US-TV series: Staffel 5, Episode 9, 21.07.05; Deutsche Erstausstrahlung 3. März 2007
Der Name der Serie leitet sich von der Tiefe ab, in der in den USA gewöhnlicherweise Särge beigesetzt werden (6 Fuß, entspricht 183 cm).

Im Mittelpunkt der Serie steht die Familie Fisher und ihr Bestattungsinstitut, das nach dem Tod des Vaters von den Brüdern Nate (Peter Krause) und David (Michael C. Hall) geführt wird. Andere Familienmitglieder sind die Mutter Ruth (Frances Conroy) und die jüngere Schwester Claire (Lauren Ambrose). Zur Stammbesetzung gehören zudem Federico Diaz (Freddy Rodríguez), ein Angestellter im Bestattungsunternehmen, Nates Freundin Brenda Chenowith (Rachel Griffiths) und Davids homosexueller Freund, der Polizist Keith Charles (Mathew St. Patrick).
.......Jede Folge beginnt mit einem meist plötzlichen Todesfall, um den sich das Bestattungsunternehmen Fischers anschliessend kümmern müssen. Im Jahr 2005 endete die Serie mit der fünften Staffel. Diese lief in Deutschland vom 6. Januar 2007 bis 24. März 2007 bei VOX.
Alan Ball, Alan Poul: Six Feet Under. Better Living Through Death – Gestorben wird immer. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2005, ISBN 3-89602-641-0
(Wikipedea)

Characters of Six Feet Under - Nate Fisher

Nathaniel Samuel "Nate" Fisher, Jr. (1965–2005), played by Peter Krause, is the oldest of the three Fisher siblings, and arguably the main character of the series; the series begins when he returns to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve only to learn that his father has died, and it ends in season five shortly after his death. Nate was born on January 8, 1965 (although in an earlier season he claimed to be a Libra) to Nathaniel and Ruth Fisher in Los Angeles.

When the series begins, in December 2000, Nate is returning home from Seattle to celebrate Christmas with his family. Nate had abandoned the family business years earlier. After graduating from Bonaventure High School and attending U.C. Santa Cruz, Nate traveled through Europe and later settled in Washington State, where he managed the largest organic food co-op in Seattle. However, after his father dies, Nate delays returning to Seattle for a few days, which end up growing into a few years. He and David each inherit half of their father's business, Fisher & Sons, and Nate ends up sticking around to help run the business after he comes to realize that he has a natural gift for comforting people in their time of grief. He also develops a relationship with Brenda Chenowith which begins as a random sexual encounter in an airport and slowly becomes something more.

In July 2001 (the beginning of the second season), Nate learns that he has arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a potentially fatal brain condition which could cause him to have a seizure or stroke at any time. Nate has a very pronounced fear of death, causing him to initially hide the information from everyone around him in order to avoid admitting his very real chance of dying young to himself. Early in the season, he visits Seattle and seeks comfort from Lisa Kimmel, his "fuck-buddy" during much of his time there. He ends up cheating on Brenda with her, only adding to the subconscious pressure on him; worse, he has his first seizure while there. Additionally, several months after leaving Seattle, Lisa moves to Los Angeles and Nate learns that she is pregnant. Through the course of the season, however, Nate slowly becomes able to face his fear, and finally is able to tell his family about the condition and seek a high-risk surgical procedure as treatment for it; he is also able to tell Brenda about impregnating Lisa, but when it turns out that she had been cheating on him as well, they split up. The season ends on a cliffhanger, with Nate undergoing the high-risk surgical procedure required to save his life.

The third season begins on a surreal note, exploring various possible outcomes of Nate's surgery and his life, and then skips ahead in time to late 2002, where it is revealed that Nate and Lisa have gotten married; their daughter, Maya, is three months old. Their relationship, however, is tumultous, and just when things are beginning to look up for the couple, Lisa is reported missing, and a month later her drowned corpse is found. Nate is forced to deal with both Lisa's death and being a single parent for Maya for a time, but eventually he rekindles his relationship with Brenda, and the two become engaged for a second time, marrying six months later, in October 2004 (the beginning of the fifth and final season). Their wedding day, however, is darkened by Brenda's miscarriage the previous day.

Brenda later becomes pregnant again, but she and Nate disagree on whether or not she should get an abortion if the child has special needs. Nate found solace from his troubles in his stepsister Maggie Sibley and the Quaker religion, and the two eventually have sex. Immediately afterwards, Nate suffered a brain hemorrhage from a second AVM that has developed since his mid-2002 surgery, and slips into a brief coma. He wakes up in the hospital the next day, and the doctors believe he will have a healthy recovery over the next few weeks. Brenda tells him that she forgives him for his adultery, but he responds by saying that he wants a divorce. Nate is also visited by David, Claire, Rico, and Maggie, but Ruth can't be reached due to being away on a camping trip. At the end of the day, Nate unexpectedly and abruptly dies in his hospital bed, while David is sleeping at his side.

Following his death, the series spends several episodes on the other characters' lives as they attempt to cope with his absence. Nate appears several times to them as a representation of their own thoughts, in a device that had been commonly used for many dead characters throughout the series to dramatically illustrate characters' internal monologues. When Ruth dies 20 years later, the last thing she sees is Nate.

In dieser Zusammenfassung - genauso wie in der Serie selbst - ist nie die Rede von Epilepsie, die als Folge von Nates Hirnschädigungen (AVM, Aneurysma und Hirnoperation) eigentlich diagnostiziert werden sollte. (Nate nimmt Antiepileptika und hat wiederholt epileptische Anfälle.)
Die Serien-Produzenten wollten wohl Nate nicht als "Epileptiker" sehen, was ihn weniger gefährdet doch sozial stärker negativ charakterisiert hätte erscheinen lassen. Die ständige Todefurcht Nates wird durch ein Aneurysma eher als durch eine generische Epilepsie verständlich. Auch deswegen ist AVM eher als Epilepsie funktional zu seinem Charakter. Bezeichnenderweise erleidet Nate keine "Krampfanfälle" vom Typ des Gran mal-Anfalls. Das hätte ihn in den Augen der Zuschauer gewiss als "Epileptiker" abgestempelt. Seine Anfälle nehmen drei verschiedene Gestalten an, zwei davon sind dem Zuschauer kaum als "epileptisch" vertraut: a) Geruchsaura, b) komplex-fokaler (Sprach)anfall, der ihn (ungewollt, anfallsartig) einen Satz mehrmals wiederholen lässt und c) Sturz.
Unklar ist, ob Nate infolge des Sturzes bewusstlos bleibt oder ob er infolge der geplatzen Hirnader ins Koma fällt. Nates Sturzanfall rechtfertigt kaum eine dauernde Bewusstlosigkeit. Er fällt wohl - zugleich mit dem Anfall - ins Koma. Von einem durchaus denkbaren "status epilepticus", der in anderen Spielfilmen dramatische Episoden begründet, kann kaum die Rede sein. Auch dies verweist wieder darauf, dass die Filmautoren Nate nicht an Epilepsie leiden lassen wollen.
Sie nutzen die Anfällen nur, um seinen ansonst ja asymptomen Krankheitszustand sichtbar zu machen. (Die von den Ärzten erwähnten symptomatischen Kopfschmerzen lassen sich anders als die Anfälle schlecht in dramatische Filmszenen umsetzen). In der Episode "Mossbacks Rückführung" signalisieren die Anfälle unübersehbar für Claire die Lebensgefahr, in der Nates steht. Sie machen auch verständlich, warum sie jetzt das Auto fahren muss. In der Episode "Ecotone" rechtfertigt der Sturzanfall mit anschliessender Bewusstlosigkeit Nates Noteinlieferung.
Die Serien-Autoren wissen die Anfälle sehr treffend in den Kontext des Filmgeschehens einzubauen. Sie legen ja wiederholt eine sehr subtile - auf den ersten Blick nicht immer erkennbare - Drehbucharbeit an den Tag. Nate wiederholt die Bestellung anfal artig und löst damit Verwirrung in dem Drive-In-Snack aus. In Maggies Appartment ereignen sich die Anfälle im Zusammenhang mit dem (Stunden zuvor allerdings) erfolgten Liebes"krampf". Epileptische Anfälle werden immer mal wieder in Zusammenhang gebracht mit Orgasmus. (siehe den Vortrag des fiktiven Psychiater Dr. Krokowski in Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg.) Es passt zu der ganzen Serie, das einer der Helden nicht aufgrund eines banalen Joggingausflugs stirbt. Unwahrscheinlich Tode wie den durch einen Golfball sind den Statisten vorbehalten.

Epilepsie in "Six Feet Under"

In "Six feet under" Nate is not perceived as somebody with epilepsy. He gets seizures, takes regularly pills against the seizures but they are not mentioned as antiepileptic medicine. He gets auras (he smells something) and psychomotor seizures (he repeats phrases) and he falls down (without convulsions).
His disease is called AVM. He seems to bee healed by surgery. He dies after something which is connected to “his AVM” also called brain bleeding. I wonder if the onlookers actually know what AVM means. In episode 13, season 1 this is explained by a doctor. Who has seen this episode will remember that it is a malformation of something in the brain. But I think, that’s all.
It may be significant that the German dubbing calls Nate’s seizures not “Anfälle” (which could be everything from spells to attacks) but Krampf (convulsion). This expression is much nearer to epilepsy than the word Anfall.
Nate has been brought in episode 9 of season 5 to the hospital because of two seizures (first a psychomotor speech attack and than something like a drop attack). But everybody is concerned with AVM and not with the consequences of seizures (status epilepticus) or an injury (drop attack).
The bleeding in Nate’s brain is stopped by surgery. The consequences of the bleeding are a mild paralysis of his right side. Nate is fully conscious and supports well the visit of all his parents (noisy children enclosed). Before he dies he has dreams (flash backs) in his past. He does not die as “an epileptic”. He is never recorded as such.
Years ago I read the letter of a family doctor to prof. Dieter Janz in which the doctor asked the expert if it would not possible to replace the expression “epilepsy” with a detailed description of the disease that causes the seizures. If I remember well Janz answered that this is a good idea but not a realistic one.
Somebody affected by the Janz Syndrom may decide to deny to have epilepsy and call himself “affected by the Janz Syndrome”. If he is seizure free and has got his driver license that might work to get rid of the stigma.