by Dr Victoria PhD

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: March 15, 2009

When the shows 'Sex and the City' and 'Six Feet Under' ended a few years ago, I canceled my subscription to HBO because I was no longer happy with their original series line-up. However, after a couple of friends recently recommended 'Big Love' to me, I rented the first season and I was so hooked that I stayed up late and caught up on watching the whole series and did something I never thought I would do again - renewed my subscription to HBO.

The show 'Big Love' is set in Utah and chronicles the polygamous marriage between Bill Henrickson and his three wives; Barb, Bill's first wife of 17 years, Nicki, wife #2 and daughter of "The Prophet," Roman Grant, who still lives on the compound, which is also the place of birth for both Bill and Nicki's, and Margene, wife #3 and former employee of Home Plus (Bill's chain of home improvement stores) and babysitter for the family. The family owns three houses joined together by a common backyard equipped with swimming pool for them and their eight children to enjoy.

The show is compelling, suspenseful, superbly acted and directed, and arguably one of the best shows on TV. Though the family - with the exception of Nicki - strictly adheres to "the principle" (plural marriage, a lifestyle banned by the Mormon Church) of the Mormon religion, the Henricksons view life at the compound and the compound itself with distaste. As the show progresses, we learn more about the family members of Bill and Nicki, who still reside at the compound and often disrupt (sometimes inadvertently) and cause problems for the lives of the Henricksons. Additionally, we learn more about the Henrickson children, especially Bill and Barb's two teenage children, and the struggles they face as members of a polygamous family and as individuals coming to terms with their feelings, religion, and sense of self.

While the show is almost free of foul language, it does frequently include sex scenes/nudity with Bill and his three wives. Those easily offended by nudity and relatively explicit sex scenes might want to steer clear of Big Love altogether.

If you like shows that make you think, laugh, cry, gasp, and shudder, oftentimes all at once, that have a stellar cast, Bill Paxton (Bill Henrickson), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Barb Henrickson), Chloe Sevigny (Nicolette Grant), and Ginnifer Goodwin (Margene Heffman), and interesting characters, then you will enjoy 'Big Love.'

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