I can't say I'm surprised about this news. HBO is launching a new
original series after The Sopranos on March 12 called Big Love. It stars Bill Paxton as a wealthy
businessman from Salt Lake City who just happens to be a polygamist. He tries to balance the needs of his three wives,
played by Chloe Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Ginnifer Goodwin (hey, that's some good casting!), by popping a little
Viagra every now and then. HBO expects the funny to erupt as Paxton tries to juggle his three families, while keeping
his lifestyle secret. People on both sides of the aisle are upset over the premise. Some real-life polygamists say their lifestyle is the greatest because they don't have a husband around every night, and they worry that Big Love will villify polygamy. On the other hand, former wives of polygamists worry that the show will make too much fun of a very serious issue. And, of course, the Mormons (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) are pissed off because they've been working real hard to separate themselves from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, the Mormon spin-off that encourages having multiple wives. The real Mormon church outlawed polygamy back in 1890 and would like everyone to know that!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-25-2006 @ 3:14PM
Missy said...
Wouldn't it be nice if, for once, people would actually let a show air AND watch it before they start going nuts about it?
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2-25-2006 @ 5:12PM
FX Viewer said...
UGH! Only Jeanne Tripplehorn is worth being married to. She is drop dead gorgeous while Ginnifer, even though cute is a little on the chubby side and Chloe YUCK!!!
I do agree, people need to stop being a critic of something they haven't seen yet.
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2-26-2006 @ 12:37AM
Tucker said...
Missy, you answered your own question... The show would a) have to air and b) (the worst part) they'd actually have to watch it. I imagine you're older than, say, 12 years old, so you show well know by now that there's nothing loudmouth blowhards hate more than actually KNOWING what they're loudly protesting against.
Why don't these people take a few minutes to actually understand what they're protesting? Because (SHOCK HORROR) they might actually find out it's not so bad and they're just closed-minded morons.
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2-26-2006 @ 10:03AM
Steve Bryson said...
As a member of the Mormon "cult", I can assure you that I think this show looks funny and I am not offended. If the show turns out to be as dumb as 6'Under or The Comeback, I will then complain; not due to the subject matter, but simply because it sucked. As for Mormons still believing in polygamy; we believe in being subject to the laws of the land; so yeah, we don't practice it anymore. If in the next life polygamy is the rule, I guess I may just have my own HBO special. Until then, I am not worried about it.
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2-26-2006 @ 1:06PM
Zarquon said...
I'm not a mormon, so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but it seems to me that if you're going to a show about a mormon polygamist, you should go all the way. Seems like the polygamist variety is fairly fundamentalist and since caffeine is no-no it seems like viagra would be too. Its seems like there would be more issues in trying to live as a polygamist than, say, being hen-pecked three times over.
I also think the power relationship in polygamist marriages probably isn't that funny. I know its a just a tv show, and its entertainment, but I think polygamy can be very damaging to women and the show runs the risk of giving people a distorted perception of what polygamist marriages are like. Although like most everyone else, I haven't seen it, so I don't actually know that.
I guess the bottom line is I have a hard time seeing how it will be funny without being tasteless; maybe it will surprise me.
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2-26-2006 @ 1:40PM
Tucker said...
Zarquon: "...as Paxton tries to juggle his three families, while keeping his lifestyle secret"
Sounds like that's what they'll be relying on for laughs.. Also doesn't sound like he's too fundamentalist if he's trying to keep it secret. Actually, come to think of it, this show looks a whole lot like the film "Eulogy" with Hank Azaria, Ray Romano and Zooey Deschanel - just from a different angle.
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2-26-2006 @ 7:10PM
warren said...
I saw an ad for this. So do they all live in the same house? or it seemed that all the wifes knew about each other
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