"Big Love"
Take Me as I Am (2007)

Director:

Jim McKay

Writers:

Mark V. Olsen (creator) &
Will Scheffer (creator) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Big Love" (2006)

Original Air Date:

19 August 2007 (Season 2, Episode 11)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Husband Wife Relationship | Sister Wife | Father Child Relationship | Sex With Multiple Partners | Multiple Wives

Cast

Bill Paxton	...	Bill Henrickson
Jeanne Tripplehorn	...	Barb Henrickson
Chloë Sevigny	...	Nicolette Grant
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Margene Heffman
Amanda Seyfried	...	Sarah Henrickson
Douglas Smith	...	Ben Henrickson
Melora Walters	...	Wanda Henrickson
Joel McKinnon Miller	...	Don Embry
Daveigh Chase	...	Rhonda Volmer
Jolean Wejbe	...	Tancy Henrickson
Grace Zabriskie	...	Lois Henrickson
Matt Ross	...	Alby Grant
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Roman Grant
Ellen Burstyn	...	Nancy Davis Dutton
Philip Baker Hall	...	Ned Johanssen
Luke Askew
Judith Hoag	...	Cindy
Aaron Paul	...	Scott
Anne Dudek	...	Laura Grant
Mireille Enos	...	Kathy Marquart (as Mirelle Enos)
Audrey Wasilewski	...	Pam Martin
Hayley Erin	...	Jennifer
Caroline Fogarty	...	Leslie
Mark Hames	...	Cousin Howard
Keegan Holst	...	Wayne Henrickson
Keaton Tyndall	...	Sissy Marquart
Kylie Tyndall	...	Penny Marquart
Garrett Gray	...	Raymond Henrickson (as Garret Gray)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Robert	...	Wedding guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Jim McKay

Writing credits
Mark V. Olsen		(creator) &
Will Scheffer		(creator)
Eileen Myers		(writer)
Jennifer Schuur		staff writer
Doug Stockstill		staff writer (as Douglas Stockstill)

Produced by
Julie Antonelli	....	associate producer
Peter Friedlander	....	co-producer
Mark V. Olsen	....	executive producer
Will Scheffer	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Byrne

Cinematography by
James Glennon

Film Editing by
Byron Smith
Tanya M. Swerling

Casting by
Libby Goldstein
Junie Lowry-Johnson

Production Design by
Kitty Doris-Bates

Art Direction by
Valerie Green

Set Decoration by
Lisa Tong		(as Lisa G. Tong)

Costume Design by
Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko

Makeup Department
Nathalie Allen	....	additional makeup artist
John Damiani	....	department head makeup artist
Polly Lucke	....	key hair stylist
Kimberly Meyer	....	key head makeup artist (as Kimberly K. Meyer)
Scott Williams	....	department head hair stylist

Production Management
Bernadette Caulfield	....	unit production manager (as Bernie Caulfield)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brent Clark	....	second second assistant director (as Brent R. Clark)
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	second unit director
Shea Rowan	....	second assistant director
Stacy Stuart	....	dga trainee
Mark Tobey	....	first assistant director
Daniella Eisman	....	trainee assistant director (uncredited)
Matthew Janssen	....	dga trainee (uncredited)
Mike Naylor	....	dga trainee (uncredited)
Marc Newland	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
Shelly Adajian-Hill	....	paint gang boss (as Shelly Adajian)
Nina Alexander	....	on-set dresser
Paul Baker	....	additional props
Bobby Bednar	....	construction coordinator
Bryan 'Shorty' Clark	....	swing gang
Michael T. Daigle	....	paint supervisor
Paolo DeLeon	....	leadman (as Paolo D. DeLeon)
Charles C. Eguia Jr.	....	assistant property master (as Charles C. Eguia)
Justin Fisher	....	swing gang
Stephen Garner	....	construction foreman (as Stephen B. Garner)
Teresa Keith	....	art department coordinator
Rafael López	....	labor foreman (as Rafael Lopez)
Ramón López	....	propmaker (as Ramon Lopez)
Moe Moe Lwin	....	buyer
Kevin 'Chevy' Martinez	....	swing gang
Nicole Matsudaira	....	art production assistant
Brendan Maze	....	swing gang
Amie McCarthy	....	assistant property master (as Amie F. McCarthy-Winn)
Anthony Medina	....	general construction foreman (as Tony E. Medina)
Arielle Mermin	....	set decorator production assistant
Charles Reyes	....	labor gang boss
Blanche Sindelar	....	property master
Nandor Szilagy	....	on-set dresser (as Nandor Szilagyi)
Barry Tugendhaft	....	greens foreman (as Barry R. Tugendhaft)
Eric Wortmann	....	stand-by painter (as Eric J. Wortmann)
Steven P. Duchscherer	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Brendan C. Fenton	....	props (uncredited)
Tom Frohling	....	set designer (uncredited)
Mark Hill	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Mike Horn	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Kevin Hummel	....	props (uncredited)
Jordan King	....	greensman (uncredited)
William F. Matthews	....	set designer (uncredited)
Eric P. Paczkowski	....	flooring foreman (uncredited)
Shanna Starzyk	....	art department assistant (uncredited)
Brian Walsh	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Thomas 'Noe' Welch	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Julie Altus	....	adr recordist
Peter Bentley	....	sound mixer
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist
Susan Cahill	....	adr supervisor
Benjamin L. Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Benjamin Cook)
Benjamin L. Cook	....	supervising sound editor (as Benjamin Cook)
Rob Cunningham	....	boom operator
Alan Decker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Jason George	....	supervising sound editor
Colin Jones	....	boom operator
Devin Joseph	....	dialogue editor
Amy Kane	....	foley artist
Jacqueline Marie McLaughlin	....	utility sound
Brian Smith	....	adr mixer
R. Russell Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin K. Sorensen	....	boom operator
Dean St. John	....	adr mixer
Kevin Wahrman	....	foley editor
Ben Wilkins	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Joe Quinlivan	....	key special effects
J.D. Streett	....	special effects supervisor (as J.D. Streett IV)

Visual Effects by
Dan Lopez	....	visual effects
Randy Lowder	....	smoke artist
Matt von Brock	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Waide R. Allen	....	lamp operator
Edward A. Ayer	....	chief lighting technician (as Ed Ayer)
Tyler Ayer	....	lamp operator
Patrick Beatty	....	dolly grip: "b" camera (as Patrick M. Beatty)
Chris Brow	....	dolly grip
Steve Crestol	....	lamp operator
Russell Curtis	....	dimmer board operator (as Russell E. Curtis)
Robert Edesa	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as R. Edesa)
Paul Farley	....	key rigging grip
John C. Flinn IV	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Juan Frausto Jr.	....	grip
Tommy Garcia	....	first company grip
Kirk R. Gardner	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Kirk Gardner)
Sergio Gutierrez	....	dolly grip: "a" camera (as Ponch Gutierrez)
Bill Havis	....	lamp operator
Yuka Kadono	....	camera loader
Steve Kagan	....	lamp operator
John Keefer	....	grip
Darin Krask	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Harvey Letson	....	best boy grip
Daniel E. Lewis	....	lamp operator
Darrell McCormick	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Peter Norkus	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
George A. Olson Jr.	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as George Olson)
George Palmer	....	key grip
Gerald Rhodes	....	rigging gaffer (as Jerry Rhodes)
Tom Skulski	....	grip
Lacey Terrell	....	still photographer
Eric Anderson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Shawn Blakeman	....	electrician (uncredited)
Ralph Brownewell	....	camera production assistant (uncredited)
Betty Chow	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Daryl Didier	....	set lighting technician (uncredited)
Mike Jin	....	grip (uncredited)
Yaron Levy	....	electrician (uncredited)
Chava Monjaraz	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Michael Nie	....	crane operator: Technocrane (uncredited)
Michael Piekutowski	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Nick Anderson	....	casting associate
Kristan Berona	....	extras casting
Lisa Soltau	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Danielle Baker	....	set costumer (as Danielle C. Baker)
Sarah Basta	....	costume production assistant
Debra Beebe	....	costume supervisor (as Debra A. Beebe)
Gwen Fornataro	....	set costumer
Olga Ishkhanova	....	cutter/fitter (as Olga Y. Ishkhanova)
Megan Lungerhausen	....	additional costumer
Caroline Quiroga	....	additional costumer
Robin Roberts	....	key costumer
Andrea Sweet	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Christopher Grizey	....	post-production assistant
Jamie Keeney	....	assistant editor
Scott Klein	....	final colorist
Jennifer Ross	....	post-production coordinator
Aaron Rottinghaus	....	assistant editor
Mauricio Tassara	....	dailies colorist

Music Department
Deva Anderson	....	music supervisor
Evan Greenspan	....	music clearance
Ernie Mannix	....	music editor
Delphine Robertson	....	music supervisor
Lee Scott	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Randy Burke	....	transportation captain
Rick Chouinard	....	transportation co-captain
George Clayton Jr.	....	driver
David Diaz	....	transportation office coordinator (as David R. Diaz)
Pablo Gonzalez	....	driver
Brandon Handt	....	driver
Garner Humphrey	....	driver
Bob Komisar	....	driver
Dan Marrow	....	transportation coordinator
William J. McCance	....	driver
Evan Sklov	....	driver
Gary D. Stalker	....	driver (as Gary Stalker)
Laurie Taylor	....	driver
Mark Valdez	....	driver
Daniel Valenzuela	....	driver (as Daniel R. Valenzuela)

Other crew
George Barrett	....	stand-in
Lyndsey Beaulieu	....	assistant: Mr. Scheffer
Don Bensko	....	production supervisor
Dustin Lance Black	....	executive story editor
Pamela I. Brown	....	assistant production coordinator
Meghan Burchfield	....	assistant: Ms. Caulfield
Billy K. Campbell	....	key assistant location manager (as Billy Campbell)
Michael Chambliss	....	power pod technician/operator
Jeff Cockey	....	stand-in
Fermin Davalos	....	location manager
Alison Diamond	....	assistant: Mr. Hanks (as Allison Diamond)
Leo Fialho	....	key assistant location manager
Emilie Gioia	....	production secretary
Allison Glennon	....	production assistant
Tory Haljun	....	assistant: Mr. Goetzman
Coleman Herbert	....	assistant: Mr. Olsen
Lisa Karchinski	....	production assistant
Stephanie Klube	....	stand-in
Blake Knight	....	production assistant
Devon Ligus	....	stand-in
Allison Meadows	....	production assistant
Kevin Medici	....	script coordinator (as Kevin P. Medici)
Mark Meloccaro	....	rights and clearances
Eileen Myers	....	executive story editor
Sarah Neale	....	stand-in
Greg Pisarski	....	production assistant
Yoli Poropat	....	production coordinator
Sooki Raphael	....	assistant: Mr. Hanks
Casey Schoolcraft	....	assistant to writer
Julie Shimer	....	assistant: Mr. Goetzman
Joanne Small	....	script supervisor
Logan Sparks	....	assistant: Harry Dean Stanton
Jeff Stanford	....	key assistant location manager
Joshua Stickler	....	production assistant
M. Ryan Traylor	....	production assistant
Aaron Walrod	....	payroll accountant
Sharon Wissel	....	main title choreography
Aaron Wood	....	production assistant
Kevin Britton	....	second assistant: second unit (uncredited)
Barbara Burchfield	....	production assistant (uncredited)
James S. Conway	....	office production assistant (uncredited)
Shilo Frontierro	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Melanie E. Gonzalez	....	set production assistant: talent (uncredited)
Katie Holland	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Devon Marie King	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Elissa McKee	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Brian Peralez	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Katie Pruitt	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
David Henry Schneider	....	unspecified assistant (uncredited)
Emre Sonmez	....	key assistant location manager (uncredited)
Paul Young	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Patricia Breen		writer (2008)
Mark V. Olsen		creator
Will Scheffer		creator

Stunts
Daniel Arrias	....	stunts
Steve Kelso	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Lacovara	....	stunts
Christopher J. Tuck	....	stunt double: Bill Paxton

Other crew
Grace Bustos	....	stand-in

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Nicki is at the bingo parlor, she is hoping the caller will call I32. The I column only has numbers from 16-30. 32 is a number in the N column.

Extremely Powerful and effective

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Wow. 'Take Me as I Am' is an excellent addition to the sensational Season 2 of Big Love, and it is extremely powerful and emotional throughout. Barb tries to reconcile things with her mother and family, and things spiral out of control at her mother's wedding. Alby receives false information from the Greenes, and relays that information to Nicki; he is told that Bill said that they needed to kill Roman. Barb goes through lots of inner conflict and has to face the choices that she has made with her life. She knows that she is practicing polygamy not because she approves of it, but because she loves Bill so deeply. Thus, it is completely natural that she would be concerned when Ben starts dating twins, both of whom wish to get married by the time they are 17.

Barb shows that she really loves her mother and cares deeply about her family. It is appalling just how much her family seems to disapprove of polygamy, and her sister continues to be just as evil as always. Alby continues emerging as a huge threat. Barb's relationship with her mother is revealing to her character and her personality. She clearly has problems with her past, and wants to make things better. Her dialogue with her mother is perfectly written, and Jeanne Tripplehorn gives one of her most unforgettable performances yet. She brings such believability and personality to the character of Barb that, coupled with the fantastic writing, makes this a truly memorable episode.

Nicki must ultimately make a choice between which family she cares about the most. From all the information she gets from Alby, she seems torn in some cases, and seems to make some of her decisions based solely on her life in the compound. She also displays many selfish behaviors, and is truly a deep and complex character.

The final scene is just as unforgettable as the rest of the episode, and it just goes to show how much of a threat Alby has become. One of the best episodes of Big Love so far, and I can't wait for the season finale.