SIX FEET UNDER: THE WILL (TV)
Summary
One 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, entrepreneur Chandler Swanson is killed in a diving accident, while elsewhere David leaves Keith's home in the morning, promising to attend an important meeting with him later on. Brenda practices shiatsu on Nate, and when the family meets up at home, Nate teases David about his mysterious "girlfriend." Adele, Chandler's widow, meets with David and admits that she is unsure about her husband's wishes, as they were newlyweds, and he recommends a pricey and elegant casket. Nathaniel's will is read, and everyone is shocked when the business is divided evenly between the two brothers, while Claire is frustrated to be "blackmailed" into attending college by a trust. Resentful that the long-absent Nate is now a half-owner of the funeral home, David instructs him to "start pulling his weight" by picking up a body at a nursing home.
At school, Gabe observes that Claire is "different now" and asks to spend more time with her. Matthew Gilardi visits Ruth and again makes his buyout offer, though she quickly dismisses him. Rico accompanies Nate to the nursing home and encounters his wife Vanessa, who asks him to pick up their son from school, and Nate assures him that he will handle the body by himself. Brenda then invites Nate to go on their first official date, however, and Nate leaves the corpse in the car as they converse about his "vulnerability" around her after his father's death. David is outraged to learn of Nate's irresponsible behavior and angers Ruth by mentioning her affair with the hairdresser, and Nate points out that David seem to hate the life to which he has dedicated himself. Gabe praises Claire's "guts" in being herself as their relationship deepens, and Ruth tells her sons that she is going on a "hike" with her secret lover, stating that they are all entitled to their private lives. David tells Nate that Chandler was in fact a con artist with a great deal of debt, and Nate is forced to tell Adele that she cannot afford the expensive coffin after all. When she panics at the idea of financial ruin, he assures her that she can "rent" the casket for the ceremony and then have her husband cremated.
Ruth talks with Hiram, her lover, and she ends their relationship, explaining that she has never truly been on her own since marrying young. Nate defends Adele when an angry man crashes the funeral and demands repayment from Chandler's scam, but David exasperatedly tells Nate that according to the law, caskets cannot be "loaned" and then reused. Jennifer, having heard of Nathaniel's death, arrives to pay her respects, and when Keith comes in search of David, he is surprised to learn that he is with his ex-fiancée. Ruth finds Adele trying to take Chandler's expensive watch to sell for money, furious at his deceptions, and David reacts with anger when Jennifer assures him that his father knew him well and wanted him to be happy. He arrives drunk at Keith's, but Keith turns him away, tired of his lies. Nate is alarmed to spot a "Nathaniel" tattoo on Brenda's back, though she tells him that it is not for him, and he experiences strange dreams about his brother. Nate then sells Chandler's secondhand coffin at a reduced price to a Mr. Suarez for his father, though Rico and David object to the "unsanitary" practice. Nate visits his father's grave and encounters Gilardi, who subtly threatens to "put things in motion" and put them out of business if they do not sell. Nate is disturbed by David's seemingly emotionless reaction when they retrieve the registration from the smashed hearse in which their father died, but Brenda then calls and summons them both to board the bus that killed Nathaniel as a means of catharsis, and David finds himself overcome with grief as he finally accepts that his father is gone.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: June 10, 2001 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:75150
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Comedy; Families; LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001-2005
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Greenblatt … Executive Producer
- David Janollari … Executive Producer
- Alan Ball … Executive Producer, Created by
- Alan Poul … Co-Executive Producer
- Christian Williams … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Bruce Eric Kaplan … Supervising Producer
- Christian Taylor … Producer
- Laurence Andries … Producer
- Lori Jo Nemhauser … Co-Producer
- Robert Del Valle … Co-Producer
- Miguel Arteta … Director
- 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 Diaz
- Mathew St. Patrick … Cast, Keith Charles
- Rachel Griffiths … Cast, Brenda Chenowith
- Ed Begley Jr. … Cast, Hiram Gunderson
- Richard Jenkins … Cast, Nathaniel Fisher
- Tracy Middendorf … Cast, Adele Swanson
- Missy Yager … Cast, Jennifer Mason
- Mark Devine … Cast, Chandler Swanson
- Eric Balfour … Cast, Gabe Dimas
- Garrison Herschberger … Cast, Matthew Gilardi
- Justina Machado … Cast, Vanessa Diaz
- Daniel Zacapa … Cast, Mr. Suarez Jr.
- Maximillian Orion Kesmodel … Cast, Young David
- Richard Penn … Cast, Attorney
- Melissa Egan … Cast, Debbie
- Chip O'Neil … Cast, Ronnie
- Van Epperson … Cast, Angry Man