We start the countdown of my all-time
favorite TV themes with #10. Six Feet Under originally aired in the US in 2001
and went off the air in 2005 after 5 celebrated seasons. It received multiple
nominations and wins at the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the SAG awards, as
well as many others. More than that, it established the prestige character
drama with dark comedy overtones and fascinating visuals that would inform all
great TV since then, from Mad Men to Breaking Bad.
The cast included familiar faces, who
would through this show become household names and have illustrious careers.
The creator of the series was gay man Alan Ball, who had already won a best
screenplay Oscar for American Beauty. Central to the plot was the gay couple
consisting of David Fisher (Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame) and Keith Charles
(Mathew St. Patrick). Their relationship evolves organically, from David being
closeted to the two of them eventually getting married. David has a harrowing
encounter with an apparently stranded motorist who turn out to be a very dangerous
person, which left him suffering from severe PTSD in the best episode
of the series, That's My Dog.
The theme was written by Thomas Newman,
son of 9-time Oscar winner, composer Alfred Newman and cousin to the great
Randy Newman. Thomas himself has been Oscar nominated 13 times, for classic
films such as Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Road To Perdition, Finding
Nemo, WALL-E and Skyfall.
Here it is:
This was the only youtube video that I was
allowed to embed. If you want the full thing, with the actual title sequence,
go to this link:
Now, to the statistics: this week has been
thematically different than the others, being Eurovision week. Are there
changes in this blog's geography? Yes, there are. Three new countries appear in
this week's Top 10. There is no change in the top two, it's always the US and
Greece. But then, at #3 with a strong presence, come the Netherlands. Welcome
to the Top 10 and at such a high place too! Germany is at #4 and Cyprus (who
has made a powerful return) and Russia (who is still going very strong) tie at
#5. France, which has had a good week, is at #7. Italy, which is another
newcomer to the Top 10 (welcome!), is at #8. the UK, which after a few days of
absence returned in style, is at #9 and Top 10 newcomer Romania (welcome!) is
at #10. Underneath the Top 10, there are countries like Australia, Azerbaijan,
Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Malta, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and
Vietnam. Happy to see you, everybody!
As for the all-time Top 10, the United
States and Greece are unassailable at Nos 1 & 2 respectively. Germany have
solidified themselves at #3. Russia, a big mover for many weeks now, has
reached Ireland: they both tie at #4. The UK has returned to #6, while Canada,
which has been inactive this week, remains at #7. France is moving at a good
pace and retains the 8th position and Cyprus, which had a good week, has
overtaken Spain and rests at #9, while Spain now occupies #10.
You thought I would leave you without my
random Sunday song choice? Oh no! Here is Mad Lydia's Waltz by the Earth Opera,
a jewel of a song from 1969:
I watched SFU throughout it's run, loved it at times, found it maddening more often than not. But I will say those last 5 minutes of the finale remain some of the most affecting in television history and I still cry when old David sees dead Keith right before he dies. And it introduced the world to Sia and the gorgeous Breathe Me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, RM, the last minutes of the finale really managed to make us teary-eyed, but in an uplifting way. Great ending! Also, excellent music choices throughout the series.
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