JPTV: All HBO, All the Time...

I'm really sorry I even read your column it will be the last time

To Unknown,

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. >P

Big Love Watch FTW. There's something surreal and...celestial about that show that just sucks you in. Seeing Hudson from Aliens waxing eternal is too much.

I'll be sure to read the column twice, just to make up for unknown's lost traffic.

I stopped watching Big Love after about five episodes.... I think the problem is that its most interesting and compelling characters are the women who wind up being merely supporting characters in their own lives (and the show itself) because the strict patriarchal nature of the "society" force the much less interesting male characters front-and-center in every important story arc.

The "conflicts" of the female characters tended to be presented and resolved in one (infrequently, two) episodes, while the continuing power struggle within "the compound", and the conflict between the Juniper Hill society and the "outside" world is all about the men.

And it certainly doesn't help that just about all the male characters have the depth of Steamboat Willie. I don't know if Paxton is just not up to the role, or the role is just badly written, but he looks confused even when he's supposed to be happy, or angry, or reflect any emotion. And this is probably the shallowest performance I've ever seen from Harry Dean Stanton -- he brought more depth to his unbilled cameo in "You, Me and Dupree" than he shows here.

**********
PS: what is the story with Showtime's new Wonderland series? From the promos, and given Showtime's record, it looks like its going to be pretty bad. Is there any hope?

also, forget the rest of your summer...you need to respond to all 468 Sopranos finale comments

@p_luk: Meadowlands? I liked the first two episodes. Not to oversell it, but it's like an extremely violent version of The Prisoner.

Way to go James! I think Big Love is one of the coolest shows on tv, and I hope HBO gives it a long run. I love the way it plays with the ideas of choice, power, and faith.

@p_luk: I think you may have given up on the series too soon. In the last three or four episodes of season one, we find out a lot about Bill. He spends some time grappling with the choices he's made, and the evolution of his own faith over the years. I agree HDS is underutilized, but I think that's for the dramatic effect of contrasting a polygamous society that's negative vs. the Henricksons', for whom it seems to work. I hope that we will see some more complexity from him in season 2.

On a different note, I have to say I love CSev's character more and more. When I first watched the show I hated her, but as I continue to see her I can't help but admire how smart she is!