BIG Love

My new fave TV show is HBO's Big Love. If you haven't heard of it, it's about a Mormon polygamist family in Utah trying to "pass" in normal monogamistical society. It stars Bill Paxton as the "Patriarch" who is living "The Principle" with his three hot wives, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. It's produced by Tom Hanks, so I guess he decided having three hot wives makes polygamy more TV viewer friendly. All the documentaries I've ever seen about polygamy led me to believe that the women involved were really, REALLY not that hot, but who's gonna argue with the Hankster?

So, what does "living the principle" mean? I dunno for sure, but they talk about it all the time on the show with very serious spiritual frowny faces. My own personal knowledge of Mormons is limited to one ubernerd guy I met many years ago who wore funny Mormon underwear, as pictured here.** From what I understand, my posting this picture is an affront to Mormons everywhere, so if you are Mormon and offended, please keep your pants on and try to forgive me.

It doesn't shy away from depicting the more controversial polygamy "compounds" that house hundreds of families living in poverty and on welfare, nor does it ignore the child abuse that goes on in some of those places. But it does offer "their" side of the story, which is quite fascinating to me.

The Husband recently declared, after watching one episode of Bill Paxton bonking all three of the "sister-wives" in the same day (but not at the same time, for that is not Godly) that, yes indeedy, he too could contemplate having multiple wives! Then I pointed out that if he thought one pissed off woman was bad, imagine three or four all ganged up on his sorry ass, and he appeared to change his mind.

But I do find it extremely amusing that in the midst of all the recent Republican political posturing about the "sanctity" of one woman/one man marriage, that this show is so popular. I think that is another sign that your average American really doesn't care who you marry, as long as you get married and are as miserable as the rest of us, dammit.

**I never saw the underwear, he just described it. Get your mind out of the gutter!