Any love for BIG LOVE here?

POSTED BY: reginaroadie
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 04:35
VIEWED: 8777
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REGINAROADIE

Sunday, March 1, 2009 3:36 PM

Hey All

I know that the new show that everyone here is talking about is DOLLHOUSE, but I was just wondering if there are a few people here who are currently into season 3 of BIG LOVE on HBO.

I'm a big HBO junkie, so for the most part I'm into anything they do. And I had seen the two previous seasons and enjoyed them.

But this year, my enjoyment turned into an all out love for this show. I know it's not been getting as much press as DOLLHOUSE, the new seasons of LOST, HEROES and 24 and the final eps of GALACTICA, but I find myself more and more excited for the new eps of BIG LOVE.

I’ve been drawn to this show since its beginning for various reasons. For one, its given Bill Paxton great material that shows just how great an actor he is, as well as kinda reminding me of my Dad, but without the whole polygamist background. I like the Lynchian vibe of the scenes in Juniper Creek with the fundamentalist Mormons and how it’s a constant battle over who is creepier. Bruce Dern's Frank or Harry Dean Stanton as Roman Grant? Even though Roman is a charlatan prophet who was on trial for trafficking women, he at least has a sense of dignity to him, unlike Frank who pees in the Henrickson’s sink and is just the vilest person imaginable. He just has that permanent sneer on him and nothing but condescension and belittlement comes out of his mouth.

I especially like how in some cases, the deep religious nature of some of the characters are positives, as opposed to being nutjobs, which there are in the show, but wouldn’t notice due to the deft balance it strikes between those who pervert the word of God or live by it. And this season’s storylines have jacked up the drama so much that every plotline in the mix (the family dating Ana, a Serbian waitress as a potential fourth wife, Weber Gaming, Roman’s trial, Barb’s cancer scare, Sarah’s pregnancy and my favorite of the bunch, Niki slowly coming apart at the seams and on her way to a breakdown) is as riveting as the next. Like last weeks road trip episode really pushed them to the brink and really tested Bill's faith. And poor Sarah. No wonder she miscarried.

And a while ago, I came across an article talking about BIG LOVE and it’s what’s said in this article that really nails exactly why I love the show so much.

“…even when the plot veers in unexpected directions, it always winds its way back to the Henricksons and their efforts to build on earth a family that will be together in eternity…in the end what binds them is genuine affection and concern. Exasperated as they may be with one another, they really like each other and they are really likable. And that is why “Big Love” is one of the few TV programs I look forward to watching. There are people to like. Likability is not highly prized on the small (or not so small) screen these days. If you watch programs like “Mad Men,” “Damages” and “The Shield” (which has now concluded its run), you would think that the point is to keep introducing characters who are even more repellent than the characters you already shrink from. Any hint of a redemptive quality is quickly overwhelmed by deeds so heinous that you literally cringe. No doubt this is “realistic” (a sure-fire honorific) and an antidote to the sentimentality everyone likes to put down. But sentimentality is good for you, especially if it comes wrapped in first-rate acting, crisp dialogue and a directing style (imitative of “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “The Wire”) that ferries you from dramatic moment to dramatic moment without asking you to think too much about what is going on. (The thinking comes later.)…The heterogeneity of the sprawling cast is reined in and given shape by the core commitment everyone has to the family’s survival and flourishing. External forces are always threatening to break it apart, but they are always repelled and the goodness of life… is always reaffirmed. Each story comes accompanied by a moral lesson, but its didacticism is tempered by a clear-eyed awareness of the travails one cannot avoid in this vale of tears.”

http://fish.

CHARLIEBZ

Sunday, March 1, 2009 9:08 PM

Oh, I have all kinds of love for Big Love. I'm particularly excited to see the return of the rival Poly gang - can't remember their names but the one with the woman/brother?

And then there is Harry Dean Stanton who I believe is awesome in every single thing he is in.

REGINAROADIE

Sunday, March 1, 2009 9:46 PM

Yeah, I remember seeing them in the preview for tonight's ep. They would definitely make Juniper Creek even weirder. Like I said, the compound has that really strange Lynchian feel to it. HDS, Grace Zabriskie, Bruce Dern, Mary Kay Place have ties with David Lynch, so that's why I'm describing it as Lynchian. And just the visuals of the compound of all those women in petticoats and the place being patrolled by humvees and men with AK-47's

But who do you think is ultimately creepier? Roman Grant or Frank? I think the latter and I already stated my case above as to why. I was so hoping that Lois would really kill him and that KFC would really be his last meal.

One thing I forgot to mention that I'm really hoping to see is Nikki snap. She's always been so tightly wound that I'm waiting for her to just snap at any moment. And we've seen a few moments so far this season. Like her rooftop confession, her reaction to Barb's cancer scare, and my fave, the reveal of her former marriage and her sneaking into the D.A.'s office to take her picture out of the Joy book, not to mention her tripping her father down the stairs in the courthouse.

And also, the guest stars this year have been great. I'm psyched to see Robert Beltran (aka. Chakotay from VOYAGER) as the business partner for Weber Gaming. It's one thing to see actors from genre shows on like regular dramas. It's another to see them do really good roles in great shows. And also Charles Esten (aka. Josh Porter from THE OFFICE, aka. Chip from WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAYS) as the D.A. smitten with Nikki.

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"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

PHYRELIGHT

Sunday, March 1, 2009 10:22 PM

[DELETED]

BYTEMITE

Sunday, March 1, 2009 11:13 PM

EDIT: This was a rant about the unfair Utah stereotypes that I feel like the show promotes.

It was not in keeping with the spirit of this thread, so I removed it. Sorry! Didn't mean to be a kill joy.

CHARLIEBZ

Monday, March 2, 2009 4:38 AM

Frank is far creepier. I, too, was half hoping Grace Zabrieske would have gone through with suffocating the bastard.

Nicki's going to blow and she's going to blow big. During her rooftop confession, I was afraid she was going to jump. So glad she didn't as she's such a fascinating character. Actually, they all are.

HDS and MKP are my favorites. Whenever they are on I pay extra attention.

Best line of the season so far: Barb saying "But Bill's the hot dog man." That line won't leave my mind.

REGINAROADIE

Monday, March 2, 2009 5:14 AM

Personally I loved in the last ep when Margene came into Bill and Niki's motel room in a bikini and coyly said "I'm sorry. Am I being a pill?" as she put her hand on his leg. No need for Viagra then. And then later Niki's slow realization as to what E.D. is was just so funny.

Yeah, BIG LOVE really digs character actors. Like Grace is my favorite of the Juniper Creek women. I just love the bulbous head, bug eyes and pursed lips. I have never seen a woman like that in my life, and I love her for that. And HDS looks so old he looks like he would have known Joseph Smith personally.

Does Alby remind you of Wash? The actors that plays Alby was also in THE AVITAOR and Odie, the airplane tech guy that was the closest thing to a friend Howard had. And Odie and Wash look and act so similar that I like to think that in some parallel universe Alan Tudyk was in a Martin Scorsese movie. And that Alan almost played a closeted fundamentalist Mormon trying to take control of Juniper Creek and almost getting killed in a public bathroom by an anonymous john. Yet another reason to avoid them.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

REGINAROADIE

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 2:46 AM

Hey

Just wanted to see if you saw Sundays ep and your thoughts on it.

Fave moment- Lois reciting "The Cremation of Sam McGee" to the boys. This realy made me smile and geek out, since that poem has some personal significance for me. That is my dad's all time favorite poem. So for a favorite show of mine to reference something that has personal significance for me just makes me love it more.

And it wasn't the only time that night. On HEROES (which is really kicking ass), there was a memory sequence that used Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" that made me smile ear to ear. It's one of my favorite songs.

As for BIG LOVE, I also dug Niki's plotline with her date and Margene exposing her identity theft and just why she's there. I also liked Barb and Sarah's heart to heart. And with Sarah's friend (I forget the character's name, but she's played by Tina Majorino), I keep waiting for her to admit her feelings for Sarah. I thought this time she actually would.

And as for the death, I was really hoping it would be Wanda. Wanda's such a loose cannon and it would be so much better if she was bumped off instead. And I'm wondering how may people with ponytails saw that death and then took a pair of scissors and cut them off.

Apparently, someone else is supposed to die in the finale. And it sucks that there's only three eps left.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

PHYRELIGHT

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 3:27 AM

(In response to reginaroadie's query on if I watch Big Love in a private message.)

I've never seen Big Love because I don't have HBO. At first, I was really disgusted by the show’s premise because I was really afraid that it would put a bad spin on my church, the “mainstream” LDS church, which hasn’t permitted polygamy since 1890. However, some who wanted to continue the practice at the time broke off into several other churches with varying degrees of strictness, the most extreme being like the FLDS church which was in the news recently over forcing underage girls into arranged marriages. To be honest, polygamy is as foreign a concept to me as the next person because I grew up outside of “Mormon country” and most of my recent ancestors and extended family are Baptists. (I also enjoy the freedom to date and marry whomever I will.)

But shortly after Big Love premiered, I read an article where several sister-wives were interviewed about the accuracy of the show, and I was shocked to find out that it was a truthful portrayal of that lifestyle. The article also fully stated the difference between my church and other Mormon churches, and I couldn’t have been more relieved and comforted by it.

REGINAROADIE

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 3:49 AM

I'm sorry. I meant this for CHARLIEBZ. Both you and him have the same icon pic, so I clicked on the wrong thing.

So that's why I sent it to you. No offense.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

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