I began watching Big Love for the novelty of peering into the life of a man with multiple wives, a trepidatious fantasy that I dare say all straight men imagine at some point (although further daydreaming about it often gives way to nightmares about being outnumbered and overnagged). However, I did not think that I would find a show about Mormons in Utah so interesting after that initial novelty wore off.Well, it wasn't long before this series showed me how ridiculous my biases were. The show grabs you with its universally human themes, and it also educates you by shedding light on both sides of explosively controversial issues that are very specific to a relatively small group of people, but nonetheless extremely important enough that we should all be aware of such issues. The storytelling is gripping, featuring: a man who built a small empire out of nothing after being cast out of a polygamist compound and onto the streets; his first wife, who bought into this way of life out of love for her husband but still struggles with her choice; his second wife, whose father is the leader of the compound and is responsible for her husband being cast out; and his third wife, who was not very religious before meeting her new family, but has found the path through her love and devotion to this family. More than anything, the themes revolve around people who are attempting to live what they believe is a righteous life, but having to hide it from the rest of society, lest they be persecuted, or even jailed.It is hard to believe that the legal controversy over the ability of the State of Utah to not just deny polygamist marriage licenses, but to prosecute polygamists for cohabitation, did not come to a head until 2013 (see Brown v. Buhman). As mentioned above, the show presents both sides of the coin, showing how the cohabitation laws were a useful tool for law enforcement seeking to prevent the wrongful exploitation of young women within polygamist compounds and societies, but also recognizing that a significant portion of people who were just trying to freely and honestly practice their religion were arbitrarily caught in the crossfire. Ultimately, my hatred for pretext laws puts me on the side in favor of abolishing anti-cohabitation laws. We should fight the war against exploitation of young women by changing the laws concerning exploitation of young women to better facilitate prosecution of the traffickers, not by casting a wider net that also ensnares innocent people.The execution of the above-mentioned superior storytelling was masterfully executed by a strong cast. This is role in which I saw Paxton go from charismatic supporting actor to natural leading man. All of the actresses playing the wives bring out their character's individual strengths and beauty, but Ginnifer Goodwin in particular delivers The Girlfriend Experience; she only gets more beautiful the more you watch her. And before she became a fantasy woman, Amanda Seyfried was soft-spoken teenage girl Sarah Henrickson, who expressed the turmoil shouldered by the children of polygamists through her big, blue-grey, brooding eyes.Unfortunately, the brilliance of the show was overshadowed in its later seasons by over-the-top plot twists. It devolved into a hard-to-believe soap opera, and it lost a significant amount of the real-people-problems appeal that made it so relatable early on. Thus, while the first two seasons easily deserve 8 stars out of 10, the bad aftertaste in my mouth left by the latter seasons downgrades the series to 6.For more reviews, a kick-ass podcast, and an explanation of The Girlfriend Experience, check out: www.livemancave.com

While this show treads much of the familiar ground of the cable soaps, its originality makes it my current favorite. Just as the Sopranos challenges the viewer to sympathize with a homicidal, womanizing and frequently loutish mob boss, who loves his family every bit as much as we love ours, so too with Bill Henrickson, a workaholic polygamist home supply chain entrepreneur. Both shows, at least in part, deal with the baggage these men carry as a result of their connections to much older forms of patriarchy (literally) on the one hand, while sharing modern suburban American aspirations on the other.I am barely into season two right now, so hints of why Bill and Barb chose to live according to the "principle" are still sketchy. But again like the Sopranos, there is the strong sense that while "the life" isn't for everybody, the main characters would be less than "real men" if they lived any other way, or so they think - or can't escape thinking. Whether either are heroic or anti-heroic is less the point than the simple fact they have an extraordinarily large amount of work to do to make it from day to day. The straight-laced tea-totaling Mormon milieu makes for a very different experience of menace regarding this series' bad guys. Instead of the usual profanity-laden explicit violence of other shows, the "I'll pray for you brother (to accept the offer you can't refuse)" exchanges are literally "foreboding," especially when spoken by the number one bad guy often referred to as "the Prophet," who is equally adept at quoting chapter and verse from the religious texts, Shakespeare, and country music.One of the funniest moments I've seen anywhere is when Bill's father explains his habit of peeing in the sink. While his thorough contemptibility would seem to be the reason, it isn't. The real reason is so obvious in retrospect that you can't help loving this show forever after.

"Big Love" begins as a gripping exploration of a family that attempts to walk the tightrope between polygamy and normalcy. Bill Paxton stars as Bill Henrickson, a straitlaced family man with three wives: Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Marge (Ginnifer Goodwin), and Nicolette (Chloe Sevigny).Season 1 allows the audience to step inside the Henrickson homes (there are three, right next to one another). We see Bill struggle to please all three wives as he faces problems at work. We see Barb struggle to rise to her duty as "First Wife." We see Marge struggle to find her place in the family. We see Nikki struggle to cling to her conservative roots. At the same time, the show hints at doubts and serious questions concerning Sara and Ben, Barb's children. Season 1 works as a compelling dysfunctional family drama: 10/10 Season 2 doesn't flow quite as well. It picks up just as Season 1 ends, and it doesn't bring much new content to the table. Conflicts with Nikki's father, Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) escalate, which pushes the show out of the house and into Roman's compound. The compound scenes are repetitive and bland, as well as over-the-top. Season 2 gets a 6/10.Season 3 is a huge step up from Season 2. The show returns more to its roots at the Henrickson household, and it introduces new conflicts of exposure, family ties, and possible expansion. 8/10.On the whole, "Big Love" is a solid show with one very weak season. It would do best to abandon the compound scenes altogether. Still, each character and performer gets his/her due. Paxton is solid as the patriarch, Tripplehorn shines throughout as the questioning mother, Goodwin shines in Season 2 as she finally gains some responsibility, and Sevigny carries the show in its third season.

I never would have thought that I would actually LIKE this show. I watched Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia and just thought that I had to get more from her. Most young actors and actresses are so terrible and unconvincing but she is so great and I wanted to see more. I started watching Big Love online and have caught up to the second season, even ordered HBO so I could watch it. Now it isn't all about watching Amanda's character (though she is my favorite because I love how she views her family) it is about seeing how their family life can be that is so different than my own. Big love is well-written and the cast is just amazing and makes it all seem so real.I'm a southern baptist, but I can see why polygamy is around (though not the compound part of it). I mean, Joseph in the bible had four wives - Leah and her maiden she gave him to bare more children with and Rachel and her maiden she too gave him. Now I am not saying that I am going to go out and find me a husband and sister wives but it has shined some light on both sides and straddlers on the fence.