Lauren Ambrose

One of the greatest moments in Lauren Ambrose's young life took place two years ago at the Slamdance Film Festival screening of "Swimming," an intimate coming-of-age drama in which she plays a young woman adrift but trying to find her place in the world. "It was the first time I had seen it," recalls Ambrose, who also plays the artistic but troubled teen Claire on HBO's drama series "Six Feet Under."

The good news about "Coma," A&E's four-hour miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton film airing Monday and Tuesday night, is that it's much better than its previous miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton book "The Andromeda Strain. " The bad news? It's still not very good. Or at least it's not as good as it should be, given a cast that includes Lauren Ambrose, Richard Dreyfuss, Geena Davis, James Woods and Ellen Burstyn; it's not even as good as the 1978 film, which, though facing a few of the same problems as this rendition, did not shy away from a subtext both hysterical and socially nuanced.

Lauren Ambrose didn't have time to do her "usual nerdy research" before she started filming "Coma," a two-part miniseries launching Labor Day on A&E. The actress, perhaps best known for her Emmy-nominated turn as Claire Fisher on HBO's cult hit, "Six Feet Under," accepted the role as a doctor-in-training in the medical thriller on a Friday. Work started two days later. But Ambrose said she leaped at the job because it provided so many firsts, primarily a chance to star in a project executive produced by Ridley Scott and the late Tony Scott and appear with A-listers Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Geena Davis and James Woods.

Lauren Ambrose didn't have time to do her "usual nerdy research" before she started filming "Coma," a two-part miniseries launching Labor Day on A&E. The actress, perhaps best known for her Emmy-nominated turn as Claire Fisher on HBO's cult hit, "Six Feet Under," accepted the role as a doctor-in-training in the medical thriller on a Friday. Work started two days later. But Ambrose said she leaped at the job because it provided so many firsts, primarily a chance to star in a project executive produced by Ridley Scott and the late Tony Scott and appear with A-listers Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Geena Davis and James Woods.

There's something that makes a parent want to take care of, or maybe even worry just a little bit about, Lauren Ambrose. Even at 23, the actress--who plays Claire Fisher, the youngest and most fragile member of the very odd and highly dysfunctional family on HBO's drama "Six Feet Under"--seems a little vulnerable.

The good news about "Coma," A&E's four-hour miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton film airing Monday and Tuesday night, is that it's much better than its previous miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton book "The Andromeda Strain. " The bad news? It's still not very good. Or at least it's not as good as it should be, given a cast that includes Lauren Ambrose, Richard Dreyfuss, Geena Davis, James Woods and Ellen Burstyn; it's not even as good as the 1978 film, which, though facing a few of the same problems as this rendition, did not shy away from a subtext both hysterical and socially nuanced.

Andrew Wagner ("The Talent Given Us") directed this small but fascinating character drama about an ambitious young grad student (Lauren Ambrose from "Six Feet Under") who convinces an aging novelist, Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella), that her thesis about him will resurrect his career. Based on a novel by Brian Morton, it's a seduction-and-abandonment story of an unexpected kind.

After a mysterious two-week disappearance, the body of Lisa (Lili Taylor), Nate Fisher's (Peter Krause) sweet, gentle, murderously passive-aggressive wife, washed ashore somewhere near Santa Barbara. The news, which came at the end of the final episode of "Six Feet Under" last June, broke the fever that had raged throughout much the third season. Thanks in part to Taylor's moony presence, the congenitally repressed Fisher family had plunged headlong into lunacy.

"Swimming" makes the coming-of-age experience seem as fresh as tomorrow because its makers take this inevitably painful and often perplexing transition seriously without being solemn, bringing to it a sense of humor that is wry rather than jokey. Director Robert J.

Fox's "The Return of Jezebel James" will in fact not return. The network has canceled the low-rated comedy from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino after two airings. The series, which starred Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as sisters, had its final broadcast Friday and will be replaced by repeats of "Bones." -- Greg Braxton

Andrew Wagner ("The Talent Given Us") directed this small but fascinating character drama about an ambitious young grad student (Lauren Ambrose from "Six Feet Under") who convinces an aging novelist, Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella), that her thesis about him will resurrect his career. Based on a novel by Brian Morton, it's a seduction-and-abandonment story of an unexpected kind.

After a mysterious two-week disappearance, the body of Lisa (Lili Taylor), Nate Fisher's (Peter Krause) sweet, gentle, murderously passive-aggressive wife, washed ashore somewhere near Santa Barbara. The news, which came at the end of the final episode of "Six Feet Under" last June, broke the fever that had raged throughout much the third season. Thanks in part to Taylor's moony presence, the congenitally repressed Fisher family had plunged headlong into lunacy.

"Swimming" makes the coming-of-age experience seem as fresh as tomorrow because its makers take this inevitably painful and often perplexing transition seriously without being solemn, bringing to it a sense of humor that is wry rather than jokey. Director Robert J.

One of the greatest moments in Lauren Ambrose's young life took place two years ago at the Slamdance Film Festival screening of "Swimming," an intimate coming-of-age drama in which she plays a young woman adrift but trying to find her place in the world. "It was the first time I had seen it," recalls Ambrose, who also plays the artistic but troubled teen Claire on HBO's drama series "Six Feet Under."

There's something that makes a parent want to take care of, or maybe even worry just a little bit about, Lauren Ambrose. Even at 23, the actress--who plays Claire Fisher, the youngest and most fragile member of the very odd and highly dysfunctional family on HBO's drama "Six Feet Under"--seems a little vulnerable.

Thursday's news that HBO's "Six Feet Under" earned 23 Emmy nominations, more than any other show, was enough to wake the dead. The cable network's Sunday night original series about a Southern California undertaker family has been widely cheered by critics who revel in its complexity and unapologetic darkness. The show was created by Alan Ball, who won an Oscar in 2001 for his "American Beauty" screenplay. This is its second season, but only the first year it was eligible for Emmy nominations.