SEASON THREE
Episode 1 - Perfect Circles
Nathaniel Samuel Fisher: 1965-2002
What would it be like if Nate died? Or, if Nate and Brenda had a kid? Or, if Nathaniel Sr married someone different? Or, if Nate's surgery didn't go so well and he became brain damaged? Or if Nate was an existential redneck? Nate experiences alternate realities but which one does he choose? Fisher & Sons is now Fisher & Diaz, and Rico is taking a stand. He does not want to be a "gofer" anymore, and makes sure everyone knows he is now a partner. Claire becomes "gofer", for 50 bucks a shot, and takes a body to the crematory where she meets a worker named Phil. She plays hooky from art class the next day to be with him. David and Keith start couples therapy, which only seems to anger Keith more. Ruth gets a bit obsessive with her granddaughter Maya, but Lisa puts her in her place. Lisa also deals with the quirkiness of her frenetic boss and landlord, Carol.
Episode 2 - You Never Know
Matthew Clark Hazen: 1962-2003 / Martin Jacobs: 1978-2003 / Andrew Wayne Milne: 1952-2003 / Daniel Grant Showalter: 1978-2003
Lisa & Nate are having a few problems finding times to be alone. Lisa is still having to deal with all of her employer's issues that seem to pop up at all inappropriate times.
Ruth's sister Sarah makes contact with Ruth, and through her Ruth meets a new friend, Bettina.
Claire and her new beau Phil seem to be getting hot and heavy, or are they? Claire finds a friend in a fellow art class student, Russell.
Rico is experiencing the difficulties of being a partner at Fisher & Diaz.
Keith ends up having a counseling sessions sans David. Keith is able to voice his opinions a bit better without him.
Episode 3 - The Eye Inside
Callie Renee Mortimer: 1984-2003
Lisa takes a major decision without asking Nate. A decision that brings trouble. Ruth and Bettina are getting closer and Ruth is taking some of Bettina's advice, but not all of it is good. Claire and Phil's relationship changes for the worse, but on the upside Claire is getting praised by her teacher. David and Keith go vacation together to try to reconnect with each other.
Episode 4 - Nobody Sleeps
Robert Lamar Giffin: 1955-2003
Nate is having strange nightmares about what his future might bring him. Lisa is planning a major birthday dinner for Ruth, but everything will not turn out as planned. Bettina and Ruth spend some more time together, during which Bettina shows Ruth some of the better sides of life. The lover of the deceased wants to make something spectacular for his lover, and is allowed to do so. Claire ends up at a bar with her teacher, and he is flirting with her. Russell reveals something that Claire did not expect.
Episode 5 - The Trap
William Aaron Jaffe: 1951-1975
A lost pair of hikers discover the wrecked remains of a car with the skeleton of the driver, William Aaron Jaffe, inside. Nate is surprised by the son who never knew him not seeming to be troubled by it, and worried by the remarried widow's remark that they weren't right for each other and married too hastily - his own relationship with Lisa has become strained when she encourages him to cut back on his spending and considers staying home with Maya for a few years, without even letting him be the first to know. Things are further complicated when Nate runs into Brenda, and Lisa suspects the drinks they had together weren't just for catching up and apologies. David's enjoyment of the choir is overshadowed by one of the members recognizing him from a shameful experience several years before. Claire's invitation to go with Russell to his brother's wedding is forgotten when Olivier asks her to be his assistant - which turns out to mean his driver. Keith is ready to quit his job. Rico convinces David to hire an apprentice, despite Nate's and Ruth's doubts, to assist in Claire's place, and hires nerdy Arthur Martin, who turns out to be oddly like Ruth. Later, Nate is accused of living in a marriage that will surely fall apart and be bad for their offspring the way Will Jaffe's would have, but Nate rejects the prediction...without convincing himself.
Episode 6 - Making Love Work
Karen Postell Pepper: 1964-2003
Karen Postell Pepper suffers a hemorrhage to the nose while preparing to enter the "Making Love Work" TV studio with a question to ask Dr. Dave. Nate prepares to go on his first camping trip in 2 years (where he went without Brenda), with Lisa, Maya, and Dana, Todd, and their toddler daughter Spencer. By the time they arrive, though, he realizes he won't be able to drink 3 cans of beer that night or smoke cigarettes. Ruth becomes interested in Arthur the more she gets to know him, and rents a movie whose score he says he favors. David believes Russell is gay, though Claire doesn't and defends him from Olivier's harsh criticism. An obese man's body causes trouble for everyone when ii falls from its extra-large coffin and Arthur Ruth, Claire, and Russell must move it back. Lisa is annoyed with their friends' constant claims of affection for one another, but Nate simply grows jealous and worried that he can't seem to have any of those moments with Lisa refusing to smoke or hike with him. After mutilating a snake and forcibly demanding why no one will join him, he hikes alone to a towering mountain where he finds Brenda has been pursuing him. He agrees to kiss her but then sends her away - and she leaps off the cliff, and Nate wakes up from his dream. When he and Lisa finally do go out hiking, it's anything but peaceful when she takes his remark on how they differ from Spencer's parents to mean he rejects her, and he retorts that she won't accept him without change. They end up sleeping together passionately before returning home.
Episode 7 - Timing & Space
Bernard Asa Chenowith: 1939-2003
Brenda's father passes away and Nate goes to the funeral where he reconnects with Brenda. Lisa leaves for a convention, worrying about Maya as it is the first time she's away from her for a longer period of time. Even though Maya is with Nate. Arthur and Ruth develops their friendship, and Ruth is becoming more and more fascinated with his many talents. David and Keith attends a brunch hosted by some of David's friends. Keith does not fit in and feels very out of place. Claire gets a very special gift from Russell. Federico worries about Vanessa and her mood.
Episode 8 - Tears, Bones and Desire
Daddy: 1940-2003
A unique family makes hand mops and teaches their children from the backyard. Daddy, their teacher and father, sits down as the children play and his hat slips from his hand.
The family of Daddy comes to Fisher & Diaz, and have a unique look on life. They are a communal family known as "The People". They decide to allow embalming, but they insist on remaining in his presence at all times so government agents don't take him.
David invites some of his friends to a paintball game that Keith planned. Keith seems fine with it, but once off the paintball field, he seeks revenge for the party game he failed so miserably at.
Lisa gets even more paranoid about Brenda, and decides to make an appointment for a massage with her. While there, Lisa seems very nervous, and at one point even cries. Afterwards, Nate sees something different with Lisa, but can't quite figure what it is.
Ruth kisses Arthur, but he asks her not to do it ever again. He cherishes their friendship and doesn't want it to change. Ruth agrees, and then kisses him again.
Claire and Russell go to Olivier's house to see what he wants. He wants Claire to go to Azusa to pick up something. They argue, but she eventually goes, leaving Russell behind with Olivier. While in Azusa, she meets up with an artist that was once Olivier's assistant. She finds out that Olivier usually sleeps with his assistants, and sometimes he has "boy years". She gets a bit concerned and asks Russell later if Olivier came onto him at all. He vehemently denies it and reiterates the fact that he is not gay.
David & Keith end up having a paintball buddy, Sarge, stay the night because he drinks too much. However, when David and Keith are going to bed, Sarge asks if he can join them. They both agree. The next morning, Sarge is up making breakfast and David seems to feel a bit awkward. Keith seems fine, though.
Episode 9 - The Opening
Melinda Mary Bloch: 1965-2003
A woman starts packing as though going on a trip. Lines up her luggage by the door. She leaves various notes around her house for specific people. She grabs a tape out of her stereo then goes into her garage. She turns her car on, puts the tape in the car stereo, applies her lipstick, and shuts the garage door. Claire and Russell's art work will be in a art show. They help Olivier place some work in the gallery. Claire is happy with where her work is placed, but Russell feels his is being somewhat hidden. Nate and Lisa talk about the possibility of them splitting up. Nate loves Lisa, but he just can't handle her lack of trust in him. While at Claire's art show, they run into Brenda. Lisa acts as though she's never seen her before and Brenda acts along. Later at the art gallery, sitting inside a pyramid piece, Nate and Lisa agree to start their relationship over -- as friends that happen to be lovers. Ruth continues to be interested in Arthur, but he doesn't seem to want to take the relationship to any other level than light petting. Keith and David continue their threesomes. Keith seems to be a bit more enthused about it than David, but he continues to go along. They set a ground rule - no kissing.
Episode 10 - Everyone Leaves
Jeanette Louise Bradford: 1928-2003
While at a family picnic, Keith's mom's aunt gets stung by a bee. She immediately has an allergic reaction. Vanessa seems to be out of her depression. She has more energy and Frederico is enjoying it. She schedules them for dance lessons, and they have a blast. Later, while dancing at a club Vanessa starts to have difficulty breathing. She asks Frederico to give her a Xanax out of her purse that has quite a number of pills in it. Keith and David argue, as usual, in the car on the way to Keith's great aunt's funeral. David thinks they've had enough sexual exploration for the moment, but Keith wants to continue. After visiting with a man who lost his wife, Nate goes into the kitchen and starts to cry. Lisa is going to visit her sister up the coast and is worried about leaving him alone. Nate reassures her that he just had a temporary meltdown and he'll be fine. While in class, Russell has a breakdown of his own, temper-tantrum style. After his return, Russell reveals to Claire that he did mess around with Olivier. Claire tells him she never wants to see or speak to him again. He doesn't get the message because later he shows up at her house. Brenda and Billy appear to be living well together. However, after an emotional outburst at a poor cartoonization of their beloved book "Nathaniel and Isabel", Billy tries to intimately kiss Brenda. Brenda goes to visit Nate afterwards and they talk for awhile. As Brenda starts to leave, her and Nate kiss. Ruth sits down with Arthor and comes to the conclusion that he has never had sex before. As Arthur does not appear to want such a relationship with Ruth, she basically tells him they are off. At the funeral, Keith decides he is finally going to talk to his father about the abuse his father inflicted upon him and his sister when they were children. His father gets extremely upset, and when David tries to referee, Keith tells David that it's a family matter and none of David's business. David storms out and takes a bus back home. Nate tries contacting Lisa's sister to see if she's made it there alright, but Lisa's sister doesn't seem to know anything. Nate attempts to contact Lisa on her cellphone a few times with no success.
Episode 11 - Death Works Overtime
Dorothy Kim Su: 1945-2003 / David Raymond Monroe: 1971-2003 / Edward Tully: 1955-2003
Nate is still trying to find Lisa. He makes calls frantically to everyone he knows. Lisa's car is found near a beach, and Nate nearby in hopes of finding something out. The funeral home gets a number of cases, and needs all the help they can get. Arthur tries to learn how to interact with the funeral home's customers. Federico is having added issues now that Vanessa's sister lives with them, but has to go into work despite that due to the influx of deaths. Vanessa and her sister go shopping and come home with a big screen television and a fridge, and refuse to take them back. Brenda finds a new place of her own in a questionable neighborhood. She has few belongings and moves in quickly. Brenda's mother asks her to join her and Billy to scatter their father's ashes. Brenda reluctantly agrees. When they do get together to scatter the ashes they argue, of course, and end up throwing them over an apartment balcony. Russell shows up at the Fisher's to apologize once again to Claire. However, she rejects his continued advances. Claire has a review with Olivier, and they end up getting into a very heated argument. Later, Claire takes a pregnancy test, and it's positive. After one of the funerals, Ruth meets a new man, George Sibley, and proceeds to cry all over him.
Episode 12 - Twilight
Carl Desmond Williman: 1948-2003
Woman-killer Carl Desmond Williman finally receives the death penalty by a lethal injection in Texas, and his unemployed daughter hires Fisher & Diaz for the funeral, and sleeps with Nate since they're both miserable and want to escape their problems, but he treats her unsympathetically the following day out of sheer guilt. David breaks up with Keith after spending more time with Patrick. Claire chooses to get an abortion and calls Brenda when she learns she needs a driver, who accepts. Ruth considers marrying George but does decide to slow things down a bit after learning he's been through 6 marriages. Angelica continues to give Rico grief at home. Claire tries to convince Nate to speak to Brenda after her favor to her but Nate's too wrapped up in thinking up everything that could've happened with Lisa to welcome her in, or pay attention to much else.
Episode 13 - I'm Sorry, I'm Lost
Anahid Hovanessian: 1951-2003
Ruth and George are getting married. When they announce to the Fisher family, there are mixed emotions. Nate is completely against it, David feels like it's inconsiderate considering Lisa's disappearance, and Clare thinks they barely know each other. Ruth doesn't care, she just wants to be happy and wants her children to be a part of it, but will continue even if they don't. Nate is drinking more often, and it's starting to effect the business. He also leaves Maya alone at night. Federico, in his frustration from home, accepts an invitation to a strip club. It's his first time to ever go to one. He gets a bit inebriated and flirts with one of the dancers, who later gives Federico a bit of enjoyment in his car. Nathaniel, Sr. visits Claire and takes her on a trip to the afterlife, which is guised as a park amusement park. She sees people that she has loved and lost, like Gabe Dimas, her baby, and Lisa. Her trip to the afterlife seems to resolve some issues for Claire. David also has a visit from his father. In his, his father convinces him to call Keith and try to make a go of it. David also seems to resolves some of his issues. Ruth and George get married at the house and have a nice reception. Everyone but Nate attends. He finally receives a phone call that he was not looking forward to. The police have found Lisa's body. In his fragile state, Nate goes to a local bar and gets himself beat up. On his drive home, he starts to see his father in the car with him, then Lisa. They both start talking to him about committing suicide. Instead, he ends up at Brenda's.
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