[Televisionary]

The honeymoon is over. Much this season has been made about Bill's shifting vision for his family, whether that be his decision to begin his own church, or launch a political campaign, or out the family as public polygamists. But the wives have, for the most part, held their tongues when it's come to outwardly disagreeing with the direction Bill is taking their collective family, even though most of them have dealt with their own inner turmoil in various ways. Barb has struggled to keep it together, even though she's been thrust once more into the role of the public spouse, the politician's wife, and a casino owner all at the same time. Nicki has finally realized that she loves her husband and will support him, though it's clear that she is suffering from a massive identity crisis, and Margene has sought security through her own business and through a fraudulent marriage with Goran that will give her some leverage when it comes to their inevitable exposure as polyga

"I'm not that person that you think I'm becoming." - Bill This week's stunning episode of Big Love ("Blood Atonement"), written by Julia Cho and directed by David Petrarca, featuring not only one of the most shocking moments so far on the series to date but also offered an exploration of the characters' innermost psyches by focusing on their past mistakes. Both Bill and Joey have been beset by feelings of vengeance, but both carried them out in different ways. Bill has long attempted to escape the squalid filth and treachery of the Juniper Creek compound but far too often finds himself dragged right back in. He never chose to leave in the first place; that decision was made for him by Roman Grant and his father Frank Harlow and that moment has haunted him for the rest of his life. Joey, meanwhile, murdered Roman as an act of revenge for the death of Kathy Marquart and his quest for payback extends to the twisted Hollis Greene as well, even if it mea

"I'm damaged." - Nicki "I think I can understand how difficult this must be, keeping a secret." - Bill Last night's exquisite episode of Big Love ("Under One Roof"), written by Coleman Herbert and directed by Dan Attias, was the halfway point for the fourth season of Big Love and it built on the slow burn approach of the last few episodes to deliver a staggering and heartbreaking installment about the struggles of several characters, each of whom has attempted to overcome their imperfections to attempt to become worthy of the celestial kingdom they each hope to ascend to. The quest for perfection and the damage done by the polygamist lifestyle the characters have been either born into or (in some cases) thrust into has always been lurking in the background on Big Love , but never has this intriguing theme been so perfectly explored than in last night's episode, which continues to haunt me the morning after it aired. A sister's love, a lov

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Just a few headlines to get through today, which is Presidents' Day here in the US. (If you're lucky enough to have the day off, get out there and do something fun.) Los Angeles Times ' Maria Elena Fernandez is reporting that studio 20th Century Fox Television has temporarily suspended production on FOX's 24 in order to accommodate a medical procedure for series lead Kiefer Sutherland involving a ruptured cyst. Production on the series, likely in its final season, is thought to begin again in roughly a week and will not affect scheduling for Day Eight of 24 . "While Kiefer Sutherland is frustrated to miss even one day of work, he and Fox decided together that it would be best to complete this minor elective procedure now as a precaution as opposed to six weeks from now when production wraps," said Sutherland's publicist Evelyn Karamanos in a statement. "He looks forward to returning to work next wee

"You are on the wrong path, brother." - Joey Last night's episode of Big Love ("Sins of the Father"), written by Seth Greenland and directed by David Petrarca, focused squarely on the choices made by Bill Henrickson, both in the present-day as it related to his decision to exile Ben and in his own distant past. The people we are today are forged by the choices we make in our lives and by those made for us by others. Bill's formative years were shaped by Frank's decision to throw him out by the side of the road and force him to fend for himself on the streets, one of the so-called Lost Boys, the detritus of a polygamist society that had been corrupted and run on fear and jealousy. Bill has long since sought to find a different path for himself in life, one that included following a belief in the Principle that wasn't as twisted and evil as his father's or Roman Grant's, an inclusive spiritual quest that was about family, unity, and empowerme

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Break out the carrot and raisin salad (and mix up some fry sauce)! HBO has renewed drama series Big Love for a fifth season, with ten episodes set to air next winter. The long-running drama series has been on a roll of late, with ratings up 13 percent among viewers this season and some well-earned awards recognition, with Chloe Sevigny walking away with a Golden Globe for her performance as Nicki. "We've taken the show deeper and darker over the last couple of seasons," said executive producer Mark V. Olsen, "and we're overjoyed that HBO has come along with us." Production is expected to begin on Season Five in June or July. ( Variety ) E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos and Jennifer Godwin have an interview with V and Lost star Elizabeth Mitchell. "I feel really bad for Juliet all the time," Mitchell told E! "I feel like, you know, karmically, maybe she's due, because when she was a

"There's no law against crazy." - Bill Do we become our parents in the end? Regardless of the rights and wrongs of our forebears' actions, are our fates sealed from the moment we're born? Are we forced not to follow our own paths, but rather to fall into old patterns determined by those who have come before us? These are questions brilliantly unearthed and examined in the latest episode of HBO's Big Love ("The Mighty and Strong"), written by Melanie Marnich and directed by Dan Attias. Throughout its four seasons so far, the drama series--created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer--has done an incredible job at painting the struggles between multiple generations of believers, setting in motion an exploration of family destiny and a personal journey. Last night's episode brought these conflicts to the fore, exploring the relationship between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters and offering a shocking reveal at the episode's end that mig

At its core, HBO's family drama Big Love has been about the often complex and always complicated interpersonal relationships that we encounter in our lives: the bonds between family, spouses, lovers, the pangs of unrequited love, the enmity between rivals. In other words: the series is a microcosm through which we can explore our own relationships, a rubric for understanding the Gordian knot of love and hate between ourselves and others and, often, the conflicting natures within our very being. This week's episode of Big Love ("Strange Bedfellows"), written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Adam Davidson, found the Henricksons separated in more ways than one. While Bill headed to Washington D.C. with Nicki and Cara Lynn, Barb and Sarah's efforts to spend some time together resulted in a car accident involving a young woman on the reservation and Margene gave into temptation, a subconscious action that will likely have lasting repercussions for several of