Big Love Season 4 (Jan 10) (1 Viewer)

[Qui-Gon John]

Originally Posted by Tim Gerdes

Personally, if there's anything about the fourth season I believe is lacking, it's the presence of Harry Dean Stanton's Roman Grant. Sure we've seen him, but corpses and ghosts don't count.

I think it was a mistake to kill his character off, as Roman remained a compelling foil for Bill. Ultimately, having the series culminate in Bill's direct challenge to Roman's authority over Juniper Creek would have made for a better arc. I think that's where the show is headed anyway, and it would have made for better drama that way.

I strongly agree with this. I really thought after Season 3, we were going to find that someone found Roman shortly after and he was not dead, merely unconscious and he makes a recovery.

 

[mattCR]

Renewed for Season 5.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/02/03/big-love-renewed-by-hbo-for-a-fifth-season/41049

 

[Dave Scarpa]

They keep renewing it but why does'nt HBO have faith to give this show a decent number of episodes per seaason, and shorten the amount of time between seasons

 

[mattCR]

Well, a whole lot happened this week. What the heck to make of it.. and what happens next?

Marge is just angling for a way out. Nikki is the only one to really see that, but it's been pretty obvious for a while. Marge realizes that "coming out" will likely mean the death of her business. And Barb knows that too.

Everything involving Hollis is creepy.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

With them saying "only 2 more episodes" I guess that makes it official, that this season is only 9 episodes. I find that upsetting. I miss the days of Sopranos and Six Feet Under, which both started with 13 episode seasons, before their seasons were trimmed.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Well OZ only had eight eps a season. As far as season 4 I find parts of it excellent. And then there's the ridiculous stuff like last nights Mexico raid.

 

[mattCR]

I think the last ep of this season is 2 hours though. I could be wrong.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Well, 59 minutes according to HBO's Online Schedule.

 

[Scotian.]

I don't know what was more ridiculous, Lois snipping someone's arm off as easily as if it were paper mache or not being blasted to bits by all the guys with guns. Also why did they have to make a choice between getting medical help & letting them all go? Why not throw them all in the cage & still get medical help. This show is starting to feel like an old show from the 70's where everything always works out in the end for the main character.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Scotian.

I don't know what was more ridiculous, Lois snipping someone's arm off as easily as if it were paper mache or not being blasted to bits by all the guys with guns. Also why did they have to make a choice between getting medical help & letting them all go? Why not throw them all in the cage & still get medical help. This show is starting to feel like an old show from the 70's where everything always works out in the end for the main character.

Yeah. The "You have to let us go and get medical help" Really? Would have taken about 30 seconds to shoot all of them dead and then you pack him up and go to the hospital while the rest dig the graves. It wouldn't have added a blink to the time.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

It is a huge compund, three to take Hollis to the Hospital, the Rest cankillthem. The Green's are turning into moustace Twirling baddies.

 

[mattCR]

This show is spinning off into goofball world. This season has just felt like the wheels came off, and while some of the performances are very good - especially Chloe, who frankly has been sensational in her performance this year.
But the performances aside, the show as it sits is just not very watchable. This is one of those stories that has a lot of great performances, but really just says.. nothing.

 

[Nathan_F]

Hollis losing an arm wasn't just a guy losing his arm... or even their "leader" losing an arm... this was their "prophet." I can suspend my disbelief for a moment that the shock caused by his dis-arming would lead to inaction. Still a stretch...

 

[Quentin]

Chloe is a great actress, so it's no surprise she is one of the few things to watch this season. I'm just glad it's a short season!

Margie is off the rails. I don't buy where this character is going at all. Lame.

Bill is out of control...again. It's getting old. It's just a repeat of his same M.O. Only this time it's the senate!

Sissy as the villain? Doesn't work for me.

Barb is sort of wasted here too. And, if she cheats with the indian (Eddie?) I'm out.


Most of the compound stuff this season is bleh.


Actually, the Alby storyline is pretty interesting and with some great acting. But, it's been such a throwaway sub-story I can't even care.

 

[andy10022]

Does anyone else have to crank up the sound to hear all the lines? I admit to being well past 50, and my hearing is not what it used to be, but no other show has me reaching for the volume control (and closed captions) as much as Big Love. It seems some key things are said in a mumbled off-handed way. Maybe it is because the actors can't believe their lines, like the medical help escape clause just described. The show can be infuriating in its unevenness, but I can't stop watching. It is a soap opera all right, but on an unusual stage.

 

[mattCR]

Argh. Just no other comment but Argh.

I have no idea where season 5 goes.

I'm not sure if I'm interested in knowing.

 

[mattCR]

Watching it again this morning to give it a second chance, I realize exactly how bad the final scene of this show is. As they are all on stage to make their announcement, I realize that while a great piece of cinematography, the whole piece rings incredibly hollow. As some in the audience shout out "I didn't vote for this" you have to realize that Bill is undone the moment he steps off. He's right, his business is likely flushed down the toilet, and the thrashing that's coming will be significant.

I know this is what the season had been building toward, but it was still incredibly unsatisfying. The episode was just too convoluted. Too many things wrapped up too scattershot. Marge professes her love in a different marriage situation - Barb's desire to escape.. an Invitro fertilization scam that cam on and was resolved in a single episode basically, the discovery of a meth dealer in the casino and it causing them to out their indian companions. This felt as though 3 stories were quickly shoved into a 1 hour wrap up.

Too many threads were started and ended. Too many major, major holes that can't be resolved easily, or at all (Margene would easily be discovered being double married which would invalidate her marriage to Goran, and more then that make her a federal criminal having sworn out a bogus statement to INS)

This show went completely off the rails. I just don't know how they plan to revive it for S5. They might be best to just pretend this was all a vision or something.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

It Definately was the Weakest Season of all so Far.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

MattCR brings up the most glaring problem of all. How in the world do you profess love for Goran to INS while proclaiming on TV that you're married to someone else? I don't see any way the characters wouldn't think of this, so maybe the writers just forgot.

I wish the country could have an open discussion about polygamy, but it can't really happen because the people who would express the "pro" point of view would be tarred, feathered, and most importantly jailed. Children would be "confiscated". Families broken. So instead, polygamists lead a life hidden in the shadows. I'm not sure if outlawing polygamy prevents it in polygamist strongholds, but I do think it helps the average american citizen avoid a situation they probably know little about (and wouldn't even if it were legal).

I wonder if Bill is (or the writers are ) aware of recall elections. Unless Utah has some different laws, just because he managed to dupe the public into voting for him doesn't mean he's free and clear. If you get up on stage like that and basically say "f u" to the people who voted for you, the constituency can execute a recall election and have you removed from office. It's not as easy as "I'm elected, I can reveal whatever now."

It certainly will be interesting to see where S5 goes. Unfortunately, I started out looking at this show with Bill being the one example of a polygamist lifestyle lived truly according to principle, but at this point, there's not much left admirable in the story.
I've said before that many years ago I had long discussions with a polygamist (not Mormom... there are other religions/cultures that allow it as well -- and no, I don't mean to imply it's allowed by the Mormon church). He exaplained to me it's no picnic if you're a principled man as you're responsible physically, emotionally, financially, etc. It's difficult enough working that out with one partner. In the beginning, I saw those "principles" in Bill. But gradually, Bill has all but abandoned his wives emotionally as he pursues his own passions.

The show has slowly settled into the established viewpoint that the only women who would put up with polygamy are the damaged ones. Margene was a young woman who was the daughter of a whore who was desperately looking for love and somewhere to fit in. But now that she has found those things in other places, she's not as committed to the marriage. Nikki accepted it because it's all she ever knew. But little by little, she's been exposed to a life outside the compound (secular), and now she wants a monogamous relationship. That leaves Barb, who seems to have been a bit of a black sheep in her family even before she agreed to a polygamist lifestyle with Bill. Bill's family with his three wives was the one functional polygamist family on the show, but that's been destroyed. Now we're just watching a show about how polygamy is bad. Sissy Spacek's character may as well have been the voice of the writers -- just an excuse for men to screw around.

BTW, it was one thing when Bill fooling around with Margene. he could claim failure and weakness. But Ana? That makes him no more principled than the average tomcat.

I'll watch the show as long as it's on the air as I'm interested in the subject matter. But there's just so much wrong with what Bill's doing.

 

[mattCR]

Mikah:

I believe you hit the nail on the head for me. I'm sure I could get a lot of commentary that will reject everything I am about to say.

My wife and I (of 14 years) have very close friends who live in a plural marriage. 2 men, 4 women. They've been friends for almost 20 years now. They are not what I'd call "stupid" or "fundamentalists" (they are, by my account, atheists). They share a very nice home, and are what most would call upstanding citizens.. two professors, 1 software engineer, a kindergarten teacher, a florist and a stay at home mom. They are amongst the most happy, stable friends we have. They have done a better job with money management and planning then anyone we know, they paid off their (very nice) 8 bedroom home on the outskirts of a major metro , and they participate everywhere.
I've never seen them "make a secret" of their arrangement nor hide out. They are not formally "hitched" or anything of the sort, but they've owned their home for 12 years together, so for all basic purposes..

The thing about Big Love that I appreciated in the early first season was that I thought this could be a daring re-look at a social taboo. Penn & Teller took this on in "Bullshit!" and I thought this could be evaluated differently. With Bill having a set of wives who joined their arrangement fully aware, as adults, who made a knowledgable decision without cohersion, etc.

Bill brought this up in his "speech" on the steps. But the show has derailed from the first few seasons and the promise of a truly radical approach to the world. In the first two seasons, you had a lot of the things I found interesting.. co-parenting, the debates about what happens next, treatment of each other as peers. I thought that social drama was significant, interesting and was fun to watch.

The contrast between Bill's flawed, but still consensual situation and Roman's forced ill-ways made for some great and interesting shows. Then, as Roman's trial came about, Bill's involvement changed drastically and not for the better.

I just almost wish a Big Love "Family 2" would happen, in a completely different situation.

I'm just incredibly dissappointed with the way this season went. It just fell apart under the pressure of manufacturing drama at the neglect of real storytelling. There was room here to tell the story about children growing up in a plural home, about the inner workings between the wives.. but instead, we spent the entire season focused on events completely outside the family.. and the show suffered from it.