through those formative teen years we seem to latch on to some form of medium which we feel understands us, as no one else in the world has ever been through whatever type of angsty self reflection we might be going through. Whether it be having Radiohead on repeat, mourning Kurt Cobain even though you never heard of the man until he passed or Donnie Darko hitting a nerve some pieces of pop culture grow legs because of moody teens lamenting the various injustices enforced on their lives. I write with an acerbic tone I realise but God knows I went through it. TV and movies were where I went to - TV tastes were eccentric to say the least (and yes I know some of those reading would suggest they still are!), I spent late night Saturdays watching repeats of Moonlighting (the Brice Willis, Cybil Shepherd P.I. dramedy) and the original Avengers, spurned by some weird fascination with Diana Rigg turning up to kick the ass of some aristocratic bad guy. This affection for high kicking gals would progress to a still unfettered loyalty to Buffy.

Also ranking up high there in the ranks of shows was ‘Six Feet Under’ and I’ve spent a chunk of my evening watching clips of the show, reminding myself of its greatness, not even a wrinkle of ageing or irrelevance has appeared and I’ve found the clip that sold the show to me. Grateful I am. A show, its greatness whispered across the Atlantic to us, produced by HBO, it told the story of a LA set family run funeral home and various suporting characters, never took off here. As I recall it ws moved from a 9pm slot on RTE 2 to some hour when only those entertained by Oireachtas Report are still up. The show always stayed the right side of not trying too hard, being the type of show clearly categorised amongst the indie type, dysfunction up front, unpolished boho America where people from High School Musical would burst into flames. Death, sex and high drama were on costant supply - the show began each week with a death, one that would have varying degrees of impact on the plot of the episode to follow and its characters. The humour was treacle black, frequently waded into fantasy and the bizarre and had its characters often interact with the deceased characters as a means of smart exposition of their feelings. I’v chosen 4 clips, the first means a lot to me - Nate, the eldest brother, free spirit returned to help run the family business after his father’s death has a brain condition which can act instantly, killing him - in this conversation, he is aptly reminded he is in no more special a position that anyone else. The questions raised in the scene are atypical of those ‘life and stuff’ conversations. This scene and the progression to the end of the episode are great television.

This second clip is an example of the fantasy type aspect of the show. Claire, the youngest and only girl in the family, has been forced to take an office job, her aspirations of becoming an artist put on hold. She breaks into song here at the frustration of having to wear tights. Claire’s character provided some of the best humour but her scenes with her mother, played by Frances Conroy has to be some of the best drama committed to TV that I have seen.

This 3rd clip taps into more of the humour.

Finally, this scene, the final of the show has great power, and is a great reward for those invested in the show, it is a pitch perfect wrap up of the show. This clip means a lot to me and is a testament to he development of a great show over successive seasons.