First of all, I am completely addicted to the show and am going nuts here in NYC where I am being deprived of HBO. Luckily, I have On-Demand at home and will be able to catch up on the two episodes I've missed once I get back to LA.

Why am I so addicted? The only way I can explain it is that it's kind of like rubber-necking at the scene of a horrible accident. Also, I've developed a strong liking for the first wife Barb (played by Jeanne Triplehorn) and am really hoping that she will extricate herself from the polygamist lifestyle, which is clearly making her miserable.

To me the show captures perfectly why polygamy is not popular in our society and never will be. It's really sad watching Bill trying to care for the needs of three wives, doing more than most men do for one wife, but still falling completely short because, well, THREE WIVES people! Paul's one and only comment about the show was, "How does he (Bill) still have that much hair?" Men may be under the impression that having three hot wives (although I don't find wife #2 attractive at all, and #3 looks like a teenager so it's kind of gross seeing her in bed with Bill Paxton) is a fantasy come true, but in reality you end up with three women demanding your time, money, affection and then you gotta take viagra to keep up and end up dizzy and in danger of suffering a heart attack.

Then there are the women. There is so much jealousy and pain there that I just can't understand why they stay. Well, that's not exactly true, #2 grew up in a polygamous cult and so it is all she knows. #3 is just looking for family and love. But why Barb (#1) stays is beyond me. She is beautiful, intelligent, competent and grew up in the official Mormon church which is (at least officially) against polygamy. It's clear that sharing her husband causes her a great deal of pain (apparently in this week's episode, she breaks down crying and tells Bill that she feels as though she's been "robbed" of him). Relationships are hard enough without having to fight such a basic human instinct as jealousy every day of your life. And the fact that they all acknowledge that they must fight "temptation" (jealousy) only makes it that much more confusing to me.

It seems pretty clear that polygamy, even when it is "ideal" as it certainly is in the situation of the main characters of Big Love, still brings a great deal of disharmony to the family unit. Even without all the sexual abuse, physical abuse, the oppression, etc. it still appears to slowly destroy everyone involved. We are no longer an agricultural society that requires a ton of children to work the fields. In order to succeed in this day and age, children need loving, nurturing parents who have the time to attend to their emotional needs as well as their physical ones (clothing, food, shelter). Bill's character can't even provide emotional support for his wives, nevermind his seven children. And again, they are probably the most idealized version of polygamists that exist (after all, he can afford three mortgages, whereas most real life polygamists are on welfare).

Well, the drilling has ceased and the bed calls. Maybe more on Big Love later.