Keep it in the family

“Salt LAKE, Salt Lake. Can you hear me, Salt Lake?”

Things are out of control on “Big Love” as we head up to tonight’s season finale. Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) wants Bill (Bill Paxton) out of the electronic poker machine business and Ben (Douglas Smith), who is rebelling against her by dating twins, away from the family for a while. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) wants to be taken seriously as a real wife for a change and Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) wants to know if Bill had anything to do with her father being shot. Meanwhile, Alby (Matt Ross) is keeping Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) drugged so he can run Juniper Creek; and now that he knows Bill stole Weber Gaming out from under him, the first order of business is revenge. In fundamental polygamist parlance, there’s a mess of rattlesnakes in your bed.

What began as a lighthearted satiric take on marriage and the suburbs has become a cross between “The Godfather” and “Desperate Housewives.” In a way, “Big Love” is the classic immigrant’s tale: As a refugee from Juniper Creek, Bill is trying to fit into the mainstream while holding onto the fundamentals of his culture. But polygamy is only part of it; Bill’s ambitions have moved far beyond protecting his family from arrest or disgrace. Now, like any good capo wannabe, he is expanding his territory, taking on the big boys. Like members of organized crime, the characters of “Big Love” live outside the law and so, except for an occasional rat-out to the feds, their battles must be kept among themselves. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. Because when you’re a polygamist, it is all about family.

(HBO, today, 9 p.m.)

-- Mary McNamara