jkingfish

The obvious theme of the episode was the feminine partener [not woman because David, and even Rico if you think about it, would fill that role] in each relationship taking control in their own way and making their voice known. The counter to this was the masculine partner showing their giving nature in their own unique ways. Nate became receptive sexually, Keith showed his aggressively, Vanessa gave in to her need for help, Claire's boyfriend, Russell, responded meekly [and I think there was more there than we see], Arthur... well, Arthur, responded in his own special way, but each one gave where they usually were hesitant to do so and in each case it was a reflection of themselves that pushed the feminine partner to take that step, although an unlikely and unexpected reflection.

grunter

Apparently my cable's beamed in from the bizarro-dimension, since all evening, all I could keep commenting on was the fact that "Six Feet Under" had slipped into sub-"Picket Fences" wackiness-for-wackiness'-sake.

Ruth and Andrew's "moo-cow" mating dances and Keith and David's slapstick paintball competition (why on earth do television writers seem to think paintball is some grand cultural phenomenon that every major character in every major television show should engage in?) were again taken directly from the screechy "Malcolm in the Middle" handbook. Both storylines strained the credibility of the show, pretty much beyond the breaking point.

This is no longer a cutting edge drama about the awkward moments in the lives of real people. It's now devolved into a low-brow "dramedy," worthy of David Kelley and his ilk, utterly in love with its own forced whimsy.

Miraculously enough, the episode of "Queer as Folk" that followed on Showtime demonstrated a marked improvement over the silliness that was last season. The "Star Trek" predictability was blunted a bit, the cartoony-ness softened.

I suppose my reactions could be attributed to the fact that I expect so much out of "Six Feet Under" and so little from "QAF." When "Six Feet Under" misses the mark, it hurts all the more. But when "QAF" shows even a minor amount of effort, its miles above the wish-fullfillment, pornographic-lite tripe that was broadcast last season.

jkingfish

Wow, I couldn't disagree more. Perhaps my own personal life has devolved into a low-brow "dramedy" but everything they have done this season, down to the wacky yet metaphorical paintball game, has completely hit homw in a VERY realistic way. I mean, I see where you are coming from, but, in this instance, I have to disagree. Me and my wife sit from week to week chucklling and slightly emberrassed because what we are watching is SO similar to our real lives in many ways. For me, when you can paint such a broad vision of real life complexities in under an hour each week you are doing your job pretty darn well.

Daytripper

With all due respect (if I had a choice) I would rather have nine inch nails shoved in my eye sockets rather than having to watch "QAF". That is such a terrible terrible show (IMO). But that's just me Seriously, I have never seen a remake of a show or movie that failed so miserably at capturing what made the original so good.

jpcamb

So you never watched the My Big fat greek life I take it.

I thought the paintball part was a bit too over the top, beleivable for Keith and maybe David in an effort to please Keith, but the other two charactures (David's friends) I can't see doing it.

The only thing that reedemed itself about those scenes was how after the high drama of David taking one for the team, the Ref blows the whistle and says next game ten minutes showing how insignificant that little drama really was.

One of the best episodes. As far as the earlier comment on
Nate accepting Lisa sexually I think it had more to do with Lisa no longer being threatend by Brenda after meeting her and hearing her say she's happy with her life as it is at the moment indicating she isn't looking to steal Nate.

DumDum

David said something like :"We can smell it on each other."

I'm not sure if he's gay or not, but obviously something happened between him and Olivier.

rfduncan

Episode 34: Tears, Bones and Desire

Daytripper, please update title of the the episodes (when you learn their names) if you start the threat.

The Arthur/Ruth encounter at the end seemed like what cats do more than anything else. I certainly wouldn't describe it as a "'moo-cow' mating dance", gunter.

The paintball thing was very valid. I mean it is tit for tat - Keith making David do something that was appealing to Keith AND the opposite of the "leading ladies" brunch. I think David's friends tagging along was funny to Keith because he KNEW they were going to be no crutch to help David get through the experience (just like Keith was left on his own at the brunch). The overall amusing appearance of Sarge was that BOTH the guys were interested in him - remember David wanted to make sure he had enough blankets?

das Monkey

• Quoth rfduncan •<HR SIZE=1>Episode 34: Tears, Bones and Desire

Daytripper, please update title of the the episodes (when you learn their names) if you start the threat.<HR SIZE=1>

[Hijack] This is one of those things that bothers me but I've been silent about. I don't mind the episode title in the first post, but some shows have VERY spoilerific episode names. Putting it in the actual thread subject forces it on people who avoid threads until after they've seen the show. 95% of the time it doesn't matter, but when it does, it sucks. Just something to keep in mind. [/Hijack]

das

rfduncan

Then put it in SPOILER tags! YEESH!

I, for one, have never found the show titles "spoilerific" with Six Feet under, The Sopranos or Sex and the City. Besides I asked him to UPDATE the thread (not the subject heading) later so people coming into it should have already seen the episode.

das Monkey

• Quoth rfduncan •<HR SIZE=1>Then put it in SPOILER tags! YEESH!<HR SIZE=1>

Please reread my post before overreacting.

das

Jadzia

Dave and his two gay friends playing paintball-- the three of them reminded me of the "Nerd Trio" from Buffy.

das Monkey

• Quoth Jadzia •<HR SIZE=1>Dave and his two gay friends playing paintball-- the three of them reminded me of the "Nerd Trio" from Buffy.

<HR SIZE=1>

The only thing that bothered me about this (and it's certainly not a big deal, just an annoyance) was how they kept removing their goggles/headgear. Having played paintball quite a few times, there are two pretty solid facts: no paintball course would EVER allow you to do that and anyone who does it is an idiot or psycho. I had to resist the fatherly urge to shout at the screen, "put your goggles on ... you'll lose an eye!!!"

das

Daytripper

Sorry for sounding stupid, I guess I don't understand, but how many people are going to identify the episode by the title? I certainly can never remember it. And how does this help? Again, not trying to be smart. But I don't really see what difference it would make.

das Monkey

• Quoth Daytripper •<HR SIZE=1>Sorry for sounding stupid, I guess I don't understand, but how many people are going to identify the episode by the title? I certainly can never remember it. And how does this help? Again, not trying to be smart. But I don't really see what difference it would make. <HR SIZE=1>

I can't speak for the majority, but I identify pretty much every episode of a show I like by its title ... when thinking about it after I've seen it. When looking to the future, I think of it by date or episode number. For example, I think of the upcoming Buffy as "the one that airs on 4/29" but I think of the last episode to air as 'Dirty Girls'. Once I've seen it, I attach the name to it in my mind and remember it as such. I don't know if one way makes a difference or not, but as the episodes pile up in our memory, I think it's a lot easier to remember them by title than the date they first aired or "the one where blah-blah happened."*

das

* This is not intended as a slam on Friends, but if you'd like to take it that way, I'm not going to complain.

rfduncan

LOL! I was thinking the EXACT same think. I especially laughed aloud when they had that shot of Keith lifting up is mask, surveying everything pensively and then putting his mask down again. I then realized that all dialogue and facial expressions/reactions would be severly limited if they didn't raise their visors. They should have had one of the refs screaming "goggles ON!" each time a mask was up.

Daytripper

O.K. Kind of makes sense now. But how long are people really going to be talking about a specific episode after it aired? Save for "American Idol" and the continuous goofing on them (and it) Anyway, I guess either way if I (personally) see a thread title weeks from now, and it's says "4/16" or the actual title of the show, I'm probably not going to remember either way until I open the thread and read it. But I'll make an effort to jot down the title of the specific episode and put it ONLY on the first page of my post. And not the subject line.