TV Notes: HBO Has Hit 'Six Feet Under'

July 31 -- You can just imagine the pitch meeting: We have this family, and they run a funeral home, and it will make for great entertainment …

The unlikely subject matter is making for yet another success for cable network HBO, which has quickly earned loyal viewers for its new series Six Feet Under.

"I didn't know that a show about a family that runs a funeral parlor in Los Angeles would be as popular as it is but people are really enjoying it so I'm very happy about that," said actor Peter Krause. He plays one of the sons who decides to help run the family business after their father dies.

He thinks viewers can look past the morbid subject matter and relate to the quirky family depicted.

"Everybody has their own experiences of loss and their own experiences with relationships in their lives with family and friends, lovers and with themselves," said Krause. "I think that that's what this show explores in comical ways and in tragic ways."

Krause says the job has taught him to appreciate life while respecting those working in one of the oldest professions around.

"You know, it gives new meaning to the old phrase that 'it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it,'" said Krause. "There are people that have incredibly difficult jobs as funeral directors, and I think that they should be respected."

Counting the Ballots, Again

Just when we thought it was safe to think about voting again, Showtime hopes to revive the 2000 presidential election.

The cable channel will start counting the chad and dimpled ballots all over again in a TV movie about the lengthy voting process that ended with George W. Bush landing a spot in the White House.

And maybe the producers will generate a new result; The network warns Democrats and Republicans it will be "digging" for material.

Live Like an Angel

When Aaron Spelling cleans house, there's bound to be some TV memorabilia.

The producer of such shows as Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed and his wife Candy are putting their six-bedroom, 10-bath home on the market for $9.9 million. The spacious home is where Spelling filmed the original pilot for Charlies Angel's.