Posted on 03/10/2009 8:54:23 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
"Big Love," HBO's television drama about a polygamous Utah family, will air an episode March 15 depicting a sacred and private LDS temple ceremony, prompting an official response from the church criticizing the network.
According to a TV Guide interview with series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer published in this week's magazine, both said the episode will include the depiction of an endowment ceremony within a Mormon temple. Only LDS members with a temple recommend and in good standing may witness such ceremonies.
"We go into the endowment room and the celestial room, and we present what happens in those ceremonies," Olsen told TV Guide . "That's never been shown on television before."
In order to portray the ceremonies accurately, Olsen and Scheffer said they "researched it out the wazoo" and hired an "ex-Mormon consultant" for help in the scenes, including sets and costuming. HBO confirmed the episode's scenes Monday. "But it's not for shock value," Olsen said. "It's really a very important part of the story."
News of the episode hit the Internet last week, prompting talk of boycotts of the network and e-mail chains to church members to cancel their subscriptions to AOL, which along with Time Warner, owns the pay cable network.
Olsen and Scheffer were editing the season finale Monday and unavailable for comment. They are expected to release a statement about the controversy today.
In response to the upcoming episode, which has not been seen outside the network, the LDS Church issued a statement Monday criticizing depictions of the church generally in the news media and Hollywood, and specifically in "Big Love."
"Now comes another series of 'Big Love,' and despite earlier assurances from HBO, it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show's fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints."
The series stars Bill Paxton ("Titanic") as Bill Henrickson, the owner of a chain of hardware stores, who is married to three wives, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin.
For three seasons, the show has depicted the trials of running such a complicated household, including various depictions of mainstream Mormon characters and practices.
"Before the first season of the HBO series 'Big Love' aired more than two years ago, the show's creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn't be about Mormons," the LDS statement read. "However, Internet references to 'Big Love' indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous."
"We go into the endowment room and the celestial room, and we present what happens in those ceremonies," Olsen told TV Guide . "That's never been shown on television before."
There are a lot of books written by former Mormons that depict exactly what goes on during a Mormon wedding ... no big secret.
First off, polygamy is wrong.
Second, those engaging in it should be arrested. It is against the law.
Third, the majority of Mormons do NOT practice polygamy.
I have my differences with their beliefs but we share secular values. It's a shame to see this religion broad brushed in this way. What they do need is prayer to see the truth; not this.
It’s about time people shine some light on Mormonism and get passed the obfuscation they feed us gentiles. However, HBO doesn’t do anything displeasing to their god, Satan, so I’m not all that excited about this.
This is a Tom Hanks show. I noticed his name appeared nowhere in this story.
Playtone, his production company, produces the show for HBO. You look at the arc of his career, and it screams “There is no God but Man”
After cratering in DaVinci Code, he went ahead and made Angels and Demons. He produces an anti-Mormon show. The Green Mile was as close to religion as he got, and he depicts it as hocus-pocus.
Can’t think of anything more boring.
It's no big secret, but it's also bad form to release it in this format. They want it to be private, as far as I can see out of reverence rather than any other motive, and I think that should be respected.
True - it makes the ceremony seem trite when presented in a TV format ...
The number of people who probably get their “facts” from a show like this is sad.
Are you a conservative for small government?
If so, how do you reconcile harassing or arresting otherwise law abiding polygamists (who are not committing welfare fraud, statutory rape etc) with “small government”.
To me small government, requires “live and let live:” even if I do not agree with it. What about you?
With money, that is............
Frankly, if the Mormon church would hush up about it, most people would just consider it to be fiction. It is just a TV program after all.
Why is it time we shine light on Mormonism? What harm has it done anyone? Seriously, is anything private or sacred anymore? MUST we know?
I agree....however...
there is a continually depiction of Catholic priests as molesters when in actuality, a tiny segment ...less than even 1%....are responsible....
yet...that is a all too frequently seen here on FR...
It’s done harm to the millions in Hell now for adopting their beliefs and for the millions who will go to Hell for doing the same. The guys on bikes don’t tell their proselytes about their weird temple rituals, if their prospective converts knew half of what Mormons believe, they wouldn’t be damning themselves to Hell.
You mean the stuff that was shown happening in
The Green Mile’, was religion, not hocus-pocus?
You mean you get to really know who goes to hell, and who doesn’t?
A Catholic Exorcism is a pretty damn private ceremony but it has been depicted ad nauseum in Hollywood without any outcry.
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