You killed Nate!!

Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning creator of "Six Feet Under" -- okay, he won the Oscar for "American Beauty" -- had a phoner with TV writers today to discuss the last episode of "SFU," airing Sunday. (There's also a one-hour look back at the five seasons of the show premiering at 8 tonight on HBO.)

Yes, he's aware there was an outcry to the killing off of Nate's (Peter Krause) character before the season finale. Yes, he's a little surprised by the reaction. Here's why he did it (MP3, 1:12).