My understanding was that Big Love was about a polygamous sect of Mormonism if not the official church. Two major clues: It's set in Utah, and more importantly, the two slutty girls at the fast food restaurant were snickering about the devoted followers of Moroni. I might have been putting 2 and 2 together and getting 22, but I do think the show is based on the many offshoots of Mormonism in Utah/Idaho who still practice polygamy, even if the practice is unsanctioned by the mother church.

Harry Dean Stanton's character "Roman" mentioned 4,000 attending sacrament the previous Sunday. The disclaimer at the end mentioned the study that found 20,000-40,000 (theres a W-I-D-E range for any statistician) practicing polygamists in the U.S. I did the math and realized that Roman isn't some small leader of a cult like the Branch Davidians. If you're preaching to 10-20% of all the active polygamists in the U.S. that's quite a following. No surprise that he travels in a caravan with bodyguards, and no surprise that he's hiring PR consultants to improve image and reach.

This show looks to be quite interesting.