HBO Big Love Compound

It’s like the car accident that you drive by and you tell yourself that you really don’t want to see anything disturbing; really you don’t. Then why are you still looking? Why are you driving so slowly, carefully scanning the scene? There’s something about our psychological makeup that I’ll never understand. Take for instance the controversial HBO series, Big Love. When it premiered, the first Big Love episode drew 4.6 million viewers. Pretty impressive. We all wanted that glimpse into this mainstream polygamist family. Living in suburban Utah in adjacent houses, right under everyone’s nose? How could that be? Eager to be the proverbial fly on the wall, we wanted to learn everything from their financial situation to their bedroom arrangements. Many of us didn’t agree with it, but how could we look away? We couldn’t, and we don’t. We’re all hooked. Makes you kind of wonder what could be going on in your own little suburban neighborhood.

I’m pretty middle of the road when it comes to having an open mind. Sometimes I have one, sometimes I don’t. It all depends on the situation. I watched the first episode with one eyebrow raised, I will admit that. But just like everyone else that‘s still watching, I’ve grown to love Viagra-popping Bill and his laundry list of constant problems.

Let’s see, he’s got mounting financial debt, three wives with all their jealousies and emotional needs, and an entirely illegal living arrangement that he is trying to keep under wraps. I thought I had problems! If this man doesn’t have some sort of mental or physical breakdown pretty soon, I’m going to be seriously surprised.

I can’t honestly say that I can even begin to understand why one man would want to be responsible for three different women, financially, sexually or otherwise. It makes me tired just to think of it. But along with the rest of America, I must admit that I’m hooked on HBO’s Big Love. It is definitely a “must watch”. From the racy sex scenes to the lies and seemingly constant dysfunction, I have to keep watching.

Like the reality shows of today, I suppose HBO’s Big Love helps us to understand and possibly, to even sympathize with something that at first glance we may have thought to be odd and unnatural. I think what we eventually learn is that people are people, regardless of their choices in life. I still think it’s odd and unnatural, but I’m definitely waiting for the next episode.

By Groshan Fabiola

Star of Big Love Bill Paxton plays a polygamous businessman in the HBO drama series, however in real life, his heart belongs to only one woman–Louise Newbury, his wife with whom he has two children.
The 52-year-old actor said in an interview that their marriage has lasted for twenty years, and that he does not want to talk about it publicly because he finds “people who advertise themselves as virtuous family people usually get caught splitting up the next day.”

However, his commitment to his wife does not necessarily mean that he can’t or won’t admire other members of the opposite sex.

Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn, who currently plays one of Paxton’s three wives in Big Love, has caught Paxton’s eye when they were at a John Edwards fundraiser. This event was held a year before they became castmates in the drama series.

“I saw her across the room and wanted to meet her really badly,” Paxton said.

In real life, Paxton and Tripplehorn are close friends, however, things aren’t going so well between their characters in the show’s current season. Barbara Henrickson, the role played by Tripplehorn, has recently left her polygamous marriage in order to search for her identity.

Also in real life, Tripplehorn expressed her delight in being friends with Paxton’s wife, saying that she “genuinely adores” her. Tripplehorn has also been married for seven years to actor Leland Orser. They have one son named August who was born in 2002.

Polygamy isn’t the only one that’s not present in the Big Love stars’ marriages. Paxton said he is having difficulty giving his wife space when she needs to analyze her feelings, unlike his character, Bill, who can easily distance himself from Barbara when she needs time to think things over and sort through her personal issues.

“I can’t go to bed feeling (unresolved),” said Paxton. “(My wife) can harbor it a bit. She’ll give me the silent treatment, which drives me crazy.”
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