Cheers: Big Love hits its stride

I'm going to talk about HBO's new Sunday night series Big Love, so if you watch the show but aren't caughtup on your episodes, then you may want to stop reading.

And if you don't watch the show, then you should start, because it's quite good.

I wrote a few weeks back about how the show would be made or broken on the strength of the development of the three female leads. We can only conclude that the producers read the blog, since they complied in short order.

The show hit the peak of its short run in last Sunday's show, the 10th episode so far. I won't get bogged down in plot, but I'll say the show managed to make Barb, Nikki, and Margene both maddening and sympathetic, all in the space of the 60-minute show.

More generally, I think it's good the producers have also avoided the crutch of the Bada Bing, deciding against female nudity (we often see Bill Paxton's butt), in favor of showing of Nikki's skills at fixing garbage disposals and dryers.

The directing is understated, and there are a lot of little gags the show works in but lets pass, leaving it up to you catch them. (The scene where Barb and Nikki are doing Bill's ironing comes to mind.)

But enough fluff. Watch the show.