Big Love

If it's news that I'm writing about, I will probably be timely, but as far as television, movies, music, I tend to come in a little late in the game.

I finally finished the HBO series Big Love. The series spanned for five seasons, starting when I was a senior in high school, though I didn't hear about it until my senior year of college. The summer of 2010 I had a really bad sinus infection and needed something to watch. I went to Blockbuster––remember those?–– Actually I think that particular store is still open in my home town but probably not for long.

I watched the first disk and was miffed that there were only two episodes on the first disk, but then I had to get back out of my sick bed and go rent the next disk. I watched as many episodes as I could in those few days before it got too expensive to keep renting the DVD's. And this is why Blockbuster has gone by the wayside. Eventually I subscribed to Netflix and then I was set to give my full attention to this fabulous show about Mormon Polygamists.

A little introduction to the show if you aren't familiar: Bill Paxton plays Bill Hendrickson who was raised on a fundamentalist Mormon compound). However as a teen he is banished from the compound by the Prophet Roman Grant.

Bill marries Barbara (Barb), they join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and have three children. Barb is stricken with cancer though I will admit, I'm not sure what kind. The daughter of Roman Grant, Nikki, comes from Juniper Creek to help nurse Barb. Which becomes funny later on since Nikki is not nurturing in the slightest.

Nikki is soon married into the family. This sets up one of the many conflicts. Barb was raised in a traditional LDS family where plural marriage isn't condoned, and she often has to come to terms with being part of a Polygamous family.

This introduction to the plot however is back story to the show as well, which begins after Bill has married his third wife, Margene and fathered children with all three of the wives.

If any of the plot is confusing thus far it could be that I don't want to expend too many words; however, one of my many takeaways from this show is whether or not the show is accessible to those who don't know much about the LDS/FLDS church.

Clearly, the show was well received. I heard of it because I had friends who watched it and loved it. And most people, at least in the Western United States, have a surface level knowledge of the Mormon Church, but the show, in my opinion, portrays more than surface level plot lines and references.

Not that I'm a practicing member of the LDS church, nor have have I ever been, but I do know a lot about the church and the doctrine through friendships and my own research.

One of my favorite lines is in either the first or second episode, where Bill and Barb's only son, Ben, is contemplating sleeping with his girlfriend, who isn't a Mormon. Ben's friend in a very serious tone says to him, "CTR my friend, CTR." I cracked up, but I wonder if lines like this one went over the majority of audiences' heads.

These allusion continue throughout the series. One episode that really struck me is––sorry, spoiler alert––the one where Barb is excommunicated from the LDS church, after her plural marriage is revealed. This episode shows the inside of the Temple. I'm aware this is filmed on a set and not an actual LDS temple building. However, if anyone is aware to the strict rules about who is allowed inside a temple building, one would also find it quite surprising that even a staged peek inside was acceptable.

Lastly, towards the end the show, Priesthood becomes a reoccurring phrase, especially with Barb seeking to join the reformed LDS church because she feels she is a Priesthood holder. I'm not going to explain the Priesthood here but the show never did either; the script just constantly referred to it. A quick note, the fact that Barb feels she should be a Priesthood holder is pretty controversial.

Accessible or not, the show is dramatic, captivating, and has a good cast of characters and actors, which I can identify as reason for the show's following. The extra layer of a nuanced often misunderstood faith just adds to the allure of the program.

The final episode did frustrate me a little. It was out of left field, but not in a good way. I feel the writers grasped at a non-existent means to get the intended ending. However, I did cry, a lot, after boding with the family so deeply.