Big Love - The Complete Second Season

As we get back to Margene, Nicolette, Barb and Bill for Season 2, the heat is on as they struggle to keep out of the public eye. The season starts a bit slow, with some vandalism, standard shady deals and nosy neighbors being the height of dramatic gasps. Half way through, HBO thankfully turns it up a notch by adding a new powerful family, the Greenes, as another bold polygimafia. Roman's son Albert Grant is given the chance to unleash the anger that's been building since the first season when he's given power at the compound, Nicki's bad habits return and Bill's mom Lois is given lots more screen time.

As a DVD set, there's much to be desired. No interviews, director commentaries or stills. The enticing prequels are set 1, 3 and 5 years before season one starts, and are less than five minutes each. Dealing with making the decision to get three houses, meeting Margene and Nicki's first birth, respectively, they do little to explain the how the relationships between the four characters became so deep.

Polygamy set as a cable drama is a great way of dealing with the oppression of people who are seen but not immediately identified as deviants. As the Henrickson family struggles to live and love in the open, a culture that judges them and condemns them to a life of secrecy can easily ring familiar for gays and lesbians. That, and Chlo? Sevigny in the dowdiest outfits make this show a guilt-free pleasure for families of all sizes.