McLean Stevenson (M*A*S*H), Terry O'Quinn (Lost), Leslie Hope (24)
We really should've known better. We waited two weeks for Brothers & Sisters' "shocking death," when all along we should have realized that what the network had been teasing for weeks (months even, among insiders) in the end wasn't all that shocking — especially when it didn't even really happen.
Oh well, maybe we're all patsies. But to make ourselves feel better, after the jump are the TV deaths that actually delivered a gutshot and had us talking about a character's demise the next day — for all the right reasons.
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Six Feet Under courtesy HBO Home Video
As the writers' strike drags on, I seem to find no shortage of old and current shows to catch up on. If you really stop and think about it, there are hundreds of quality television series that have been produced over the years, and I don't care how much TV you watch, no one has time to catch them all! To start with, I have been mixing some oldies with some newbies and have also revisiting some of my personal old faves. My DVR is getting a workout and I am finally starting to utilize the video functionality of my iPod. Isn't technology great? Here are just a few of the shows I am watching and how I am consuming them. 1) Six Feet Under on NetflixWhile Netflixing a long-running series with many DVDs takes a considerable amount of time, it's a smaller investment than buying the DVDs, at least until I figure out if I'm going to stick with it. And then if I decide to buy, each season is only $19.99 right now on Amazon.com. 2) Weeds on iTunesI received a lot of iTunes gift cards for Chris...
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Question: I just recently got into Showtime's Brotherhood and I have to say, I am totally loving it. The whole cast is great, the stories are interesting, and I'm glad Showtime had faith to keep it going after subpar viewership. I should be caught up soon to start Season 2. In another recent addition to my list, I found Dexter this summer and was equally blown away. Michael C. Hall has found another terrific drama after Six Feet Under; I can't wait for what's in store for Dex this year. Add in the sexy yet funny Californication (and hopefully The Tudors, which is next on my list) and Showtime is really on a roll. Do you think Showtime is surpassing HBO in terms of quality and "buzz" programs, now that The Sopranos and other flagship series are gone? And what new projects are currently in development for Showtime? 'Cause I know I will be watching. Thanks.
Answer: And you left out Weeds, which has been pretty sensational again this season. Yes, I think it's fair to say that Showtime is
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Peter Krause, Dirty Sexy Money
Peter Krause is ready to get dirty. Not dirt as in a funeral plot, but as in scandals of the rich and famous. On ABC's Dirty Sexy Money, premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET, the Six Feet Under and Sports Night alum plays Nick George, a high-powered legal eagle who, begrudgingly, inherits his suspiciously passed-on father's role as consigliere to the Darlings of New York City. Headed up by Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh, the ultra-affluent clan is littered by all manner of bad-seed offspring (and parents), giving Nick plenty to manage, spin-control and nip in the bud. Krause shared a sneak peek at the good 'n' dirty 'n' sexy times ahead.
TVGuide.com: This is a r
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Question: Out of all of the Emmy snubs this year, to me the most egregious were of Showtime's groundbreaking, genre-bending Dexter and Michael C. Hall, the brilliant actor who brings the disturbed title character to life. Not only was it the best performance of this TV season, but I can't picture anyone else conveying Dexter's subtle emotional arc while remaining true to both his monsterish and darkly comedic tendencies. When you stop to think that this is the man who played David Fisher on Six Feet Under, the accomplishment of his transformation here is even more stunning. Do you think the Emmys will ever appreciate this vastly underrated actor?
Answer: He was nominated for a 2002 Emmy during the run of Six Feet Under, so at least he's on the radar. But yes, this was one of the more shocking oversights. The most common explanation I heard from people, including a few Showtime execs, was that this macabre show is just too "out there" for the Academy membership, many of whom are of an
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As part of a recent TVGuide.com Q&A, Peter Krause had this to say about ABC's Dirty Sexy Money:TVGuide.com: What are the chances of the show getting picked up in mid-May?Peter Krause: I have no idea, but I can't see how ABC would want to pass up the opportunity. I don't think there's any other show this year about a wealthy family like this. It harkens back to Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, and, of course, it has a new twist. Craig Wright (Six Feet Under) wrote it and the cast is great — Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh....TVGuide.com: You play a lawyer who inherits his dad's job of representing a powerful, wealthy and dysfunctional family. Taking over the family business sounds a bit familiar.Krause: Yeah, yeah, strangely the show begins with the death of my father. That's part of the reason I said no to the project at first. I thought it was a little too familiar, but I eventually came around.TVGuide.com: Your character, Nick George, is much different t...
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Peter Krause, Civic Duty
For five critically acclaimed seasons, audiences knew Peter Krause as the troubled prodigal son who returned home to run his late father's mortuary on Six Feet Under. Since the HBO series concluded, the Minnesota native has been working on various projects, including Sci Fi's The Lost Room and the provocative thriller Civic Duty. Opening this weekend in limited release, the indie stars Krause as a recently laid-off accountant who begins to suspect that his new neighbor may be an Islamic extremist. TVGuide.com spoke with the actor about Civic Duty as well as Dirty Sexy Money, a "can't miss" pi
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Question: FX and HBO are often compared because of their high-quality, risk-taking hour-long dramas. For the most part, I agree with every word of praise written about these shows. But I'm concerned about the one persistent flaw I've found in almost all of them, including The Sopranos, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under and The Shield: their Murphy's Law mentality, their fervent belief that honest drama begins with making characters unhappy and proceeds by making their lives increasingly worse. Joy, kindness and generosity do not often surface in these dramas, and their exclusion, after a certain point, comes to feel strident. Don't get me wrong: To skip them would be unthinkable. They're so often wonderfully written and acted. Still, I can't get this nagging objection out of my head. Of course, the truth can be unpleasant, but I don't think it necessarily follows that unpleasantness equals truth.
Answer: It's a valid concern. These shows aren't always easy to watch. But the fact that they're
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So lets start with the important stuff first I am thrilled to report that all the bad facial hair in the ER has left the building at least for the time being The porn 145stache is gone and the Stamos stubble is now a mere five oclock shadow of its former self The disturbance in the force has been resolved and now we can get back to focusing on important medical matters like how ridiculously tall dark and yummy Goran Visnjic is Oh and you can be sure there will be more on that in a minute I just need to regroup after all the crying I just did ER has an amazing track record with memorable guest appearances and that streak continued tonight As a huge fan of Six Feet Under and his work on that show it was great to see Freddy Rodriguez as Simon the leukemia-stricken comedian His interaction with Abby Sam and Morris was very entertaining and bittersweet and I was glad to see that he finally got a chance to do his act albeit from a hospital bed Sam f
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Julie Benz with Michael C. Hall, Dexter
The Ice Truck Killer, at long last, is definitively unmasked, yet on the loose. The race is now on for Dexter to suss out the serial slayer before our antihero's own sister becomes the latest victim. As Showtime prepares to premiere the freshman series' season finale, Sunday at 10 pm/ET, TVGuide.com spoke with Angel alumna Julie Benz about what's ahead, including a mystery of Rita's own that could prove to be boyfriend Dexter's next (severed) headache.
TVGuide.com: I just finished watching the finale....Julie Benz: Oh, you did? Wow... I haven't even seen it yet.
TVGuide.com: It's good stuff.Benz: Is it? Yay!
TVGuide.com: Very twisty and turny. What's been the hardest part for you about inhabiting Rita's s
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