Big Love - TV-MA

For adults only, and for good reasons.

TV Rating: TV-MA Network: HBO Cast: Bill Paxton, Chloe Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin Genre: Drama
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that the main character in this edgy polygamy drama has three different families with three different wives -- but even with all of those families, very little in the show is appropriate for kids. Instead of focusing on how one man juggles three families, it focuses on how he satisfies his three wives. Everything else -- his job, his kids -- is less important. It's important to note that although this show is about polygamy, the characters are not Mormons.

Families who decide to watch with older teens can discuss the show's polygamy concept. Why would HBO make a show like this now? Since polygamy is often associated with the Mormon religion, despite the fact that the Mormons have long-since banned the practice, could the show be considered an implicit lampoon or criticism of their faith? Or does it actually show some of the benefits -- or at least the complexities -- of the practice? Who is the intended audience? How does each character come to terms with the complexity of a "big love" household?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: S. Jhoanna Robledo

HBO has made its bread and butter through its slate of quirky original series, and BIG LOVE is no exception. Unassuming, mild-mannered Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) owns a Home Depot-type store and maintains three wives in three adjacent homes, all of which share a giant back yard. And that's not all -- they also share the ups and downs of a poly-amorous life. It's bold stuff, garnering HBO even more fans, not to mention buzz, than it already has.

Too bad the producers couldn't just explore the entangled, sometimes mangled, relationships built into a situation like that. Though Big Love is highly entertaining -- and compelling to watch given its stellar cast (including Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny as two of the wives; Ginnifer Goodwin plays the third) -- the show does disappoint. Instead of mining its already-fascinating premise, creators have decided to fill the series with even more unusual supporting characters, including Bill's outlaw father-in-law Roman (Harry Dean Stanton), the mean polygamist to Bill's kind one; and Bill's mother Lois (Grace Zabriskie), who may or may not be trying to poison his father, Franklin (Bruce Dern). As a result, the series' potency is diluted, ridding its fresh premise of its promise.

In the end, the viewer is left with not enough insight as to why four adults decide to forge this unusual household. A few episodes seem to indicate that sex -- and there's plenty of it -- is the main reason, though that's probably not the way it is in real life (what's in it for the wives?). The characters' core motivation is still unclear -- Bill's nice, but no saint; he's cute, but no hunk; he's generous, but there are tons of mouths to feed -- but they're clearly desperate, as are viewers, who will want more answers than Big Love gives them.

Fans may also like some of HBO's other shows, including The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, as well as ABC's Desperate Housewives.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content There's so much sex that sometimes it feels like it's the only thing the show is about. They talk about it, they do it, they bare it. Scenes have included Bill's naked butt, an erection shown through a blanket, and children talking about erections.
Violence Guns are displayed here and there; a husband is poisoned by his wife; verbal jousts abound.
Language Some minor-league cursing ("damn").
Message
	Social Behavior One husband, three wives, and a father-in-law with a 14-year-old partner, not to mention the usual dysfunctional family relationships aired like too much dirty, tawdry laundry.
	Commercialism One shopaholic wife has practically memorized all of the popular mail-order catalogs, reeling off labels like a doctor does medical jargon. But her behavior is portrayed negatively.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco So many other vices are indulged that there's little room for run-of-the-mill substances and dependencies, though the main character takes Viagra.