six feet under

Six Feet Under is an hour long drama that was on HBO for five seasons. It was created and executive produced by Alan Ball, who some might recognize as the writer of American Beauty.
okay, so i realize that this show has been off the air for about 2 years, but when it was on I didn't really get it. And then recently I rushed through the entire show in about a month, and i'm not the kind of person to do that but it's just that flippin good.
The show has basically the greatest writing staff ever assembled. A former presidential speech writer, the writer/creator of Dexter, the writer/creator of Dirty Sexy Money, the Writer/Director of In Treatment, the writer of Lars and the Real Girl, and then the aforementioned Ball were the predominant writers on this show, and I don't think that any other show has ever seen it's writers go on to such success, but it's obvious why, becuase this show is movie quality every episode.
The show focuses on a family that run a funeral home, who are united when their father dies. Every episode begins with a death a sort of epilogue, and then the rest of the show details the funeral plans and the interaction with the families, and though this premise might sound like it would get old, it doesn't.
Never has a show provoked so much thought in me as this one did, or effected me as strongly as Six Feet Under does. I highly recommend to anyone who likes to watch TV on DVD to head out and rent the first few episodes of this show.