I could not agree more re: Big Love. In the NYer this week, Nancy Franklin says it doesn't get good until episode five or so, but of course you can never trust TV critics because they have to watch so much TV that their standards go to pieces. I don't know that I will be around to find out if she's right. I agree that the best parts are the scenes with the daughter's coworker at the burger place, specifically the coworker's face. It's so funny! If that character was played by a normal-looking actress, I don't think you'd like those parts so much. (UPDATE: Actually, she looks like this; she's just very good at playing a character who looks like a total freak.)
Two more thoughts:
(i) A lot hinges on what they're going to do with Harry Dean Stanton -- specifically, on whether he's going to remain a moustache-twirling child-abusing Bill's-dad-poisoning villain or whether something more complicated is going to happen. It would be great if he bust out some of the Molly-Ringwald's-dad-in-16-Candles charm, just to complicate things a bit.
(two) The biggest problem, besides the gaping hole that is Bill Paxton, is that having three wives is such a huge hassle, and so much of the show revolves around the stressful elements -- the jealousies and rivalries among the wives, the scheduling, the expenses -- that it's totally unfun to watch.
3/23/06
