Canceled flights, lost packages, fisticuffs. What could make for a worse Christmas? Death.

Quite The Opening

Christmas malaise finds new meaning in Alan Ball’s ensemble drama about a family-run funeral home when they must gather for a wake after the family patriarch’s untimely death in a car crash on Christmas Eve. (Eyes on the road and hands on the wheel!) Ball won an Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot he also wrote, and which aired in 2001.

He’s Back… Back In The L.A. Groove

In town for the holiday, the family’s oldest (and least responsible) son Nate finds himself thrust into a life he had escaped. By the episode’s end, he has agreed to stay–and Nate never leaves, marrying twice, fathering two daughters, and taking over the family business as his father had always hoped. David, already the son in Fisher & Sons Funeral Home, has a long emotional road but more secrets, while youngest Claire must (basically) come of age.

Ashes To Ashes To Ashes To…

Six Feet Under always opened with a death. (YouTube users have cataloged and ranked them if you too are truly dead inside.) The show’s pilot opens with the show’s catalyst, made grimmer by “I’ll be Home For Christmas” on both Nathaniel and his family’s radio. Nate will be home for Christmas, but Nathaniel won’t.

Watch Six Feet Under‘s “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1) here.