By Peter Hummers on January 31, 2020
WHAT TO WATCH ON TV: Alan Balls Six Feet Under and Trueblood, and Netflixs Dracula, from the creators of Sherlock
Writer/director Alan Balls 1999 film American Beauty, about the psychic liberation of a suburban dad, won five Academy Awards and laid out Balls abiding concerns: Life, and explicitly, death, with a healthy helping of how society deals with the other (Ball is gay). He used these themes to great success, in his 2001 TV series Six Feet Under, a sometimes comedic drama about a dysfunctional family that owns a funeral home, and his 2008 series Trueblood, in which societys psychic monsters are given flesh and blood. And in 2020, the writers of Sherlock brought their remarkable storytelling powers to a deconstruction of Bram Stokers Dracula on Netflix.
SIX FEET UNDER (Amazon Prime, on demand from several other services)
Six Feet Under premiered on HBO in 2001 and went on to win numerous awards, including nine Emmys, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globes.
Nathaniel Fisher (Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water) is killed on Christmas Eve in a traffic accident coming home from an auto dealership in a new hearse for his funeral home. Reaching for a pack of cigarettes, he runs a light and is hit by a bus, which pretty much sets the tone for the entire series. Closeted gay son David (Michael C. Hall, Dexter) is set to inherit Fisher and Sons, but his brother Nate (Peter Krause, 9-1-1) has already fled the family for a health-food co-op in Seattle.
Nate, on his way home for the holidays, first meets his apparent soul-mate Brenda Chenowith (Rachel Griffiths, When We Rise) in the airport for a random, casual fling, in one of the ironies that fill the series, and is talked into staying in Los Angeles to help out with the funeral home.
David and Nates younger sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files reboot) is in high school, and in the absence of her father, begins to act out. Alan Ball has said of his shows concerns, Who are these people that we hire to face death for us? What does that do to their own lives to grow up in a home where there are dead bodies in the basement? What does that do to you?(1)
Six Feet Under refers not only to being buried as a dead body is buried, but [also] to primal emotions and feelings running under the surface. When one is surrounded by death, there needs to be a certain intensity of experience, of needing to escape.(2)
Most episodes begin with the death of a future dearly departed who sometimes become the focus of the episode, and sometimes a footnote. The audience is often teased here: in one episode, a high-rise construction worker slips and almost plunges to his death. He saves himself, but his lunchbox is knocked from its perch and kills a pedestrian. Often the dead seem to come to life in the funerary workroom, the corpse providing one side of a characters internal dialogue. This device is extended with the death in the final season of a major character, but then the line between internal dialogue and spiritual visitation is blurred.
The five-season series is a dramatic, comedic and emotional experience; the series finale is always included in critics lists of best-ever finales. Here is a trailer. [TV14]
(1) Ball, Alan. Six Feet Under: The Complete Series In Memoriam featurette (DVD). HBO Home Video.
(2) Ball, Alan (writer/director). Six Feet Under: The Complete Fifth Season Everyones Waiting audio commentary (DVD). HBO Home Video.
TRUEBLOOD (Amazon Prime, on demand from several other services)
Alan Balls 2008-2014 series is his followup to Six Feet Under, but here, psychological monsters are given flesh: Vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters and telepaths are a normal occurrence. Its set in a backwoods Louisiana town; the premise is that Japanese scientists have invented a viable artificial blood (TruBlood) for medical use, which also allows vampires to come out of the coffin and live openly in society (after dark, of course), as they are able to use it for sustenance.
Its an entertaining, melodramatic soap opera of the netherworld. Characters include a telepathic waitress and the handsome vampire whom shes seeing, to the consternation of her friends (a local church displays the sign God Hates Fangs); her boss, a closeted shapeshifter haunted by his past; a local gang of biker/werewolves; and local and regional vampire nests, which are self-governed by sheriffs, magisters and royalty. Questions of forbidden love, prejudice, and the other (and I do mean the other!) are mixed in with typical vampire horror: some die-hard vampires hate the artificial blood and continue to surreptitiously hunt humans; also, the vampires own blood becomes sought after for its aphrodisiacal effects. Its a lot of fun and full of food for thought. Heres a trailer. [TVMA]
DRACULA (Netflix)
The creators of Sherlock, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, have now done to Bram Stoker what they did to his friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: taken his most beloved creation and expanded it by following existing threads and adding insights of their own. As a fairly strict adherent to Conan Doyles canon, I found Sherlock to be the only modern take on it that I liked. The same goes for Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula.
The first of the three 90-minute episodes hews closely to the novel, certainly closer than Tod Brownings great 1931 movie, with the exception being that the Counts nemesis is a nun, Sister Agatha van Helsing (Dolly Wells, Bridget Jones Diary), who interviews Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan, Foyless War), who has escaped the clutches of Count Dracula (Claes Bang, The Bridge, in a delightful, scenery-chewing turn). At the end of this episode, which appears to bring a close to the saga, a cliffhanger appears, enabling the two final episodes.
Like Sherlock, Dracula then takes turn after turn that cant be guessed beforehand, in an incredibly entertaining manner. You should see for yourself. Heres a trailer. [TV14]
Next time: Deep under cover in the 1980s. Email me and follow Stream On OBX on Twitter.
Click here for more Stream On: What to watch on TV by Pete Hummers.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDSDare County Animal Shelter
Sealed bids for completion of the Dare County Animal Shelter will be received on February 11, 2020, in the Dare County Administration Building, 954 Marshall C. Collins Drive, Manteo, NC, for 01-Fencing, 03- Concrete, 04-Masonry, 05-Metals/ Steel, 06-Casework, 07-Roofing, 07-Caulking, 08-Glass and Glazing, 08-Doors, Frames and Hardware, 08-Overhead Doors, 09-Drywall, 09-Flooring, 09-Painting, 10- Specialties, 12-Furnishings, 21-Fire Protection, 23-Mechanical & Plumbing, 26-Electrical, 31-Sitework and 32-Landscaping.
This project will be bid and awarded in accordance with North Carolina law. Sealed proposals from Contractors will be received until 1:00 p.m. All bidders must submit for prequalification by 2:00pm on 2/3/2020. Bids submitted by non-prequalified bidders will not be considered. All bids will be opened and read aloud starting at 2:00 p.m. of the bid day. Bids must be delivered in person and on the supplied Bid Form and include a bid deposit worth 5% of the total bid value. Electronic and faxed bids will NOT be accepted or reviewed. All times are local prevailing times.
Information requests concerning the project shall be submitted in writing to: Alex Palagyi of The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company via email (alex.palagyi@whiting-turner.com)
Bidding material, prequalification material, and complete plans and specifications may be obtained from the Whiting-Turner Building Connected site and will be available until the bid due date. All subcontractors are responsible for emailing Alex Palagyi (alex.palagyi@whiting-turner.com) for access to the Building Connected site.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and Dare County reserve the right to reject any and all bids, waive informalities and irregularities in bidding, and to accept bids which are considered to be in the best interest of the County. The Whiting Turner Contracting Company and Dare County also reserve the right to require any bidder to submit information needed to determine if said bidder is responsible within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-129.
See the article here:
Stream On: Dead and loving it! - The Outer Banks Voice
- Nosferatu: First Footage Shows Off Bill Skarsgard as the Vampire - TheWrap - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend and Amber Coffman Cover Grateful Dead's Peggy-O - Pitchfork - April 12th, 2024
- Watch: Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre - jambands.com - April 12th, 2024
- Woman found dead in Italian church was dressed like vampire and looking for ghosts - Express - April 12th, 2024
- Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre (A Gallery + Recap) - Relix - April 12th, 2024
- A Guide to Vampire Weekend's Most Jewish Songs and Lyrics - Alma - April 12th, 2024
- Review: Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' sinks its teeth into nihilistic perspectives - Washington Square News - April 12th, 2024
- Watch Vampire Weekend Join Goose for a 31-Minute Redition of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Exclaim! - Exclaim! - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us: Review - Consequence - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covers The Grateful Dead's 'Peggy-O' On SiriusXM - Digg - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covered Grateful Dead With Amber Coffman On SiriusXMU: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Savannah Basley Co-Stars in SyFy's REGINALD THE VAMPIRE Season Two - BroadwayWorld - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' is sure to get stuck in your head - UI The Daily Iowan - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Contra Crossover DLC Will Come to PlayStation Later in the Summer - Push Square - April 12th, 2024
- OGWAU Is Vampire Weekend Keeping Things Fresh - HeadStuff.org - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is Crossing Over With Contra - GameRant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Headed to PS5 and PS4 This Summer - News - VGChartz - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors teams up with Contra for new DLC and fangs its way onto PlayStation consoles this summer - VG247 - April 12th, 2024
- The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth - Metro.co.uk - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists recreate face of 16th-century vampire buried with brick inside mouth - WION - March 24th, 2024
- Montreal daily apologizes following backlash over Netanyahu vampire cartoon - The Times of Israel - March 24th, 2024
- This Major Aspect of 'Interview with the Vampire' Makes It Better Than the Movie - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Stare Into the Screen Not the Sun: Vampire Weekend to Livestream Special Solar Eclipse Show - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Dormitory Anime Cast to Cover Every Little Thing Song for Ending Theme - Crunchyroll - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend will livestream Austin eclipse show - Brooklyn Vegan - March 24th, 2024
- 10 Essential 80s Vampire Movies You Might Have Missed - Flickering Myth - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend, Slightly Stoopid, Portugal. The Man, and more shows announced at Dillon Amphitheater (so far) - Summit Daily - March 24th, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire': Meet the Real Armand With Assad Zaman (VIDEO) - TV Insider - March 24th, 2024
- Xbox Game Pass gets cowboy vampire-slayer classic today, just in time for weekend - ReadWrite - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Tease Punky, Jammy New Offshoot With An Imaginary Backstory - Stereogum - March 24th, 2024
- The GLAAD Wrap: Trailers for The Acolyte and Interview with the Vampire, New Music from Xana, Anglica Garcia ... - GLAAD - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Season 2 Will Unlock Deeply Hidden Memories - Gizmodo - March 24th, 2024
- Netanyahu caricatured as vampire in Canadian newspaper: 'Every Jew understands the meaning' - Ynetnews - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend tease a new offshoot project with an "imaginary back story" - NME - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists Reconstruct Face Of 16th Century 'Vampire Woman' Buried With Brick In Mouth - Study Finds - March 24th, 2024
- Here's a haunting, beautiful Interview With The Vampire season 2 trailer - The A.V. Club - March 24th, 2024
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Most Important Moment Features One Word - Den of Geek - March 24th, 2024
- TV Shows Like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' That'll Suck You In - The Lineup - March 24th, 2024
- Remember When Pedro Pascal Was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? - Remezcla - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Season 2 Goes Bigger Than Ever, See The Extended Look Into Fan-Favorite Series Return - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- Fury Over Antisemitic Canadian Newspaper Cartoon Depicting Netanyahu as Blood-Sucking Vampire - Algemeiner - March 24th, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: Memory Is The Monster In Stunning Extended Season 2 Trailer INTERVIEW WITH ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Extended Look: Memory Is Monster - Bleeding Cool News - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire trailer season 2 trailer is brimming with queer lust and the return of Lestat - Gay Times Magazine - March 24th, 2024
- Everything we're obsessed with in the new 'Interview With the Vampire' trailer - Pride.com - March 24th, 2024
- Pedro Pascal Was Saved By Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- AMC reveals an extended look at Interview with the Vampire Season 2 - Claire and Jamie - March 24th, 2024
- "Interview with the Vampire" Season 2 Trailer Previews the Return of AMC's Anne Rice Series on May 12 - Bloody Disgusting - March 24th, 2024
- Scream directors explain how their new vampire horror movie fits into the Universal Monsters universe, and share ... - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' Connecting Cover Holds the Line Against the Vampire Armies - Marvel.com - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist - Official Distortions Trailer - IGN - March 16th, 2024
- How Mel Brooks and Twilight inspired a vampire visual novel mixing funny with therapy - Rock Paper Shotgun - March 16th, 2024
- Game Theory: Yes, please, bring on the Vampire Survivors clones - The A.V. Club - March 16th, 2024
- Son 'stabs dead his mum he believed was a vampire biting him at night' - Metro.co.uk - March 16th, 2024
- Man accused of killing mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - KOIN.com - March 16th, 2024
- 11 Best Songs of the Week: Ride, Vampire Weekend, Drahla, Waxahatchee, and More - Under the Radar Mag - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Give Upbeat History Lesson About Cruelty Through the Ages on New Song Classical - Rolling Stone - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist - Counsel the undead and help them rest in peace - ReadWrite - March 16th, 2024
- Watch: Vampire Weekend Share Classical, Third Preview Single from 'Only God Was Above Us' - Relix - March 16th, 2024
- Oregon man claims mom was vampire before he's alleged to have killed her - Toronto Sun - March 16th, 2024
- Court docs: Man accused of killing elderly mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - Fox 12 Oregon - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend present the orchestral single, "Classical" - The Line of Best Fit - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend releases new song & video from upcoming album, 'Only God Was Above' 105.7 The Point - 105.7 The Point - March 16th, 2024
- The 'Vampire Survivors' soundtrack is coming to vinyl this month - NME - March 16th, 2024
- Blood Hunters #2 introduces an all-new vampire hunter and shows what happens when vampires drink the Hulk's blood - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire survival game V Rising sinks its teeth into a full-blooded 1.0 release this May - Rock Paper Shotgun - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend have released a new album cut, 'Classical' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survival Game V Rising Is Leaving Early Access On May 8th - MMORPG.com - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist Releases New Distortions Trailer - Bleeding Cool News - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survival Game V Rising Launches Into 1.0 This May Before It Hits PS5 Later This Year - Game Informer - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend glance at the cruelty of history on Classical - Beats Per Minute - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Horror Abigail Is 'Very R-Rated', Says Tyler Gillett: 'We Want The Blood To Stick To You' - Empire - March 16th, 2024
- After 2 years, this vampire anime based on one of our favorite manga is getting the second season it deserves - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Man brutally kills mother, believing she is a vampire - The News International - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is the next Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial in Europe - Nintendo Everything - March 16th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire stars tease "fierce" and "feisty" season 2 - Gay Times Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- New action RPG combines the best of Diablo and Vampire Survivors - PCGamesN - March 16th, 2024
- 'Your vampire ball is over' Putin to Western elites - azrbaycan24 - March 16th, 2024
- 8 Interview With The Vampire Book Moments We Can't Wait To See In Season 2 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Inside Ukraines terrifying Vampire drones unit striking fear into Russian troops who liken them to chi... - The Sun - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero