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The Curtain: By Zack Sampsel
Television Review: Big Love (HBO)
HBO’s Big Love provides big entertainment

Created By: Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer

Always known for cutting-edge television shows and discussion of all topics taboo, HBO delivers another show in the same mold: Big Love.

Big Love centers on Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) a polygamist living in Salt Lake City with three wives. Henrickson is the successful owner of a home improvement store. While Bill is successful businessman, his home life is less than simple.

Because Bill has three wives, Barb, Nicky and Margene (played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin, respectively) his stress levels never cease. Most of his stress is generated by obvious problems such as, how to balance his time with each wife or keeping his polygamist lifestyle a secret. Bill must also deal with his down-on-their-luck parents who stay at the Juniper Creek Compound commonly referred to as The Ranch.

Within the first episode we meet more than 10 characters. The introduction of all these characters is interesting and they seem well written, although it may be tough for some viewers to remember all their names and their relationships to one another.

After the introduction of Bill’s three wives and seven children, he gets a call from his mother explaining his father is sick, but she refuses to take him to the hospital. Bill elects to handle the situation and head to The Ranch. He finds his father sick on the floor foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. While getting his father to the car to drive to the hospital Bill runs into Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) who is the leader of The Ranch and the father of Bill’s wife Nicky.

Complications arise as Roman tells Bill he wants a percentage of the revenue from his newly-opened store – Roman financed most of the first store. After this encounter, it’s easy to see most of the complications from the series will involve Grant and his diabolical business practices.

For any show to be interesting, viewers must be able to like and enjoy some of the characters. If Bill and his wives don’t seem compelling enough for you, it may be easy to find solace in his oldest daughter Sarah (Amanda Seyfried). Sarah works at a local fast-food restaurant and seems to be the only character with beliefs differing from her polygamist family.

Big Love does an excellent job of developing its characters and providing appealing story lines each week. Although Big Love would be considered a drama, it presents a world so unfamiliar viewers will continue to tune in to piece together this polygamist puzzle.

Big Love airs on HBO East at 10 p.m. EST/PT.

© Zack Sampsel 2006