If you watch "Six Feet Under," you are probably just as bummed as I am today. (to top it off, I'm listening to All Things Must Pass...yikes). Nate's death was sort of expected, I suppose, (from someone like Allan Ball who kills off Lester Burnham, etc. etc.) Death is in the air for me in my real life, too-- not just the tv I'm watching. This poem had a huge impact on me in 11th grade A.P. literature. Looking at it now, it's got Nate Fisher all over it.

Thanatopsis
by William Cullen Bryant

excerpt: Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed/ By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave/ Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/ About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

The full poem: http://www.msu.edu/~cloudsar/thanatop.htm

Grasping out, I went to hbo's web site and looked at the message board for the show for the first time. There were 21,001 replies to this particular posting. That's gotta be a few more than average, I'm guessing. It sums it up pretty well.

Re: About the Show Posted: 1 Aug 2005 09:03 AM Reply I would
just like to say that I have never in my life written in to a message board..... just not my thing. But after watching last night's episode, I felt compelled to do so.....This is the first show EVER that I have watched since DAY ONE (Claire free-basing coke just before she finds out her father is dead - awesome!!), and I have remained a loyal viewer ever since. This is the only show that has actually touched me and my life in some way. It has given me an opportunity to think about death, explore it, and even start to learn to accept it. It has opened up lines of communication with my husband in terms of our own deaths and our wishes, etc. It provides a very realistic view of death and reminds us of how fragile we all are.I am not a huge TV person, but this show has been a staple of my life since its birth. Every time a season ended, I waited for the new season anxiously. And I am just not that kind of person.....I am also embarassed to say that I CRIED MY EYES OUT when Nate died. Like a baby...... I couldn't believe it (though I knew it was coming) Smoking weed with his brother and dad was the perfect ending, too. Perfect. Peace. That's all it was about.
All I kept thinking was - those poor people, that poor family.... and to know
that things like this happen to families everywhere, every day. Peter Krause
should be nominated and win some award for this season! And the show itself deserves some more critical acclaim!! I would finally like to say that I will truly miss this show every Sunday night. It has been a part of my week for as long as it has been on. The writing and acting are brilliant, and I will be hard pressed to find another show worthy of my devotion. This has become my all-time favorite tv show. Thanks for a great run. It will be truly missed.