What a weird episode of Sister Wives.
Can someone explain to me why TLC had the Browns travel so far out of the way to find a non-Mormon Christian polygamy family unit? I googled Christian Polygamy Utah and found many articles, including one about a man named Stephen Butt who just so happened to live in Utah, of all places. Apparently, there's a lot of them in Utah. Go figure...
So, maybe the following will explain why this trip was deemed necessary.
This is a direct quote from a local online newspaper article:
"Shannon Llanes, a spokeswoman for the show [Sister Wives], said the Richard family appeared on the show
after a friend of the Browns learned about the Richard family in a polygamy chat group online."
James River: Polygamy brings pain and heartache
I'd like to know who this friend of the Browns is, and if they are
still a friend of the Browns.
Like the old adage, with friends like that, you don't need enemies.
YIKES!!
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| Christina, Nathaneal and Rebecca Richard |
Now, I'm sure the Nathaneal, Rebecca and Christina are wonderful people, but for some reason I just get an uneasy, weird vibe from them. I'm not ashamed to say that it makes me happy to know they live almost 2000 miles away from me. Deliriously happy.
But let's get on with the review, shall we?
This episode was chocked full of uncomfortable moments. I mean extremely uncomfortable moments.
This review will be my recounting of some of those moments.
Uncomfortable Moment #1 Meeting the Richard Family
Kody has got to be the worse actor on the planet. He couldn't even act like he was meeting Nathaneal for the first time, it just came across as being so fake!
And please. Would someone in production please hit that doofus over the head each time he sneaks a look at the cameraman? Kind of like, look at me, are you getting this Mr. Cameraman?
The only natural one in the family was Truely, who truly sounded genuine when she shook one of the youngest Richard boy's hand and said "Hi! Glad to meet you." Kody could learn from that little lady, I tell you.
Uncomfortable Moment #2 The Richard Family Line Up
I'm putting the blame for this fiasco squarely on the shoulders of TLC and F8 Productions. Who ever thought the military style "Sound of Music" line up of children by age would be clever needs to have their Clever Card revoked forever.
It wasn't clever. It was awful. And some of those poor Richard Kids looked soooo uncomfortable on display like that. Bad, bad move...
Let's take a short break for some Ironic Kody Moments...
Ironic Kody Moment #1
Realizing that the Richard's house is as large as the ground floor of a Brown McMansion. And they have to cram 12 people into that living space as opposed to Kody and his Kodettes© luxurious two stories.
Ironic Kody Moment #2
That anyone over the age of 15 actually said 'funner' on television and USED it in a sentence.
Ironic Kody Moment #3
Saying "...Moses comes to Pharoah and says 'Pharoah, let my people go' and Pharoah says 'No way, Jose'." completely with a straight face.
I kid you not...
Uncomfortable Moment #3 The Christian Seder
Oh my. This was so bad on so many levels. The lowest point was when Kody offered up his services to recite a prayer in Hebrew.
To paraphrase G.B. Shaw "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." And if you're Kody Brown, just add 'those who can't do anything constructive at all, will decide to upstage their host by reciting a prayer in Hebrew...badly'.
The self-satisfied smirk on Kody's face says it all....
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| Christine thinking "Why is she telling me this, NOW???" |
Back in the 'kitchen", Christine did have a "funny" kind of moment when, right after she literally had inhaled a plate of food, Christina Richard informed her of their family tradition of everyone taking their first bite of food at exactly the same time.
The look on Christine's face was priceless....
Uncomfortable Moment #4 Nathaneal Explains ... Why Polygamy?
According to Nathaneal, after he and Rebecca had gone through the several versions of the Bible a couple of times over the early years of their marriage, Nathaneal began to notice the Bible did not say following polygamy was a bad thing.
The Bible also doesn't mention one shouldn't drink and drive, but I digress.
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| Even Robyn was finding Rebecca's story a little hard to believe... |
As wife Rebecca tells the story, she was in the kitchen making cookies when Nathaneal, out of the blue says to her "I wish there was another Rebecca I could snuggle with on the couch while you're in the kitchen."
Say whut??? Let me tell you, if my husband told me that, not only would I pack up the kids and leave his sorry behind, I would also take a part of his anatomy with me - a part that he and his substitute wife would surely miss.
Uncomfortable Moment #5 Sharing a Bedroom
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| Rebecca's loose lips in motion...(nice joolery she has on) |
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| Kody officially shocked and awed... |
Even though Kody tried his hardest to show how "with it" he was with Biblical Polygamy and how wonderful the Richard adults were, Rebecca let loose some information that shocked and awed him into almost complete silence.
She said she knew of polygamist families that shared a bedroom, i.e., they shared one bed together.
And you know what folks? Put me in the group that thinks the Richard Family is one of those families. You know the saying Loose Lips Sink Ships? Well, Rebecca's loose lips definitely sank their boat all right. Yep, that was definitely a loose lips moment.
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| KID DOWN!!!! |
Except for an absolutely staged version of 'Red Rover' (resulting in the clotheslining of the bashful redheaded Richard son) this was how the episode ended.
An anticlimactic ending to a road trip of over 1500 miles, just to spend time with a plural family that, most likely, they will never talk to again. If I were TLC I would be screaming for my money back!
