Now a Contributing Writer at CliqueClack TV, Dishing on 'Big Love'

Whenever I talk to people about the pop culture work that I do on this blog and in my weekly columns at Mommy Tracked, I usually get asked, "How do you have time to watch all that TV?" My typical snarky response is, "I've given up sleep." (Hence my reliance on copious quantities of caffeine.)

Well now I've got one more reason to keep atuned to the TV landscape: I'm a contributing writer to the web site CliqueClack TV (CCTV), or, in the venacular of the site, I'm a "clacker." The web site creators describe CCTV this way:

"We're the clique that clacks about TV, so if you want to chatter about all things television, you've come to the right place . . . We like to think of CliqueClack TV as a playground for us writers to post about anything we want and to cover what excites us."

My current assignment there is to muse about HBO's fourth season of Big Love, among other subjects. My post about the recent episode of Big Love, "Sins of the Father," talks about how the eppy pursued two, parallel storylines this week: One about Bill Henrickson's public campaign to overcome the political baggage associated with his background as a "Lost Boy" who was exiled from the Juniper Creek polygamist compound when he was 14 and had to resort to some criminal behavior in order to survive (including being busted for assault). The second was about Bill attempting to handle the private fall-out from his recent decision to encourage his own teenaged son to leave the family home because Bill was threatened by the sexual attraction between Ben and Bill's third wife Margene, the one who kissed her step-son two episodes ago.

I found Bill's attempts to pretend he hadn't really asked Ben to leave the house utterly slimy, almost as slimy as asking Don Embry to take the fall for him and admit he's a polygamist in last week's episode. (Last week on CCTV I compared Bill to John Edwards.

For those of you who missed the latest episode, which was heavily centered around Bill's attempts to get his state Republican party's nomination for State Senate, here's HBO's brief recap:

Ep. 39: Sins of the Father - Recap

My favorite moments: The Ronald Reagan dance party, Nicki/Daphne/spy asking Bill why she's always asked to do the "morally ambigious" things (like spy on the rival GOP state senate candidate's campaign), Barb in the sweat lodge and Joey telling his brother that he's going down the wrong path. (What was up with Lois siding with and protecting Frank the Vicious? That puzzled me.)

What did you think of the recent installment of Big Love?

'Big Love' Implodes

*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent episode of Big Love.*

There were so many stunning aspects to the latest episode of Big Love, "The Mighty and the Strong," that I can't decide which one took the cake as the weirdest, most over-the-top thread:

-- Margene and Ben (Margene confessed to Bill that she has non-maternal feelings for 18-year-old Ben, Bill agreed that his son should leave the family home -- which reminded me of the other boys who were sent away from Juniper Creek after they coveted older polygamist men's assigned spouses, plus Margene's painfully tearful rant on the home shopping channel about being "abandoned" by her husband which is CERTAIN to draw media attention, how could it not?)

-- Don the Doormat. (Poor Don Embry took the fall to preserve Bill's political career by outing himself and his family as polygamists so Bill's political rivals would back off claims that Home Plus was employing polygamists.)

Barb and the Casino. (She hit an Indian woman with her car, Barb's daughter Sarah was secretly caring for the woman's baby and was then reluctant to give the baby back to his meth-addicted mom on the reservation because she was still mourning her miscarriage from last season.)

J.J. and Adaleen. (*speechless*)

Love-struck Alby broke into a house and cooked dinner. (I cannot tell if Alby is playing this guy or wants to make a secret life with him, or both.)

What did you think was the weirdest element of the new installment of Big Love?

Ep. 38: The Mighty and Strong - Recap