What's fast becoming a trend these days is going against it. It seems like everybody strives for uniqueness amidst the insipid uniformity around. Take Allan Ball's American Beauty, it defied the usual formula most filmmakers are stuck into. This time, he took the idea on mainstream TV a step further, making it darker, quirkier and more unpredictable. It was a hit again on both the critics and viewers from the promising premiere in 2001 to the haunting finale in 2005.

The plot isn't really original in fact it has been rehashed by a dozen soap operas since god knows when. It is about this family who runs a funeral home in Pasadena, the patriarch dies in a car crash leaving the rest struggling to move on; Nate, the prodigal eldest son, David the closeted brother, Claire the rebellious youngest child and Ruth, the conservative mother. As expected, aside from death, there's the requisite serving of today's most pressing social issues in which the family has to deal with like addictions, teen angst, religion, same sex relationship, infidelity, etc. There is really nothing new especially if your too exposed with all the series popping out in the tube these days but what separates this from the rest is how they weave all these issues perfectly in an interestingly twisted or even weird tone and yet still manage to remain realistic. It is very impressive how Mr. Ball chooses the most depressing theme yet still maintains the viewer's interest from waning, seems like he developed some drug more potent than Prozac which beguiles viewers to see depression on a different light. The show is basically a parody on the impact of death to those who face and avoid it. Every episode starts with a short death scene which influences the core theme of the episode's turn of events.

The solid performances of the actors add more impact to the show highlighted with a dose of dark humor, witty lines and acid-laced sarcasm by the scriptwriters. Peter Krause, Lauren Ambrose, Richard Jenkins and Michael Hall frontline the cast while Kathy Bates, James Cromwell and Lili Taylor support few episodes. It's also interesting to note Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths winning the Golden Globes Best Actress plums in the leading and supporting roles respectively.

Polishing up the show's already gleaming material is the musical theme. Thomas Newman came up with a beat that goes well with the poignant theme and the dark cinematographic hues. It starts with some haunting high and low notes then melts down to a melody reminiscent of the pipes used in a Scottish funeral.

Another plus is the DVD set from the contents to the packaging. It comes with the complete 5 season (5-6 dvd's per season) stacked in a box that looked like a slice of earth from 6 feet under to the top completed with a marble epitaph on a patch of grass. It includes illustrated booklet with character obituaries, several show features, subtitles and language selections (French, Spanish, etc.), episode commentaries, deleted scenes, cast interviews, series retrospectives and 2 CD soundtracks.

It's definitely a must-have.