Much Love for Big Love

It is not often (ever) that I post about television shows but I am enjoying this season of Big Love so much that I can't help myself. HBO has great writers (Six Feet Under? Hello!) and they always manage to develop intelligent, dynamic characters that you can really relate to, even if they are living in the strangest of circumstances. Big Love is no exception - the main characters consist of a polygamist family in Utah. Three wives, a bunch of kids and one very tired husband. As is that doesn't provide enough tension and conflict, the family is constantly being drawn into the drama of the local polygamous sect at Juniper Creek. The writing is funny, touching and demanding and this season in particular has revealed some pretty incredible plot lines. Although each character is very well developed they still always manage to surprise the viewer, and the acting of the entire cast in incredible.

This is going to sound weird but I think I might like living in plural marriage. Brian thinks I'm nuts but there is something appealing about the idea of sharing the burdens of life with other women and always having a sister-wife nearby to laugh with. I'm sure it would get really old really quickly but I have allowed myself to imagine it and I don't think it would be all bad. I would always have a babysitter handy.

I am completely fascinated by polygamy and by the Fundamentalist Mormons and this show hasn't done much to quell that. There are a lot of LDS characters and because it is set in Utah, the LDS culture features prominently in the plot. We often wonder what connections the writers have to the church since they manage to get a lot of the more subtle Mormon cultural references correct. Tom Hanks is one of the producers but I'm pretty sure they have some "inside men" on the pay roll.

If you haven't ever watched Big Love I would highly recommend it. If you know nothing about Mormons or their long lost polygamous brethren than it will be eye-opening and if you are more familiar with the concept than it will probably still be eye-opening. Either way I guarantee that you will fall in love with some of the characters, hate others and get swept up into a very strange yet compelling world.