Tony Soprano and those other tough guys are muscled out

Somewhere, in a prop warehouse owned by HBO, there is a big pile of guns. Dusty, unused, bewildered perhaps by their strange and sudden obsolescence, they can only wait and wonder why premium subscriber television, a business they created, built by God out of nothing, has simply abandoned them.

 Where once Tony Soprano, "Deadwood's" Al Swearengen and " The Wire's" Jimmy McNulty ruled their hellish fiefdoms with a righteous love of the f-word and a fistful of bullets, now a sweet-voiced Botswanan lady detective solves crimes without a cellphone much less a weapon, a sassy Southern gal explores the nature of love with a very sad and sensitive vampire and the once-rough-and-tumble hunk Gabriel Byrne sits around listening to a bunch of neurotic New Yorkers talk about their feelings.

The only characters in recent months who seemed to appreciate the importance of violence in the culture was a group of off-the-grid polygamists, and most of their show is dedicated to exploring topics like love and faith and the meaning of family.

These are shows that redefine the concept of adult television. Somehow, over the years, "mature" has become synonymous with profanity, sexual explicitness and graphic violence. None of which, by the way, are necessarily a bad thing. But "mature themes" don't begin and end with adultery and murder. While the networks are still trawling for the elusive youth vote with shows like "90210" and " Harper's Island," HBO is unapologetically making television for grown-ups.

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(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': Q&A with co-creator Will Scheffer

Those suffering from "Big Love" withdrawl, take heart: The writers have already started prepping for Season 4. And while its January premiere date is still a ways away, Will Scheffer (a creator of the series, along with Mark V. Olsen) was gracious enough to talk to us about the shocking Season 3 finale, answer some burning questions (where was Teenie?) and give us a taste of what to expect next year.

Is Roman really dead?
Roman is 100% absolutely completely dead. There’s no trick in terms of, he was pretending to be dead, or it was a hallucination. He is gone. His spirit has left the earth. ... No one can bring him back from the dead. But I think that doesn’t take away from the impact of what his loss is going to mean to our characters. What the loss of a father means to Alby, and to Nicki, and what the loss of that antagonism means to Bill, our main protagonist.

What kinds of responses are you getting to his death?
I figured some people would respect us for a bold choice, but that most of the fan base would be furious, because he really is a beloved, you know? He’s Harry Dean Stanton, he’s nothing short of superb. I thought people were going to really be spitting on us on the street. Not that we get out on the street that much. But from reading the boards, I haven’t seen a lot of real heinous anger at us. Yet.

What was the thought behind Joey killing him off?
As we get further and further into this series, we knew that we had to really make bold choices for all of our characters. Some of them had to kind of be the same but change, but some of them can really make big changes, and Joey was someone who we thought needed that. He needed to be put on a course of action that was going to take him in a whole new direction. And we felt he certainly had the most vengeful heart with Roman for what he did to Kathy. And if we took him all the way there, who knows what’s going to happen next year? He could end up throwing his hat into the compound ring, you know, along with Alby. And J.J., now, is another antagonist. And we just thought it was time for him to have a fall from grace.

The kiss Roman gave to Bill in the season ender was powerful, if a bit ambiguous. Was he handing over his power?

Harry Dean Stanton's 'Big Love'

Last week's explosive finale of "Big Love's" third season offered many revelations, but perhaps none quite as shocking as the death of polygamist patriarch Roman Grant.

It was a seismic shift that registered on screen and off, for Roman's passing was a send-off not only to the critically acclaimed HBO drama's public enemy No. 1, but also to Harry Dean Stanton, who plays him. The esteemed actor endeared himself to "Big Love" fans as the righteous, megalomaniacal, charismatic head of the Juniper Creek compound who served as main antagonist for lead character Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton).

"It was a calculated risk," explained "Big Love" co-creator Will Scheffer. "HBO was nervous about it: They didn't want to lose Harry, and for God's sakes, we didn't want to lose Harry. . . . But we felt we had to go bold and take away that character that might have been one of the most precious to us, and let everyone deal with the loss."

Scheffer maintained that Roman's deliverance was necessary to move the series forward. "Other characters have the possibility of growing," he said. "We never wanted there to be any sort of redemption for Roman. That was not in the cards for him, ever. So there was really no place to go."

Read more Harry Dean Stanton's 'Big Love'

(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': The truth shall set you free

It was quite the explosive finish to an already action-packed season. This episode, titled “Sacrament,” had everything one could wish for — tension, redemption, a big bang and a big death — tying up enough story lines to keep one satisfied and giving enough to chew on before the next season.

It began similarly to the season opener, a chaotic scene that launched us right into the midst of another Henrickson morning. But save for a breakfast order without any egg juice left, this scene betrayed an air of solemnity. And sure enough, it’s separation day: Bill was helping Nicki move out of the house and into one of Don’s apartments. Only, Nicki had decided to make a beeline for the compound rather than be relegated to a ratty old two-bedroom.

There was still a lot going on without her, however. Kim Lee (could they really not come up with a better name for an Asian girl?) was still being held for ransom, and Bill was crafting his own crazy schemes to get her back to Ted and Cindy, arrest the Greenes and indict Roman for Kathy's death and get back in Joey's good graces. To his credit, Bill astutely figured out that Selma was the weak link in the Greene brigade. Turns out  Selma unveiled a little Greene monster when it came to Hollis and other women (like Kathy), and she would rather get Kim Lee out of the picture than have that little minx steal her seat and play with her mimeograph. “He dotes on her!” she moaned to big brother Roman.

Roman, for his part, sure did leave his mark on this hour.

Bless this 'Big Love' mess

Sunday's episode caps a season delving deep into the characters' complicated hearts.

HBO's Emmy-free and too long under-appreciated “Big Love” came out of its yearlong, writers-strike-created hiatus like the buffed-up guy tired of eating sand.

But instead of going for fireballs and kidnappings (OK, there were a few of those, but they were totally incidental), cancer scares and intra-cast murder attempts (well, yes, there were those too, but again, not the point), creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer took their strange and startling American fable to new heights, and depths.

All of which came to a DefCon 1 "conclusion" in the season finale Sunday night. Oh, there were several moments of "closure" in the final minutes, but that was just the writers handing a bit of narrative Xanax to keep viewers from developing unsightly nervous tics while they wait to see what will really happen next season.

And not just in terms of plot. "Big Love" has become richer in tone and message. What had been quaint -- the mob-like machinations of the compound at Juniper Creek -- grew dark and murderous; what had been solid and structured -- the Henricksons' prefab polygamous corner of the universe -- collapsed into chaos.

Read the full story here.

-- Mary McNamara

(Photo courtesy HBO)

'Big Love': The heart of darkness

The end is near, "Big Love" fans. The penultimate episode of this season has come to pass, and it looks as though the family has gone the way of the McConkey barn: in shambles. Everybody has been cast into their own outer darkness. The Henricksons parted with Nicki, Joey parted with Bill and, most achingly, Barb parted with her beloved church. It was an hour filled with heartbreaking separation and uneasy alliances. (And one that received a lot of attention for depicting a sacred Mormon ceremony.)

Nicki, as we all know, had been banished from the Henrickson household and had taken refuge in her old room at the Big House. Alby, whose confidence had been growing in leaps and bounds, pampered her with fresh calico dresses, an offer of Adaleen’s Hummer and a chance to partner with him in his continued bid for compound power (much to spurned wife Lura’s dismay). And though Nicki demurred that she doesn’t belong at the compound anymore, she may not have anywhere else to go, as a refreshingly frank Barb, still stinging from the betrayal and her own worries of being excommunicated from the LDS church, wanted nothing to do with her (“You’ve just driven the love right out of me, and I’m detaching”). And Bill, either because of his feelings of being cuckolded or his own moral uncertainty, has come to the decision to have her unsealed. “There’s something in you that’s deeply broken, and I don’t know how to fix it,” he said gravely. Though if his unsettling fantasy sequences reveal any sort of truth, he loves Nicki more than he can say and feels more than a little complicit in this whole debacle. I can’t tell if his decision to be unsealed from Nicki is a result of his not wanting to deal with his own feelings of failure or if he really does feel that she is sowing unrest in his family.

(If unsealed, then Nicki will have an 0 for 2 record, as lurking J.J. reminded us at the Big House. And if his creepy mug — so effectively played by Zeljko Ivanek — weren't enough of a reminder of her first marriage, she had a daughter with him as well?)

Bill himself felt as though the heavenly Father was throwing every trial in the book at him. And there is no denying Bill is troubled, as was made clear on his haggard face. As Barb so astutely stated, “We’re just free-floating out here. ... We have no structure, we have no church.” Barb came to him in a moment of crisis and fear, and he hollowly told her to have faith. But in what? In him? What moral compass does he follow? Bill insisted on ending his marriage with Nicki but then slept with her anyway. He trades alliances as easily as he does his morals, and it’s as though his quest for power is stripping him from his true self, whoever that is. Does he really feel that strongly about the Woodruff document, or is it just his ballooning pride and hunger for power that made him insist that Ted get the church to admit of its existence? Bill quickly gave up his stake in the document and made a deal with the D.A. to lift Roman’s probation in order to get Hollis to give up Cindy and Ted’s kidnapped daughter.

HBO apologizes for, defends controversial 'Big Love' episode

HBO apologized in advance for Sunday’s controversial "Big Love" episode, which has received fire from the Mormon church for featuring a sacred endowment ceremony. “It was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church but to whose who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology,” the HBO statement read. The very private rite occurs in an episode titled “Outer Darkness,” in which Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is threatened with losing membership within the church.

“Big Love” creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer said in a statement that they consulted an adviser “familiar with temple practices and rituals” and “took great pains to depict the ceremony with the dignity and reverence it is due. This approach is entirely evident in the scene portrayed in this episode and certainly reflected in Jeanne Tripplehorn’s beautiful and moving performance as she faces losing the Church she loved so much.”

I’ve yet to see the episode, but check back Monday morning for a full recap.

-- Allyssa Lee

Photo of, clockwise from top left, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Bill Paxton, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin: Lacey Terrell / HBO

'Big Love': The inconvenient truth

Nicki, Nicki, Nicki. Ooh, girl, you’ve done some bad things before, but now you are in trouble.

There was no way you were going to be able to keep up your duplicitous charade of passing as another woman while dating the boss who was trying to prosecute your father without your husband and sister-wives knowing for very long, and it was only a matter of time before this house of shambly cards you’ve stacked up all came tumbling down.

Not to say that you didn’t have it coming, but then why’d you have to burn all your bridges and leave yourself hanging like that? This isn’t like credit card debt or bingo addiction. The whole family is now in danger of being exposed. In the words of a somber Margie, “This could be bad.”

Granted, other members of the family cannot claim innocence in all this. Barb refused to budge with sister Cindy on the Woodruff document, which then spurred Cindy to tattle to the bishop that Barb was living in “plural marriage.”

And then there's Bill. As husband and wife he and Nicki are at a standstill, as both are too headstrong and would rather dabble in the business of furthering their own agendas than submit to one another. But they could be great partners in the manipulation game. You’d think he’d be able to understand her divided loyalties the most, especially when he can act so righteously on one hand while paying seedy ruffians to do illegal acts for him with the other. It was shocking to see shady Bill behind the University of Utah lab break-in. And the camera was so sly to reveal it: When it panned up from the suit leg I thought maybe Alby or Hollis Green was hiding in the cover of night, but no, it was Bill.

The fact that he was willing to break the law to get his way dragged him down to the basest of levels (no better than Alby or Hollis, and at least on par with Nicki). Again, it feels as if he’s getting too big for his britches by demanding Ted not only call off the Utes’ suspension of the casino license, but also force the LDS to acknowledge the Woodruff document publicly. Not to mention that his sense of righteousness led him to leak key information to the D.A. -- that he’s married to Nicki -- in order to get the D.A. to press charges against Roman for Kathy's death. Luckily, the D.A. had his head on straight for this, claiming he would be perceived as a crazy zealot if he pursued this litigation.

Though Ray Henry had been acting like a crazy zealot toward Nicki with the persistent phone calls and gorgeous bouquet of flowers. I can see how the D.A.’s affection could cause him to gloss over the ginormous red flags her hot and cold behavior signaled. And, of course, Nicki did her part to spur this on, randomly showing up at his work and proffering kisses. But, of course, a relationship built on lies could never succeed, and that breathless swirl of drama that erupted when the D.A. showed up at Margie’s door, discovered Nicki’s true identity and met up with Barb and Bill was dizzyingly fraught and witnessed the start of the sad, steady leak of Nicki’s life as she knew it going down the drain.

'Big Love': Signed, sealed, deliverance

It was just too good to be true, wasn’t it? With the halo of sun radiating over the wedding site and Kathy (Mireille Enos) a vision in white, gushing on and on about how joyful she was now that she would be sealed to Joey and Wanda for all of eternity, and Wanda graciously relinquishing her position as first wife, it was almost certain that Kathy’s time on this earth would be cut short. (That, and the reports that there are going to be two deaths on the show before the season’s end.)

Though considering that Kathy’s been living la vida loca with Joey and Wanda for quite some time now, I was quite surprised to discover that Joey and Kathy hadn’t sealed the deal yet. Somehow, I thought living together outside the bonds of marriage would go against the Principle. But perhaps because Roman wasn’t around to do the sealing, they just never got around to it.

But more on Kathy later. This show, as discussed in this Sunday's feature, is mostly about the Henrickson quadrangle, and back at their household, there were still the matters of Sarah’s pregnancy and Nicki’s birth-control pills to deal with. Not that either of them wanted to talk about it. Which proceeded to drive first-wife Barb batty.

Poor Barb, whose beliefs about family and chastity have been completely betrayed, had been stonewalled at every turn. But like a trouper, she refused to take any of this pass without a fight. And yay to her (and a terrific Jeanne Tripplehorn) for taking it upon herself to remind Nicki and Sarah what being a family meant, and what it meant to be in this family. Throughout this series it’s become clear what a struggle this whole lifestyle has been for Barb, and my heart swelled to see her defend her choice and take this hard line of truth, no matter how unpopular it made her. She was able to have it out in the meeting she and Bill had with Ted, when it was discovered that the LDS was trying to purchase and conceal a document that offered proof that the church never intended to abandon polygamy at all. “Nothing about this life I’d been called to lead has been easy, Ted,” she raged. “And for all these years you and Cindy have damned me for my choice. And now you’re burying the truth? Damn you.” Go, Barb! Now that Cindy has discovered she has been misled by her lord and master, perhaps this will open the door to reconciliation between her and her sister.

Though it doesn’t look like Lois and Frank will have any sort of reconciliation anytime soon.

'Big Love' cast talks it up

Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin discuss the series' philosophy and the challenge of understanding their characters.

"Big Love" has been blazing through its third season. Will Scheffer, who created the show with Mark V. Olsen, his partner in work and husband in life, said, "Everything that we hinted at, that we were building to, we said: 'Let's just do it -- let's go as far as we can this year and burn through it.' "

The results: Love has ebbed a bit for now, and we have been left with big. The polygamous Henricksons -- Bill ( Bill Paxton), Barb ( Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) -- have fought over birth control, the fleeting affections of a fourth wife and, most of all, the continuous and escalating tension between their sparkling suburban lives and the filthy Mormon fundamentalist compound that haunts them.

In an e-mail, Olsen wrote: "It's important, clearly, that our characters aren't singularly snarky or sour all the time, and there's got to be an underlying love and devotion between them, but the fact that I may love you, or whomever, is just not particularly interesting unless it's blended with the fact that you really piss me off too -- it's that combustion, negotiating that mix of feelings that I think keeps an audience coming back for more."

-- By Kate Aurthur

Read the full story here.

(Photo courtesy Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

'Big Love': Road trip!

It’s a shame that tonight’s episode coincides with Hollywood’s biggest night, because while it may not boast a Brangelina or a musical number, “Come, Ye Saints” is packed with just as much, if not more, drama, laughs and heart as any of these honored films.

With Ana’s divorce still stinging and Roman's trial gone by the wayside, it was time for the Henricksons to step out of Salt Lake City and lick their wounds. Which meant just one thing: Road trip! And it was great to see the family focusing on themselves for a change, ’cause it allowed all the little things that had previously gone unnoticed to finally come to surface. Things like:

Bill’s performance-enhancing drug use. We haven’t seen much of the Viagra lately, and I assumed Bill had given the little blue pills a rest. But in the tight quarters of a road trip, things were bound to get mixed up, and secrets and enhancements were bound to be revealed. And of course, it caused three very different reactions in the wives. Margie came with understanding and hilarity (“Am I being a pill?”), Barb with disapproval (“I’m pretty sure you didn’t need it when it was just us,” she reminded. “Pre-tty sure.”), and Nicki believed (not incorrectly) that it was all about her.

In addition to the lost Viagra, Bill was steadily stripped of his manhood in this hour. Refusing to acknowledge the Ana debacle, he focused his energies instead on running a tight ship, getting the brood out to Hill Cumorah, N.Y. — the place where Joseph Smith, on orders from the angel Moroni, found the gold plates that were translated into the Book of Mormon. There, they’d bury a time capsule that they had assembled, and the kids will be treated to some sort of fireworks extravaganza. So this pilgrimage, like this episode, was going back to the basics, to the beginning of their faith, back to the family. Only, Bill could not see the forest for the trees. The cold, sterile time capsule represented more of the family than the unhappy members milling around him. But he tried to stay strong, eyes on the prize, continuing to bulldoze his way to that hill and bury the time capsule, no matter the cost — literally leading his family into the wilderness, pageant and bad feelings be damned. And he suffered a lot of hard knocks because of it. Like when he was accosted by the Baptist minister (Mac from "Night Court"!). Or made fun of by his wives, for his clanging musical act suggestion (Cher? Really?). Or defaced by that deviant juice box. Or abandoned by his family at the rest stop, forcing him to suffer his own mini-pilgrimage, barefoot, to the hotel. Not that any of this was a bad thing.

Twice we saw him regard himself in the mirror (once when his precious blue pills went down the rabbit hole, the other when he was tending to that phallic time capsule), and staring back at him was one weary mug, and a life dangerously close to going down the drain. So it was only when the family, sick and tired of the car rides and the posturing, abandoned him in that wilderness for the lights and spectacle of the extravaganza, that Bill finally let his whole plan go, and admitted that he has felt lost. And for once, his words of prayer did not ring hollowly:

'Big Love': She loves us, she loves us not

So they finally went ahead and did it. After a particularly stimulating game of bowling, Ana took the leap and accepted Bill and everyone else’s proposal to marry them. And the resulting marriage happened so fast: No registry, no bridal shower, no save-the-dates. Guess when you’re the fourth wife, everyone’s already been there and done that, so you get nothing but a ring, an electric guitar solo, and a quickie poolside slap on the back, squeezed in between lunch and Sarah's shift at the fast-food joint, as a welcome into the family. And this whole situation ended up the equivalent of a fast-food meal: fun, quick and a momentary filler, never mind the queasy feeling that maybe you did something that you shouldn’t have afterward. And while the circumstances around this episode, appropriately titled "For Better or For Worse," were a bit rushed and contrived to be completely believed, it made for some hilariously rich domestic disturbances. For instance:

The other wives. Sure, Ana married Bill, but even more importantly, she married the rest of the sister wives as well. And this fun episode illustrated the delicate balance struck among Barb, Nicki and Margene and how the slightest disruption can result in domestic disaster. Like the sensitive subject of the wives’ seating arrangement. Or contributing to the community pot. Or that Barb’s the task master. Though you would think that strong, independent Ana, who knows how to handle herself in a pickle, should have already cottoned onto this. I mean, she already accused Barb of bulldozing her a couple of episodes back. You’d think she should have taken the time to see how the wives worked before making this all-important commitment. But this all seemed to be news to Ana. “It’s a little like being in the army, isn’t it?” she commented.

The same goes with the living arrangements. Again, you would think that this would be discussed beforehand, but when you decide to get married and then go through with it in about the same time as you can decide to get an oil change, guess you just have to deal with the fallout as it comes. Barb wanted Ana to live with her, and Margene, of course, was hoping Ana would bunk with her. And folks, this may just be another sad truth about the Principle: Despite having many wives and children and more bodies milling about than one can count, it appears that polygamy can be the loneliest number of all. With Margene, of course, we all knew that she was needy and just wanted someone — anyone, really — to hang out and have slumber parties with. But Barb had her own hopes for Ana, and their talk about travels and cruises revealed another side that had been deferred in favor of this bigger family dream: “I want Ana to be my friend, to be an adult,” she revealed. “Ana makes me feel normal. Like choosing this life — agreeing to it — wasn’t a mistake.”

So how hilarious was Nicki’s reaction when Bill decided that Nicki should be the one to take Ana in, much to Barb’s and Margie’s chagrin? “Why am I being punished?” she shot back. Nicki, who then in a great show of hospitality, magnanimously put aside all of a nook and a top drawer that wouldn’t hold four napkins for Ana, because her spare bedroom had already been set up for her crafts. And who then really let it fly with a great retort: “No one mollycoddled me when I came into the family,” she defended. “I mean, who knew Ana was such a delicate blossom? I mean, she looks pretty sturdy to me.” Ha!

Naturally, Barb’s unforeseen enthusiasm for this new wife set Margene and Nicki off on a jealous tangent.