Big Love

July 18, 2007 /

All of you fancy HBO-having people are probably already watching Big Love, and just snicker behind your backs at those of us yokels who have to wait and Netflix it…And well you should, except for the snickering part…because Big Love is one darned good, smart, well written, well acted show. If, perchance, you’re NOT one of those savvy folks who have HBO, or if you DO, but you don’t watch Big Love, you might want to give it a shot…it’s the story of Bill Henrickson, the owner of a small chain (2 branches, at this point) of Home Depot type stores, and his three wives, Barb, Nicki, and Margene. You see, Bill is a polygamist who grew up on a compound in Utah, with other members of his sect. This sect believes that polygamy is the word of God, and their duty is to follow the teachings of Joseph Smith, and they ignore the official teachings of the LDS, who frown upon polygamy these days.

Big Love is the story of Bill and his wives, their struggles within the family, and their struggles with the ‘prophet’, who is the leader of the sect from which Bill was expelled as a young teen, left to fend for himself on the streets of Salt Lake City. The prophet is played by the always great Harry Dean Stanton, and also happens to be Bill’s father-in-law, as he is Nicki’s dad. Nicki has a shopping addiction; Barb wants to go back to work, which puts some stress on the ‘sister-wives’, as they are left to pick up some slack, and feel that they should at least be consulted; Margene is new to this whole thing, she’s the youngest of the wives, and she’s trying to figure out what her place is.

So…we’re hooked. Last Friday afternoon, we watched 5 episodes of it. (That’s one benefit of DVDs, I guess, you can have a telethon with whatever show you’re watching.) Now we’re almost finished with season 1, and dang it, that’s it…we’ll have to wait for Season 2 to come out on DVD, or else see if we can watch it on HBO.com or maybe iTunes. I peeked at the webpage and saw a few spoilers for Season 2, but I don’t want to spoil it, even for myself, so I’m not reading any more.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like, or how these people might live their lives, not the compound type folks with child brides (although you do get a glimpse into that world as well), but the folks living in the burbs and trying to pay the bills…you should check this show out.

19 Comments

  • J

    July 18, 2007 at 7:30 am

    FYI, I had to post this today, instead of waiting for tomorrow or anything, because I COULDN’T leave those nasty panties on top of my blog! HA!

  • J

    July 18, 2007 at 7:52 am

    ML, you’d get a kick out of it, esp since you live in Utah. You should netflix it, or, if you don’t have netflix, rent it from the video store. 🙂

  • Autumn's Mom

    July 18, 2007 at 8:06 am

    I’ve thought about this one…maybe I’ll give it a try after I watch season 2 of Weeds. I think it’s somuch better watching something at my leasure..than having to wait each week for a new episode.

  • kookiejar

    July 18, 2007 at 12:24 pm

    I love this show. The only problem I have is Barb’s hair. What is the deal with that? I’d like to adopt Margene and keep her in my pocket. She’s as cute as a bug.

  • Cherry

    July 18, 2007 at 3:58 pm

    Oh… another title to add to the queue. Right now I’m waiting for Season 2 of Weeds to come out, just a few more days. It’s shows like these that make me ALMOST want to pay for HBO/Showtime… almost.

  • Wendy

    July 18, 2007 at 5:10 pm

    I’m beyond addicted – it’s a great show – and I read something that made me love it even more – it suggested that the “Big Love” the title referred to was not between the wives and Bill but between the wives themselves – it is really insightful and smart – so glad you are on the Big Love love train!!!!!!

  • J

    July 18, 2007 at 6:50 pm

    Wendy, we just this afternoon watched the episode where Margene gets fully onboard and jumps in the pool to be baptized, so yeah, I can see that. He’s a big part, but they’re all in this together.

    Kind of like “the Red Tent”…did you read that?

  • Wendy

    July 19, 2007 at 11:20 am

    J – I loved Rent Tent – me and my friends always joke that we are going to do this and invite the husbands for sex only 😉

  • Cherry

    July 23, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    So we watched the first disc last night.
    Eric said he doesn’t need to watch them and their problems and it kinda stressed him out, but I found it fascinating. I am always into watching/hearing about people and their relationships (of any kind), so this is a perfect show for me.

    Too bad Eric isn’t able to watch it objectively, as I think this show could hold some interesting conversation starters. Disc 2 to arrive on Wednesday!