billpaxton

(S03E01) Big Love returned to HBO last night, the first new episode since 2007. To say that the show returned with a vengeance is an understatement. Big Love is one of the best dramas on TV. Imagine I, Claudius in the mountains of Utah, with a complicated series of plot that are mostly about marriage. Polygamy, that is. One husband; many wives.

Picking up some time after the last episode, the Hendricksons are intact and solid as a rock, despite past problems. Margene's had a baby girl and is happy as can be, Nicki is working at a job in the courthouse to repay her credit card debt, Barb is keeping it all together as the first wife.

The nominees for Best Actor in a Drama are not all from the movies like the Best Actress nominees are, but they are still a damn fine group of actors. I am glad that I don't have to vote officially for the Golden Globes, because I really think this is a very hard group to choose from. I have to say that my top three contenders are Michael C. Hall, Bill Haxton, and Hugh Laurie-- and not just because of their performances last year, but also because of their bodies of work as a whole. I don't know whether that is entirely fair or not, but I don't live in a vacuum. However, that is not to take away from the other two nominees, and the group as a whole are:

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(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.

(S02E09) Things are certainly heating up on Big Love. I don't know for certain what big finale we are gearing up for. I used to think that it was Bill taking over as head of the U.E.B. (United Effort Brotherhood). I thought last season was leading Bill toward being the prophet. But now I'm not so sure. Now, more and more, I think things are careening toward Bill losing everything. I don't think he'll lose the store (though, that would make Margie's concerns foreshadowing), but I think he is going to lose Barb. And that, in Bill's world, would be everything.

(S02E07) Sorry about my absence last week. I was actually in Utah, visiting family who do not have HBO. Things were complicated and I also did not really have an Internet connection before this afternoon, so I couldn't do a review. I have seen last week's episode "The Dating Game," though. I liked Ana, and I thought her friendship with Margene was very sweet. I admired Bill, though, for realizing that maybe it was just lust on his part and ending the relationship. I also admire him for not sleeping with Ana, though can making out with her without two of his wives knowing he is seeing someone really be part of an eternal principle? Just curious about this protocol.

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.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO likes Big Love enough to bring it back for a second season. The series is about a polygamist family consisting of a husband, three wives, and seven children (and at least one wife wants another child).

The viewership for Big Love hasn't been impressive, with about 50% of Sopranos' viewers not sticking around for the show. It has been averaging about 4 million viewers each Sunday night. Those numbers are comparable to HBO's Deadwood.

Season two of Big Love begins filming in August.

I can't say I'm surprised about this news. HBO is launching a new original series after The Sopranos on March 12 called Big Love. It stars Bill Paxton as a wealthy businessman from Salt Lake City who just happens to be a polygamist. He tries to balance the needs of his three wives, played by Chloe Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Ginnifer Goodwin (hey, that's some good casting!), by popping a little Viagra every now and then. HBO expects the funny to erupt as Paxton tries to juggle his three families, while keeping his lifestyle secret.