| It's all four one, one four all in TLC's 'Sister Wives' | |
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By Mark A. Perigard Television Reviews Boston Herald | |
If Disney executives ever lose their collective minds and decide to remake HBO’s "Big Love," it might look a lot like TLC’s "Sister Wives." In this unscripted series about a man with three wives - and soon a fourth - and his 12 kids, polygamy is just another word for paradise. The husband is content. The wives are happy. The children are polite and helpful and never sass. You haven’t seen a clan this sugary sweet since CW’s "7th Heaven," and even that network and its stars acknowledge that scripted show was pure fantasy. Advertising salesman Kody Brown lives somewhere in Utah with Meri, his wife of 20 years, Janelle, his wife of 17 years, and Christine, his wife of 16 years. "I like marriage, and I’m a repeat offender," he says glibly. He identifies himself as Mormon, though he is not a member of the mainstream faith that has banned "the lifestyle," he notes. "The lifestyle." You’ll hear that expression tossed around a lot in the one-hour premiere. The wives are the biggest advocates, arguing it guarantees security to their children. If one of them were to die, the other wives would step in to raise the kids. Isn’t that what the husband could do? The extended clan lives in a large house that is subdivided into separate but adjoining apartments for each of the wives and their children. Just as in "Big Love," Kody rotates his private time between his wives. Answering the question before it is asked, regarding sex with multiple partners, one wife clarifies, "We don’t go weird." Nooo. Nothing weird about this living arrangement. "Sister Wives" practically twists and breaks its back assuring viewers how gosh-darn normal everything is. Still, there are some cracks in the crackpots. Christine got rid of all the toasters because, "More people die from toasters than from sharks every year," she says. Late in the premiere, Kody tells his children that he will be bringing a fourth wife, Robyn, and her three children into the fold. As the show gets ready for a commercial break, TLC teases the next segment: Kody snaps at one of his children, "You don’t get to talk to somebody else about this. This is family business." That moment never appears in the ensuing episode. Kody smiles a lot, seems to run around with a perpetual shaggy-dog look and reminded this viewer of O.J. Simpson hanger-on Kato Kaelin. His appeal is mystifying. Despite his cheery claims to the camera that he’s just a man who falls in love a lot, he’s a lawbreaker who is risking himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show. He’s practically begging someone to arrest him. Here’s hoping someone in the state of Utah has the courage to take him up on the offer. "Sister Wives" almost makes you long for the heyday of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." Almost. Series premiere tonight at 10 on TLC. | |
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BostonHerald.com Originally published Sunday, September 26, 2010 | |
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