"Big Love" document was a fake

Bill Paxton stars in HBO’s “Big Love.” (Credit: Lacey Terrell, HBO)

THERE WERE SOME ERRORS in the reporting of the University of Utah’s little contretemps with HBO’s “Big Love.”

Big surprise there, huh?

Folks at the U. have apparently just discovered that, in episodes that aired months ago, there was a document with a block U and the name of the university. They fear that this will make it seem like they’ve somehow given their blessing to the program.

Clearly, this would not happen if it were a show other than “Big Love.” Just this week, HGTV aired a repeat of an episode of “House Hunters” that shows the campus, its name and its logo.

Anyway, various outlets — including local TV stations — reported that the document in question related to a 19th-century document that indicated the LDS Church never intended to abandon polygamy.

What they didn’t tell you is that, in the show’s reality, the 19th-century document was a FAKE. As the episodes played out, it was revealed that the document in question (as well as a number of others) were FORGERIES.

So, no, “Big Love” didn’t indicate that the LDS Church’s early leaders never abandoned polygamy.

The plot was inspired by Mark Hofmann and his forgeries. (There’s even a bombing.) And, remember, Hofmann’s forgeries were authenticated by various “experts” at the time.

Like the fictional “expert” who wrote the fictional letter about the fictional document in the fictional show about a bunch of fictional polygamists. That’s what worried the folks at the U.

Frankly, almost no one would have even noticed any of this if the U.’s lawyers hadn’t sent their cease-and-desist demand.

HBO has indicated its lawyers say they did nothing wrong and “will be responding in due course.”

Stay tuned …