It occurred to me as I was trying to cram two hours of “American Idol” into my 5:45 to 6:30 a.m. pre-breakfast time slot that I had entirely too much TV in my life. No one should have to face Paula Abdul on an empty stomach, but when I heard the siren call of the Seacrest, I was toast.

In this age of media multitasking, we all have our meltdown moments. But just because you made it through last week's season-finale blitzkrieg without your VCR exploding or your brain imploding doesn't mean you are home free. Because I am about to shatter your summer TV siesta with a show that you absolutely must watch right now.

The show is HBO's “Big Love,” which debuted in March in the Sunday-night time slot also occupied by “Grey's Anatomy.” In other words, Black Holesville.

But now that Denny has died and Meredith and Dr. McDreamy have hooked up again, HBO is happy to fill your soap 'n' steam quota by re-airing the first 11 episodes of “Big Love.” The marathon starts tomorrow, and it will wrap up just in time for newbies and vets to catch Sunday's 10 p.m. finale.

That is a whole lot of “Love” for one week, but the appeal is as simple as 1-2-3. Three being the number of women married to Bill Henrickson, the harried polygamist whose Viagra-assisted life is the juicy stuff “Big Love” is made of.

The first episode opens with an arresting scene involving sex, money and domestic power, three of “Big Love” 's favorite topics. After an enthusiastic love-making session, a man leaves money on the nightstand for the woman who is still sleeping in the bed. As it turns out, the transaction is less sordid than you'd think. It is also much thornier than it looks.

You could say the same thing about the show.

Created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, “Big Love” comes with the kind of envelope-nudging baggage you'd expect from the free-wheeling pay-cable folks who gave you “Sex in the City” (Sex and Shoes!), “Six Feet Under” (Sex and Death!) and “Deadwood” (Sex and Really Filthy Language!). If you are tuning in solely for the Hot Polygamy Action, however, you will be disappointed. And if you're avoiding “Big Love” for the same reason, you are making a big mistake.

Bill Paxton stars as Bill Henrickson, the owner of a home-improvement store and the husband to three wives. There is Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the independently minded first wife who deals with her doubts by trying to run the Best Darned Polygamy Household Ever. She is joined by second wife Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), a high-maintenance handful whose shopping addiction is an apt symbol of her emotional neediness.

Wife No. 3 is Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), a sweet ditz who quickly discovers that being part of the Henrickson Three is not quite the sisterhood slumber party she thought it would be.

Bill, his wives and their seven children live side by side in suburban Salt Lake City. Their three houses are linked by a connecting back yard, and much of the show's cagey humor comes from watching the Henricksons struggle with the everyday annoyances – chores, wills, burglar alarms – that become a fine source of comedy when multiplied by three.

But home is also where the drama is.

Much of the plot intrigue involves Bill's familial and financial entanglements with Nicki's father, Roman Grant, who is the sinister head of the polygamist compound where Bill grew up. As played by the skeletal Harry Dean Stanton, Roman is a poisonous sidewinder with an eye for young girls and a knack for dirty politics. Roman is exceedingly bad news, but Bill is often too blinded by pride and anger to fully comprehend the depths of his malevolent power.

And that is what makes “Big Love” such a satisfying hunk of TV drama. Not the flashy villain with his fleet of Humvees, but the blind spots that keep our hero from seeing how dangerous he really is.

The same goes for Bill and his wives. What makes this series so absorbing is not the novelty of the Henricksons' polygamist lifestyle, but the recognizable human flaws that can turn any life into an emotional minefield.

In the episodes re-airing this week, Bill and Barb find themselves pitting their own ambitions against the needs of the family unit; Nicki collapses under the weight of debt and self-loathing (then promptly goes shopping again); and Margene's young-mother loneliness threatens the security of all of the Henricksons.

Meanwhile, Bill and Barb's teenage son and daughter (played by the wonderful Douglas Smith and Amanda Seyfried) have to shoulder the dual burden of adolescence and secrecy, while poor little Teeny (Jolean Wejbe) is mortified when the wrong mother brings her the wrong costume on school-play day.

With its attractive, likable people living in homey suburban comfort, “Big Love” is not an expose on the exploitative horrors of polygamy. (Although Daveigh Chase's eerie performance as Roman's latest child bride is an indictment all its own.) It is also not an edgy, “Sopranos”-sized hit. At least not yet.

In spite of its lack of buzz, the show has been picked up for a second season, and it's hard to believe it won't pick up a few more fans by then. Like “The Sopranos,” “Big Love” is an expertly written, smartly acted series that uses a titillating milieu to examine the mundane intricacies of marriage and family life in a way that makes you wonder about the domestic debris you might have swept under the throw rug.

Life is complicated, but before you start wondering how you can fit Bill and his three wives into yours, just stop. When it comes to great TV shows, there is always room for one more.

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