Television

Six Feet Under, rest in peace. The HBO series, which aired its final episode Sunday, followed the Fisher family and its funeral home business for five seasons. It received two Golden Globe awards and six Emmys. Alan Ball, creator and executive producer, reflects on his show about death.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the HBO series Six Feet Under. The series finale will air Sunday. Bianculli will talk about the show, which premiered on the cable network in 2001.

Actor, writer and producer Jonathan Katz stars in Hopeless Pictures as psychiatrist Jonathan Katz. The Peabody Award winner also co-created and starred in Comedy Central's animated series Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist.

A new animated comedy series, Hopeless Pictures centers on a dysfunctional Hollywood indie film studio. Actor Bob Balaban writes, directs and produces the show, which will debut on the Independent Film Channel August 19.

Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, has a new book, New Rules: Polite Musings of a Timid Observer. It's a compilation of satiric segments from the show, in which he takes aim at everything from cell phones and fast food to politics.

Lorne Michaels is the creator and long-time executive producer of Saturday Night Live, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the final episode of NYPD Blue and previews Deadwood the HBO Western which begins a second season this weekend. Both shows were created by David Milch.

Steven Bochco is co-creator and executive producer of Over There, the new FX drama about U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Bochco has won 10 Emmy awards for creating and producing Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews Over There, the new Stephen Bochco series about a U.S. Army unit arriving in Iraq for its first tour of duty. It premieres Wednesday night on the FX network.

Actress Lauren Ambrose plays daughter Claire Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. Her other roles include a teen introvert turned popular surfer chick with multiple personality disorder in the film Psycho Beach Party and a star student of Kevin Kline's in the film In and Out. Also a classically trained opera singer, Ambrose appeared on stage last year in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child at London's National Theatre.

Lisa Kudrow (Friends) stars in and executive producer Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) created the new HBO comedy series The Comeback. It's a mock reality show that follows the career of a celebrity desperate to return to the spotlight.

Critic at large John Powers has been watching the HBO show Entourage -- about a handsome young movie star and his buddies -- and has some thoughts on the way the rich and powerful are often protected from reality.

Tim Winter is executive director of the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group that speaks out against sex, violence, and profanity in the media.

As May draws to a close, fans of some of television's biggest shows -- American Idol, CSI, Desperate Housewives, among others -- are being treated to season-ending finales. At the same time, TV is testing the waters for its fall season.

David Shore and Dr. David Foster combine to be the driving force behind the new medical series House, on FOX TV. Shore is the executive producer; Foster is the medical consultant and writes for the series. On the show, medical maladies play the role of villain. The hero is an irreverent and controversial doctor who trusts no one.

Critic-at-large John Powers tells us about the Japanese TV animated series Paranoia Agent by Satoshi Kon. It's now out on DVD.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator and executive producer of Gilmore Girls, on the WB network. The show is about a single mother and her daughter who are best friends. Lauren Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore, the hip mom who does her best to keep teenage daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) from repeating her own mistakes. Lorelai was a teenager herself when she became pregnant with her daughter. The popular show is now in its fifth season. Warner Brothers has just released season three on DVD.

Evangelista, a bail bondsman, starred in the now-defunct reality TV series, Family Bonds, on HBO. Evangelista was formerly an insurance underwriter who had a mid-life crisis and decided to go for a more colorful job.

Gary Leffew is a former bull-riding champ, actor, stunt coordinator and consultant to HBO's Deadwood. He punches up scripts for David Milch's Deadwood, making sure the cowboys talk like real cowboys do. In 1970 he won the world championship bull riding competition. After that Leffew took up acting and appeared in many commercials. Now he teaches bull riding at his California Ranch.

Colbert is the senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Colbert started his comic career with Second City in Chicago. He wrote and performed sketches on The Dana Carvey Show. He is also the voice of Ace for Saturday Night Lives's animated shorts Ace & Gary: The Ambiguously Gay Duo. This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 24, 2005.