BIG LOVE: PILOT (TV)
Summary
The premiere in this drama series about polygamist Bill Henrickson, who has three wives, three families, and three houses in a Salt Lake City suburb. This episode introduces Bill and his three wives -- his legal first wife, Barb, the extended family's matriarch (nicknamed "boss lady"); his shopping-mad second wife Nicki; and his youngest bride, Margene -- as well as his seven children: Ben, Sarah, Teeny, Wayne, Raymond, Lester, and Aaron. Bill owns and operates Henrickson's Home Plus stores, a burgeoning chain of home improvement mega-stores. Bill struggles to keep his taboo lifestyle a secret from the community, while also struggling to "satisfy" his three wives. Meanwhile, Margene worries about shedding her pregnancy weight after her most recent birth. At the same time, Nicki pushes Bill for more money, thinking she needs to redecorate her house. The three wives must constantly plan their month in advance, scheduling which nights they "get" Bill. Soon, Bill starts receiving calls from his extended family, mainly his brother, Joey, alerting him that their father, Frank Harlow, is ill. Bill, Barb, and Nicki are forced to visit his father and mother, Lois, at the Juniper Creek polygamist commune. There, Bill finds his father supine on the floor, refusing to get standard medical care as Lois fears it wouldn't be discreet. Meanwhile, in the city, Margene is overwhelmed in trying to run all three households by herself while Sarah makes a new friend at her fast food job. Back at Juniper Creek, Nicki's father, the commune's leader, Roman Grant -- with his child bride, Rhonda, in tow -- pays a visit to Bill. Eventually, Frank is taken to a hospital, where the doctors find that he has arsenic poisoning. Returning home, Bill thinks long and hard about how his father came to be poisoned, believing the culprit may be his mother. While, Barb finds Margene crying, worried that she is incapable of doing her "part" for the family. Ultimately, Roman pays a second visit to Bill, getting in a dispute with him over how much money he is owed due to the opening of a new Home Plus store. As the episode ends, Bill pops a Viagra before heading to bed with Barb.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: March 12, 2006 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:20
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:89043
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2006-2011
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
- Gary Goetzman … Executive Producer
- Mark V. Olsen … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Will Scheffer … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Gregg Fienberg … Co-Executive Producer
- David Knoller … Co-Executive Producer
- Scott Stephens … Producer
- Bernadette Caulfield … Producer
- Peter Friedlander … Co-Producer
- Ron Binkowski … Co-Producer
- Ann Holm … Co-Producer
- Angela Courtin … Associate Producer
- Shane Keller … Associate Producer
- Rodrigo Garcia … Director
- Mark Mothersbaugh … Music by
- Bill Paxton … Cast, Bill Henrickson
- Jeanne Tripplehorn … Cast, Barb Henrickson
- Chloe Sevigny … Cast, Nicki Grant
- Ginnifer Goodwin … Cast, Margene Heffman
- Amanda Seyfried … Cast, Sarah Henrickson
- Douglas Smith … Cast, Ben Henrickson
- Shawn Doyle … Cast, Joey Henrickson
- Melora Walters … Cast, Wanda Henrickson
- Joel McKinnon Miller … Cast, Don Embry
- Daveigh Chase … Cast, Rhonda Volmer
- Jolean Wejbe … Cast, Tancy Henrickson
- Grace Zabriskie … Cast, Lois Henrickson
- Bruce Dern … Cast, Frank Harlow
- Harry Dean Stanton … Cast, Roman Grant
- Mary Kay Place … Cast, Adaleen Grant
- Matt Ross … Cast, Alby Grant
- Tina Majorino … Cast, Heather Tuttle
- Lyndsy Fonseca … Cast, Donna
- Keegan Holst … Cast, Wayne Henrickson
- Lawrence O'Donnell … Cast, Lee Hatcher
- Doan Ly … Cast, Jordan
- Joe Taylor … Cast, Ad Man
- Mark Daneri … Cast, Mark
- Wesley Harris … Cast, Doctor
- Margaret Easley … Cast
- Richard Hilton … Cast