< but once Ned died >
Nate?
I keep looking back to see if even one character had even a shred of a redeeming quality. I'm still looking.
I didn't say the characters had any "redeeming value."
In fact, they had none, almost routinely.
About that, I agree with you. I still liked the series. But not because I anticipated or found any "redeeming value" in any of the characters depicted.
I also don't care for Carnivale, nor Deadwood, which are both popular with many viewers, but at least with Six Feet Under, there wasn't all the mud.