My Spoiler-Free Big Love Review
I had my doubts when I heard that HBO was doing a series about a polygamous family. My apprehensions doubled with the mentions of an element of Sopranos in the form of the Juniper Creek compound, which reeks of everything bad people think of when they think of religious communes, and its prophet Roman who may as well have walked in from any gangster movie. Most of what I read about the show pushed me away from it because as much as I wish poly got more spotlight in mainstream entertainment I wasnt going to go out of my way to see something that was very strongly about renegade Mormon-style polygamy which is a pretty distant cousin to the brand of polyamory that Wyspurr, Brendastarr85, and I practice.
Then the premiere aired and the first comments I saw from the poly community was fairly positive so I gave it a chance. The first episode didnt impress me much but neither did it offend me. It suffered from first episode syndrome of trying to cram way too much into an hour to establish the world of the show. It had some good moments and the dialogue and acting were really strong.
The second episode was better in pretty much every way, primarily because it was able to keep a better focus on the story it was telling now that the introductions were out of the way. It was a lot easier to follow what was going on and I confess I have plans to switch my premium channel to HBO just so I can watch the new episodes as they come out. I would kill right about now for group of poly friends to have over just to watch and discuss the show. Yes. The show has sucked me in.
I cant say, however, that everything that sucks me into the show is a positive thing. Honestly, a lot of the fun of watching the show is seeing just how bitchy the wives can be to each other or the bewildered banter Wyspurr, Brendastarr85, BigBlack81, and I share each time something cringeworthy happens. My biggest criticism of the show echos the words of critic Robert Lloyd; The women are terrific in their parts, but except in passing moments, usually the quiet ones, the parts don't really connect. First wife [Barb] keeps order and wants a life outside the house; second wife [Nikki], the daughter of [Roman], wears traditional "prairie garb" that covers her from neck to ankle and runs up enormous credit-card debt, though nobody seems to notice she's got $50,000 worth of more stuff than anyone else; and baby wife [Margene] walks around in her underwear, plays the stereo loud and wants a friend. Apart from [Bill] and [Barb], who are the alpha,(spoiler removed) it isn't clear why they're all together or what they give each other. Mostly they bicker, pull rank, stew in resentment, dissemble and delegate.
Yes, every time I watch the show (Ive seen the first two episodes twice each), I thank my lucky stars that Wyspurr and Brendastarr85s relationship with each other isnt nearly as adversarial as the three wives of this show. However, from the first two episodes its hard not to finger the middle wife for ninety percent of the strife in the family. Barb and Wife Margene are clearly loving, giving, and mostly reasonable women and I could easily see them happily sharing a husband without an excess of drama if it were just the two of them. Nikki makes me think of the worst personality flaws of all the exes Ive ever had distilled into their purest form, separated from any redeeming qualities. If Nikki has any redeeming qualities we havent seen them in the first two episodes. Its no surprise that shes the daughter of the villain of the show, Roman. The character dynamics have endless potential but Debra, Brenda, Mark, and I all unanimously agreed that she should be put down like a rabid dog. Its nearly impossible to sympathize with her character.
Actually, thats brings up a deeper problem with the show. It really fails to make you sympathize with anyone except the husband and his first and third wifeand the two teenage children who each have their own subplot going. The family has seven children, but only the oldest son and oldest daughter get any real attention while the other children are relegated to being scene dressing, practically getting no screen time except for when theyre wailing, destroying something, or peeing on the floor. As a parent, I hate seeing children treated as though theyre all uncontrollable animals that exist only to make life hell for adults. It seems like they only appear to illustrate what crappy parents Bill and his wives.
Anyway, this is my three in the morning rambling about the show. Ultimately I enjoy it and am probably more into it than Ive been into a show in ages despite the things I dislike about it.
I had my doubts when I heard that HBO was doing a series about a polygamous family. My apprehensions doubled with the mentions of an element of Sopranos in the form of the Juniper Creek compound, which reeks of everything bad people think of when they think of religious communes, and its prophet Roman who may as well have walked in from any gangster movie. Most of what I read about the show pushed me away from it because as much as I wish poly got more spotlight in mainstream entertainment I wasnt going to go out of my way to see something that was very strongly about renegade Mormon-style polygamy which is a pretty distant cousin to the brand of polyamory that Wyspurr, Brendastarr85, and I practice.
Then the premiere aired and the first comments I saw from the poly community was fairly positive so I gave it a chance. The first episode didnt impress me much but neither did it offend me. It suffered from first episode syndrome of trying to cram way too much into an hour to establish the world of the show. It had some good moments and the dialogue and acting were really strong.
The second episode was better in pretty much every way, primarily because it was able to keep a better focus on the story it was telling now that the introductions were out of the way. It was a lot easier to follow what was going on and I confess I have plans to switch my premium channel to HBO just so I can watch the new episodes as they come out. I would kill right about now for group of poly friends to have over just to watch and discuss the show. Yes. The show has sucked me in.
I cant say, however, that everything that sucks me into the show is a positive thing. Honestly, a lot of the fun of watching the show is seeing just how bitchy the wives can be to each other or the bewildered banter Wyspurr, Brendastarr85, BigBlack81, and I share each time something cringeworthy happens. My biggest criticism of the show echos the words of critic Robert Lloyd; The women are terrific in their parts, but except in passing moments, usually the quiet ones, the parts don't really connect. First wife [Barb] keeps order and wants a life outside the house; second wife [Nikki], the daughter of [Roman], wears traditional "prairie garb" that covers her from neck to ankle and runs up enormous credit-card debt, though nobody seems to notice she's got $50,000 worth of more stuff than anyone else; and baby wife [Margene] walks around in her underwear, plays the stereo loud and wants a friend. Apart from [Bill] and [Barb], who are the alpha,(spoiler removed) it isn't clear why they're all together or what they give each other. Mostly they bicker, pull rank, stew in resentment, dissemble and delegate.
Yes, every time I watch the show (Ive seen the first two episodes twice each), I thank my lucky stars that Wyspurr and Brendastarr85s relationship with each other isnt nearly as adversarial as the three wives of this show. However, from the first two episodes its hard not to finger the middle wife for ninety percent of the strife in the family. Barb and Wife Margene are clearly loving, giving, and mostly reasonable women and I could easily see them happily sharing a husband without an excess of drama if it were just the two of them. Nikki makes me think of the worst personality flaws of all the exes Ive ever had distilled into their purest form, separated from any redeeming qualities. If Nikki has any redeeming qualities we havent seen them in the first two episodes. Its no surprise that shes the daughter of the villain of the show, Roman. The character dynamics have endless potential but Debra, Brenda, Mark, and I all unanimously agreed that she should be put down like a rabid dog. Its nearly impossible to sympathize with her character.
Actually, thats brings up a deeper problem with the show. It really fails to make you sympathize with anyone except the husband and his first and third wifeand the two teenage children who each have their own subplot going. The family has seven children, but only the oldest son and oldest daughter get any real attention while the other children are relegated to being scene dressing, practically getting no screen time except for when theyre wailing, destroying something, or peeing on the floor. As a parent, I hate seeing children treated as though theyre all uncontrollable animals that exist only to make life hell for adults. It seems like they only appear to illustrate what crappy parents Bill and his wives.
Anyway, this is my three in the morning rambling about the show. Ultimately I enjoy it and am probably more into it than Ive been into a show in ages despite the things I dislike about it.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
lordkalkin:
That's an interesting discussion, and I'm glad to know what they've done with the relationship dynamic. I have this awful curious streak, but I haven't brought myself to download any episodes.
shinyredstar:
Agreed! I'd like to see a bit more with the family all together, too. Seems like they're a bit too separate when Bill Paxton's character is around. I think it's great that they get their own days with him, but it doesn't seem that he spends much time with them in a group setting. Though I suppose that's part of the idea... he's so busy he can't give that time.