Come on… admit it. When you read about polygamists in the newspaper you secretly wish you could have 2, 3 or 4 wives. Sounds like quite the life if luxury doesn’t it. But think about it. Don’t you constantly hear about how terrible life is being married to ONE woman (which is only the case if one of you is a loser), can you really imagine being married to THREE? Nagging times THREE… henpecking times THREE… getting hit in the head with a rolling pin for coming in late times THREE. And all without the benefits that you might imagine come with the territory. If you watch most network television you'll notice all manner of dysfunctional families, but honestly I cannot remember the last time I saw one that involved a polygamist family. Leave it to HBO, who has become one of the leading cable channels for highly creative original programming, to plant one right smack dab in front of our faces.

"Big Love" stars Bill Paxton (the lucky so and so who gets to hang out with James Cameron and travel to the real Titanic…) as Bill Henrickson, the average everyday owner of a large, successful home improvement store. He's a good family man and loves wife and kids… or I guess I should say 'wives.'

Living the polygamist life in Salt Lake City, Bill is husband and provider to Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin). Now, I'm not sure how real polygamists live their lives, but here Bill has three separate homes that he uses to house each wife and subsequent children (seven in all). Aside from the typical problems one must face with having just one family, Bill finds himself moving further and further ideologically from the cult that he is a part of. A good portion of the money his business earns goes back to the cult, which in turn allows him to live a very comfortable lifestyle outside of the main compound. As the first season progresses, Bill decides to try and open a second store without the knowledge or consent of the cult's leader Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton).

Interestingly enough, the idea of polygamy almost takes a back seat to the actual goings-on in ""Big Love." If this piece of fiction is to be believed, there is just as much back-stabbing, spying and all around lying going on in this idyllic world as there is in ours. It shows that despite our differences in beliefs, people are alike all over in the fact that most will do anything to get what they want, no matter who it hurts or how bad. "Big Love" point this out in spades all the without conforming fully to the role of drama or comedy, much like real life.

HBO's DVD release offers the show's 12-episode first season in a very nice looking widescreen package. There is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but the series doesn’t really have a broad enough sound to fully appreciate it. As for extra features, there is a commentary by Paxton and Tripplehorn on the episode "Affair" and a second by Tripplehorn, Sevigny and Goodwin (having kicked out the 'husband') on "The Ceremony". Both commentaries are worth a listen if for no other reason than to hear all the actors playfully bicker with each other. You'll also find a featurette on the making of the show's title sequence (which always seems to be something special for HBO shows) where we hear from most of the cast and crew as to the overall design and what it took to shoot it properly.

"Big Love" doesn’t necessarily carry the power that shows like "Deadwood" or "Carnivale" did, but it ranks close to the style of entertainment received from "Six Feet Under."

Episodes:
Pilot
Viagra Blue
Home Invasion
Eclipse
Affair (Commentary by Bill Paxton and Jeanne Tripplehorn)
Roberta's Funeral
Eviction
Easter
A Barbecue for Betty
The Baptism
Where There's a Will
The Ceremony (Commentary by Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin)

Starring: Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Harry Dean Stanton
Extras: Audio Commentaries, The Making of the Opening title Sequence
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: HBO
Release Date: 10/17/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Big Love: Season 1 a B+.