So who can tell me all about Big Love?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • So who can tell me all about Big Love?

    I've never seen this show, but I really like the look of the cast. I understand it's about a polygamous Utah family.

    So, what's it like? Is it dramatic, funny? What kind of show is it, what kind of storylines to they have going on? Is it any good?

    Don't be shy, please.
    Frosties are just Cornflakes for people who can't face reality.

  • #2
    Re: So who can tell me all about Big Love?

    It's a GREAT show. One I wasn't sure of, but caught on my "On Demand" and have been watching since episode one. It's a great drama, is how I'd categorize it. HBO.com has a bunch of info, and I think clips you can check out.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: So who can tell me all about Big Love?

      Originally posted by HBeeOh
      one of the ten or fifteen best dramas on television.
      10 or 15? I'd like to see that list because after 5 I am reaching...
      "you have to write right, right?" -- Todd Gordon

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: So who can tell me all about Big Love?

        I'd have to say that so far the second season is even better than the first. Season one is more about the personal ventures inside the Henrickson clan. Season 2, so far, has been more about their exposure as polygamists. The law, society, everybody is sort of closing in on them. It's a bit more intense.

        Ele...

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: So who can tell me all about Big Love?

          I think it's a great show, and I'd definitely agree with Ele that season 2 is miles above season 1. Season 1 was really all about setting up the characters and their world -- naturally, the show had a lot of work cut out for it, drawing us into this family that's so different from the "norm." This season has a lot more depth, and more going on.

          I would definitely classify it as a drama, though it has some strong comic elements. The first season, especially the introductory stuff, had more comedy in it.

          To build upon what others have said, the core of the show is about one family: one husband, three wives, and (I think) seven kids. They live in three adjoining houses with one big shared backyard. All the wives feel like they're married to each other as well as Bill, the husband, and all the kids consider all the wives their "moms." The early part of season 1 concentrated more on the conflicts between wives, but as time has gone on, the focus has shifted more to the depth of the relationships between them.

          Bill owns/runs a Home Depot-type chain of stores along with his friend (another polygamist). As said earlier, they're closeted. So there is always the threat of exposure, which would be devastating to the company.

          As mentioned, there is a freaky-deaky uber-cult compound, where Bill and wife no. 2 grew up. Wife no. 2, Nikki, is actually the daughter of the creepy scary Harry-Dean-Stanton-portrayed prophet of the compound, who is always making some kind of trouble for Bill. The folks at the compound are very big on the whole child-bride aspect of scoring yourself a new wife, and everybody's inter-related in fairly unsavory ways.

          In the mix over at the compound are Bill's wacky mom, his recovering alcoholic brother Joey, and Joey's whackadoo wife Wanda. (Wanda is not to be confused with Rhonda, the prophet's latest teen wife-to-be, and a whole mess of trouble in her own right.)

          Though it's very serialized, it's a lot less soap-y than it may come off the way I've described it. In fact, one of the strengths of the show, in my opinion, is the way they so strongly infuse a sense of reality and matter-of-fact-ness into all these goings on that are so foreign to the average viewer. The writing (and the directing and acting) really sells you on the notion that for this family, this is their ordinary world. This season, they've really brought the subtlety and emotional complexity out in a way that has moved it up the list for me from a show I simply like to one of my favorites.

          Here endeth the lesson!
          The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. - Mark Twain

          Comment

          Working...
          X