Sister Wives

[A] fascinating reality hit. [28 Mar 2011, p.57]

The wives are overwhelmed by the prospect of an addition, but this group ]is as comfortable with the camera as the early-era Gosselins. [4 Oct 2010, p.38]

The first thing most people wondered last year when they heard a polygamist family was starring in a reality show was why they would want to do that. This opening episode for season two suggests some members of the family will be asking the same question. While this still doesn't make Sister Wives great television, it does shift the central drama to the fundamental question of how Kody Brown, his four wives and their 16 children can coexist with outsiders who frown on or condemn their lifestyle.

Sister Wives isn't likely to spark mass polygamy in America, but it's the rare reality show that reveals things viewers didn't expect. It even has jokes.

As a family, they are particularly eager to convey a sense of normalcy, but Sister Wives still doesn't have much interest in exploring the religious underpinnings or larger ethical questions of this anything-but-normal lifestyle. You're left without a solid clue why the Browns--all five of them--have gone to this much trouble.

While the adults seem to take the new attention too lightly--getting giddy while making an appearance on the Today show--it's hard not to feel for their 16 kids.

It's hard to feel compassion for them because they knew the risks. If you don't worry what happens to your main character--the fictional Bill Henrickson or the real Kody Brown--there's an absolute absence of drama.