http://www.criticsrant.com/archive/2007/07/24/Big-Love--Good-Guys-and-Bad-Guys.aspx BIG LOVE gives you some of that old time religion, as in Old Testament begetting, vengeance and violence. What couldeth be better? I thought I had it tough being Jewish.    But apparently, guilt, fatty foods and Jewish mothers are nothing compared to the burdens of Mormonism — or at least that branch of Mormonism portrayed on HBO’s engrossing and enjoyable series, BIG LOVE.    In its second season, the show has established itself as the legitimate successor to THE SOPRANOS in the minds of everyone but HBO executives.  They, inexplicably, placed their bets on JOHN FROM CINCINNATI. They lose.    Truth is, BIG LOVE is really very Mob-like. In Utah, the role of Tony Soprano is played by Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton, in a role of a lifetime). On the surface, he’s a moral, upstanding citizen. But, he’s also a polygamist not above expanding his family’s fortune by using stolen funds to bid for a gambling enterprise. He’s also expert at manipulating the two Mob families — excuse me, I meant religious leaders — battling for control of their segment of the Church Empire. Both Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) and the Greene brothers willingly use coercion and violence to get their ways, and pitting one against the other is a dangerous game Bill plays with false assurance. en-US Critics Rant info@criticsrant.com Subtext Version 1.9.4.0 http://www.criticsrant.com/images/default_gravatar_bullhorn.png http://www.criticsrant.com/archive/2007/07/24/Big-Love--Good-Guys-and-Bad-Guys.aspx 77 60