(S04E08) "There is nothing about us that's the same and you know nothing about me." - Barb Henrickson

"Oh I know some...and I'm just getting started." - Marilyn Densham

The season is winding down and usually the plot endings that come to a predictable end do so just before the big shockers do. And that's what happened this week.

However, the surprise, one of many to come I'm sure, wasn't within the plot or the behavior of the characters or even the duality between good and evil of some of the supporting players in our little bigamy tragedy. It's the emotional reaction to the characters' connections and their endurance to endure that sneaks up on you and knocks your block off as you stand there all smug and self-aware that you were able to predict the ending. And it should. A show like this about much more than its plotlines and story shockers.

(S04E04) "You wanted to play nice dolly with the nancy boy, but he's collaborating with your enemy. What a fool you've been." - Roman's ghost to Alby on discovering that Dale is working with Bill

This week's episode was full of moments that made my spine want to worm its way up my neck and straight out the back of my head like sp,e bizarre alien larvae working its way through my innards for a chance at breathing some clean air.

Sure, the tension was thick and coated the show in a gooey texture from the opening to closing credits, but this week also added an extra layer of pure visceral emotion that broke through the screen and made you feel the unspoken tension in places you didn't know had nerve endings.

(S04E01) "Tonight we share a new beginning." - Bill to his wives after seeing the profits from the new casino

I always figured a show like Big Love would be complicated. It just makes sense. Sometimes having to follow one married couple on screen can wear even the most focused man into a coma, but I had no idea until I sat down and watched my first episode. Mutant onions have less layers.

Season four of 'Big Love,' HBO's juicy drama about volatile life in a Mormon community, premieres Sunday, Jan. 10 at 9 PM. The tagline for the new season is "Hold on Tight," and we can't wait to do just that.

If you prefer not to know a single thing about the new season, do not read any further! Spoilers ahead ...

Big Love was nominated for several Golden Globe Awards the other day, and now HBO has released this new promo/holiday greeting. I don't know if Harry Dean Stanton says "Christmas" to me though. The new season premieres on January 10.

[via Brandfreak]

(S02E12) Things certainly didn't end up the way I thought they would in the season finale. And now I can't wait to see Season 3! I hate having to wait for so long for new seasons. I don't want to say too much before the jump, though. I'll just say that I thought I had a lot of things pegged a certain way, and one of the great things about this show is that it shows us that people in all of their wonderful complexity. None of these characters can be easily pigeon-holed.

NBC brings us the Golden Globes tonight, and this is the last in our series of preview posts looking at the television categories. Sandy will be blogging live updates of the show here on TV Squad, so if Jack and 24 already have your attention, keep a browser open to play along. That said, let's look at the award for Best Television Series - Drama.

Inertia is a powerful thing. And it is one of the big problems with Emmy nominations. Too often the same show will get nominated year after year because that's just what they do, while newer, more deserving shows, are overlooked. The Golden Globes doesn't fall into that particular trap quite as often, but they have their own issues. The Globes have a tendency to favor shows with a lot of buzz, or big ratings, whether their quality is up to snuff or not. I think it's something we see again in the list of nominees this year.