twop thread re pilot Big Love last nite
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-I always thought modern marriage in itself is ridiculous, and this form is no worse than others. I liked reading parkinson law for marriage (?), with explanation that previously you interacted with many more people at home daily. This "two people in tiny apartment against each other" is a recent form of living.
- I've known a fairly decent amount of people who have been in line marriages (?), polyandrous relationships and other non-traditional types. I don't think it's for everyone but I have seen it work. For some people, monogamy isn't as attractive as a group.
-I know some people in a polygamist marriage (they're not Mormon) and the way the family stands together is fascinating.
-I would highly recommend checking out the character guide on the HBO website. It gives a little more insight into the characters, particularly how the marriages came to be. Apparently, when Barb got sick with cancer, Roman sent Nicki to live with their family to help out with the kids, and she and Bill became lovers and they added her as a wife. ... My $.02? I really liked it. I love how HBO uses extraordinary subcultures as the basis of their dramas (the mafia, a carnival, prison, funeral home).To me, the setting is the most important character, and I like where Big Love is going. I also loved the casting. I'm going to have an IMDB field day with all the "that guys/gals" in this show. I loved Chloe Sevigny's "prairie muffin" garb. Does she shop at the Duggars'?Also, I don't think that just because HBO makes a show about polygamy automatically means they condone it. I think they definintely did the fundies justice and made their lives look crappy, and although Bill's family situation is not something I would ever do, Barb did say, "We all chose to be here". Different strokes, man.
adding later as read back thru thread:
-Mormons are inherently interesting. I've known a lot of them throughout my life and the only recurring thread I've found from Mormon to Mormon is that they all have trampolines.
-Amanda Seyfried and Tina Majorino are my favorites for this show. Actually, I'll probably tune in just to see them. I think they've got good chemistry. AmandaS suprised me. I figured she was just a one trick pony playing ditzy blondes but on this show she was so subdued - I was impressed. And it was nice to see her not bursting out of her shirt for once. TM is always good - she looks a lot prettier on this show than on VM.
- So this show features a mysterious boss who wants a taste . . . uh, tithe of the business of his cohorts, a guy who wants out but keeps getting pulled back in, family secrets that must be kept but will inevitably come out, dead siblings who have yet to figure in the plot, sons who don't get along with their parents . . . it's the white bread and jello Sopranos.Did anyone else think it was funny that Bill couldn't perform for horny Margene and then was left alone with his boner when Barb wanted to sleep? I half expected him to say "Well, I'll see if Margene's still up." Any show that gives Mary Kay Place and Harry Dean Stanton some work is okay by me, or at least deserving of a few more eps. And like other posters upthread I can't figure out how they keep this big secret. Some people obviously know, like the guy who asked, "Ever think of taking a fourth?" and the girls with "Sarah has three mommies." Seems like it's one of those things where everyone knows but looks the other way.
- The most interesting dynamic to me is that of Barb and Margene. There seems to be a more motherly affection than anything else there. It wouldn't suprise me at all if them bringing her into the family was in part to take care of her. good, this is the kind of thing I want. Love the show by the way.
- One thing that struck me as odd was making Chloe Sevigny the least sympathetic of the three wives. Not odd from a casting perspective, because, well, she exudes this kind of 'please hate me because I'm vile' vibe. More like because I would think she'd want to get away from that typecast a bit and go to something a little more likeable.
- I do agree that Barb seems the strangest character so far. Nicki grew up in this culture and indeed seems to prefer the more hardcore version in the compound; Marge is so childlike that she seems a perfect fit for this sort of relationship. But Barb, frankly, is acting a little too independent and assertive for a plural wife. Maybe it's just a veneer for the sake of her own self-esteem. We'll see.
-I think the character I was most interested in was the oldest daughter Sarah (I think that's her name). The look she gave her father was heartbreaking when he ignored her and something just makes me think she could be the wildcard in all this. She didn't volunteer for this lifestyle and is old enough to remember not living in a polygamous household. I get that she loves her father but is disappointed in him and she seems strong enough to stand against what he's doing. She might be his undoing.
- the new girl at the Diner (can't remember her name, but the girl from "Corrina, Corrina") may also have come from a polygamist family. She totally overheard the other girls making fun of Sarah with the "three mommies" comments, and then she perked up and expressed an interest in getting to know Sarah. --I think you're right that she perked up when she realized polygamy might be at issue, but I don't think it's because her family practices it as well. My sense is that she wants to "save" Amanda Seyfried's character. Traditionally, LDS women had a role in "saving" plural wives from polygamy and "converting" them to the LDS Church (e.g., after the famous Short Creek raid, polygamist wives and children were "fostered" through Relief Societies around Utah and Arizona into LDS families, with that goal). I think Tina Majorino's character's suggestion that they spend time together is aimed at just that.
- I love Tina Majorino. I'm impressed that a child actress grew up to be so likeable. ah she took several yrs away from acting, ~ to that end~, of course to decide to do probably shows she was a cool kid, as she seems to be playing the lovely little girl in Whenamanlovesawoman.
- I thought what the kids called the other wives was interesting (Mother for their own mom, Mom _____ for one of the other two). .. Utah is beautiful, whenever they showed them driving on the highways I couldn't get over how pretty it is. p.6

-from recapper Sobell: FYI to all posters: remember that the Church of LDS does not have polygyny as a "tenet" of their faith. Polygamy is a historical aspect, but the church formally disavowed it in 1890 (one of the conditions for Utah's statehood) and does excommunicate people for it today. Ex-Mormon and writer Bill Shunn has a good overview of the topic here. While the breakaway sects that practice polygyny today may take "Mormon" in their names, they're about as reflective of the larger church as the Catholic Traditionalist Church is of the Roman Catholic church.I bring this up because I know that if I were an LDS poster, seeing doctrinally incorrect assertions taken as factual might chap the ol' ass. Also, we do have a separate thread to discuss polygamy/polygyny is more detail, as I have no doubt that it'll be a fertile topic throughout the series.
several responses of thx to this, found on p. 5
and p. 7 Sobell: I am about to post a boatload of links in the polygamy thread, if anyone's interested in backstory on the Colorado City case.

----I poste this at 6:23 am really (then went back to sleep, up again around 9).
changed posttime so this wld not be sandwd btw polygamy information.------------------------------------

Bree gets drunk and Andrew gets sassy and the combo earns Andrew a nice, juicy slap across the face. Taking a page from Dirty Harry, Andrew talks Justin into punching him across the face, and then he takes his demonstrably bruised mug to a lawyer and requests emancipated minor status (which will, not-at-all-coincidentally, give him early access to his trust fund). nice writing - condensation by good sentence. By Evany