Six Feet Under was undoubtedly a fantastic show, but this is an episode that deeply polarised critics and fans when it first aired. Some feel That's My Dog is a triumph in provocative television, others dismiss it as a huge misfire by the writers and the show's lowest point. I have to side with the latter camp on this one. The episode starts with the winning SFU formula - opening with a death, and cutting between each major character's sub-plot. In David's storyline, he picks up a young hitchhiker Jake who proceeds to kidnap David and subject him to horrific mental and physical torture through the rest of the episode. The show never cuts back to the previous subplots, so like our protagonist, we can't escape from the horrors on screen. This is on paper a clever idea for an episode, but I don't think it pays off in practice. As the previous three seasons had showed, David had his troubles, but he was ultimately a strong, vigilant character dedicated to his own set of values. First off, it's hard to believe that he would let anything happen to a body in his care like in this episode. Second, he has a number of opportunities to fight back or escape his captor yet doesn't take them. This is possibly the writers highlighting an ugly truth in life that sometimes the only way to survive these extreme events is to submit - but in the context of David's character, it doesn't quite ring true. There's nothing wrong with mixing up a show's structure to explore new ground, but in the case of That's My Dog, this was something of a betrayal to the character, and the fans who had grown to love him, in the name of shock value.
Northern Irish man living and working in London. Heroes include Ledley King, James Ellroy and whoever invented elasticated sweatshorts. Follow me on Twitter - @MJLowry23
