True Blood - HBO - Sunday 9pm est

[Emperor]

True Blood is an American television series based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris and adapted for television by Alan Ball. The series is produced by HBO in association with Ball's own production company, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment.

 

The show details the fictional co-existence of vampires and humans in a small Louisiana town after Japanese-made synthetic blood – "TruBlood" – becomes available for purchase. Anna Paquin stars as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress at a diner who falls in love with one of the vampires, Bill Compton (portrayed by Stephen Moyer).

 

The show will premiere on September 7, 2008 and will air on the same day in Canada on The Movie Network.

 

I highly recommend the series of books.  Since this is on HBO, I doubt this discussion goes anywhere but I am excited about it.

[Haxorsist]

I'm always willing to watch a new HBO-show, so I'll try to catch a few episodes.

[Almearafan]

Now that the long weekend is over, I'm setting up my DVR for this one tonight.  Totally looking forward to seeing it.  For anyone that has On Demand, there are some behind the scenes type things about it, along with scenage, on HBO On Demand under the Series section.

 

Let's hope they do this right.  I have a lot of faith in Alan Ball though.  LOVED Six Feet Under!!!

[Emperor]

Alf did you read the books?  The wife just finished all of them and I am on #2.  I put great faith in HBO shows as they are usually the best on TV.

 

Do you guys get Starz?  What do you think of Crash coming as a series?

[Almearafan]

Alf did you read the books?  The wife just finished all of them and I am on #2.  I put great faith in HBO shows as they are usually the best on TV.

 

Do you guys get Starz?  What do you think of Crash coming as a series?

 

Didn't read the books, but I've been told by a couple of other people that I should, so at some point I probably will, but it won't be before the series this Sunday obviously.  No biggie, I'll still enjoy the read post-TV.

 

We do get Starz, and I hadn't heard that Crash was coming as a series.  I'll have to look it up.

[Dwynwen]

I don't get HBO.  :(  Oh, well, that will give me time to finish the series before I watch it on DVD.

[Emperor]

And here is the first review.  I think they have a few details wrong... or the show deviates from the book.  Sookie can read all minds (even other vamps) except Bill.  Anyway... here you go.

 

Three years after Alan Ball laid his HBO show Six Feet Under to rest, he has returned to the same network with True Blood (premiering Sept. 7 at 9/8c), a drama series about vampires. So he’s gone from the dead to the undead--at least the guy’s lightening up with age!

 

Read our interview with Alan Ball

 

True Blood, adapted from Charlaine Harris’ beloved Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, is initially talkier than bloodthirsty viewers might be hoping for; indeed, this is more of a vampire soap opera than a 30 Days of Night-esque scream-inducer. But those who stick with it--and it’s hard not to be hooked on intrigue alone after the pilot episode--will be bloody satiated.

 

The series is set in small-town Louisiana, where vampires and humans coexist but aren't exactly the best of friends. After all, it’s only been two years since vampires “came out of the coffin” following the Japanese-invented TruBlood, a synthetic blood that allows vamps to resist human blood. But yeah, most Louisianans remain a tad racist, so to speak, towards their relatively new cohabitants.

 

However, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a waitress/mind reader, is not most people. She has no problem with vampires and is, in fact, drawn to them because theirs are the only minds she can’t read--which is a relief for her.

 

There’s one vampire in particular that has caught her eye: Bill (Stephen Moyer), a hunky bloodsucker who visits her restaurant and sticks out like, well, a vampire.

 

Bill is equally fascinated by Sookie and her benevolence toward his kind, but warns her in no uncertain terms that becoming close could be hazardous to her health. Vampires, you see, are still not the most trustworthy bunch.

 

She ignores Bill’s warnings and those from her friend (Rutina Wesley), boss (Sam Trammell) and brother (Ryan Kwanten). So begins the true bloodline of True Blood.

 

There’s quite a bit at play in True Blood, which is why Oscar winner Ball (American Beauty) is the perfect man for this job. Ball is blessed with an ability, perhaps more than any other writer or director today, to say a lot at once.

 

And although vampirism might seem an illogical next step for someone whose previous show was about a dysfunctional-family-owned funeral parlor, Ball really makes Blood his own, unmistakably so: Everything looks gorgeous, and there’s gloom and comedy so evenly distributed that even the Coen brothers would approve.

 

One especially funny scene features the leader of the “American Vampire League” promoting vampires’ rights on Real Time with Bill Maher, which doubles as a shameless HBO in-family plug.

 

Playing a modern-day vampire and a girl who’s smitten with one is tricky business, but Moyer--who previously starred in the 1998 British vampire series Ultraviolet--and Paquin really pull it off. While both Bill and Sookie are complex characters, to say the least, Paquin’s Sookie is surprisingly the more mysterious of the two.

 

And Paquin (X-Men trilogy, The Piano) truly conveys that, getting across Sookie’s childlike curiosity but also a darker side, one that hints at deep-seated sexuality. Speaking of sex, be prepared for some explicit, envelope-pushing action that falls somewhere between Six Feet Under and Tell Me You Love Me.

 

All in all, Blood is an intoxicating addition to the HBO family, and along with Entourage forms the best Sunday-night duo since HBO’s Sex and the City/Sopranos heyday.

[Silver]

I think you read the review wrong. It says she can't read vampires minds, that's why she likes hanging out with them.

 

 

But yeah, sounds interesting. Wonder if this airs in Canadia, and if so, when.

[U4ea]

Kathana, you don't see me. ;)

 

I'm looking forward to this one, too. I don't watch much TV, but with my current vamp addiction and  hHearing that HBO was doing this and that Ball was handling it... yeah, I'm looking forward to it!

 

I've read the first book and plan on finishing the series as soon as I can order them all from B&N. My local store doesn't have the 2nd book, so I'm having to order it, anyway. From what I've seen on the behind the scenes stuff on HBO (their website is...interesting, too, if you haven't seen it), they're sticking pretty close to the book. Here's hoping, anyway...

 

*runs before Kathana catches her*

[Yveva]

I'm looking forward to it, but I am pretty sure the books will be better (some of the casting doesn't really match my imagination).  LOVED Six Feet Under though, and I think they're going to do a good job of this.

 

Emp has it wrong, Sookie can only occasionally hear a vampire's thoughts, it's not something she can control, but it has happened a few times in the books.  In general she can't read thoughts of vamps.

[Emperor]

Ok... the show has some growing to do. I dislike the overacting of Tara and the grandma.  They are really smacking you in the face with a few things from the book.  I really think the next few shows will determine its fate though for next season so I hope it gets a little better.

 

 

[Segurant]

I didn't like the first episode.  I thought the acting was terrible.  I agree that Tara was over the top.  I'm surprised her character isn't beaten regularly on the show.  I'm surprised she got hired in that bar.

 

I'm going to watch a few more episodes and hope that this gets better.  I did like the previews for next week's show.

[Almearafan]

We found it terribly funny really.  It was good, but I agree with Emp and Seg, there is definately growing to do.  And Tara and the grandmother, and Sookie are all definately over the top, however; if they start to settle into their rolls a little better I think it has real potential to be a great show. 

 

I can't help but compare it to the idea of a mixture of segregation and anti-gay bigotry being fought by the vamps.  Anyone else notice the church sign in the intro that said "God Hates Fangs"...one letter dropped in the word Fangs...and reality sets in.

 

Ratings scale of 1 to 10, I'll give it a 6 for now. 

[Emperor]

The books are excellent and the first show followed the first book pretty well.  I think they do a book a season so I know the show picks up some momentum and gets better.  Tara is the character that concerns me the most. 

 

Alf - That is how the author wrote the books.  She wanted to point out the injustices of real civil rights problems.  Looks like the show is going to tackle this as well.

 

I really want the show to cover the book's mythology.  Delving deeper into the vampire world is going to be very interesting... not to mention other mythical creatures...

[Emperor]

True Blood 1.1 FAQ

 

What’s it called?

“Strange Love.”

 

Who’s responsible?

Alan Ball, screenwriter of “American Beauty” and creator of “Six Feet Under,” directs from his own teleplay. The series is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.

 

Is it as good as “Six Feet Under”?

Five “True Blood” episodes in, I’m saying not yet.

 

What’s it about?

A tiny twentysomething blonde with superpowers falls for a hunky 170-year-old vampire.

 

How does her watcher feel about that?

Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who makes her living in Bon Temps, Louisiana’s Hooters-y Merlotte's Bar & Grill, has no watcher. She is not a vampire-slayer. She’s a vampire saver.

 

Sookie the Vampire Saver? Vampires aren’t evil?

In the universe of “True Blood,” some are and some aren’t, just like the non-vampires.

 

What are Sookie’s superpowers?

Paquin, no stranger to X-Men, plays a girl with Jean Grey superpowers: She’s telepath and, as best I can tell, capable of telekinesis. (Oddly, Sookie seems unaware of her telekinetic ability, which turns up in the first two episodes, but stays offscreen for the next three.)

 

If she’s not a vampire slayer, why is there a girl with superpowers in a vampire show?

Five episodes in, there’s no clear reason. We do learn that because vampires are dead and emit no brainwaves, Sookie cannot read their minds.

 

Are there a lot of vampires in the “True Blood” universe?

We discover over the course of the series that Louisiana is fairly teeming with them.

 

Are there a lot of superpowered non-vampires in the “True Blood” universe?

In the first five episodes, Sookie is the only one we meet. So I guess the series is similar to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in this respect.

 

How are the “True Blood” vampires similar to the “Buffy” ones?

They “live” for centuries. They’re superstrong. Their hearts don’t beat. They drink blood. They sport retractable fangs. They don’t fly or turn into animals. Sunlight kills them.

 

How else do the “True Blood” vampires differ from the “Buffy” ones?

1) Everybody in the “True Blood” universe knows vampires are real; the bloodsuckers even have advocates who argue against vampire-discrimination on TV talk shows. They recently started outing themselves following a Japanese firm’s invention of artificial blood, marketed to vampires as a soft drink bearing the brand “Tru Blood.”

 

2) The “True Blood” vampires all seem to be able to use Jedi-mind-trick like hypnosis to make any human (except Sookie) do whatever they want.

 

3) The blood inside “True Blood” vampires is a valuable, addictive and illegal narcotic with healing properties. If you can get hold of an adult vampire and drain him, the street value of his blood is around $10,000.

 

4) The “True Blood” vampires don’t fear the crucifix, and can handle crosses without sustaining injury. They do, however, seem to be vulnerable to silver chains.

 

5) The “True Blood” vampires don’t have retractable demon-foreheads.

 

Is there a big bad?

There’s a multi-episode (season-long?) story arc about a series of murders in Bon Temps. Some townsfolk, naturally, suspect vampires, though it’s more likely the work of anti-vamp forces.

 

This is an HBO show! And an Alan Ball show! Where’s all the gay stuff?

Vampirism is used, not altogether successfully, as a metaphor for homosexuality. And Sookie’s restaurant employs Lafayette, a vulgar, lecherous and flamboyant non-vampire cook who makes no secret of his orientation.

 

What’s good?

The teaser, featuring a cameo by Bill Maher, effectively sets up the “True Blood” universe. Someone videotapes from truly unsettling vampire sex. Sookie’s high-maintenance best friend Tara and Sookie’s half-wit brother are both drawn broadly but earn solid laughs. So does Merlotte's randy cook, whose entreaties toward a fat customer in bib overalls are a highlight. Paquin looks plenty hot, whether she’s sunning in her bikini or dashing about in her Hooters-y uniform.

 

What’s not so good?

If I could read minds as efficiently as Sookie, I believe I would hop a bus to Quantico and earn a lot more than $9 an hour consulting for the FBI. Some of the dialogue (perhaps taken from the book?) is surprisingly graceless for a Ball project, and Sookie finds way too hilarious the idea that a vampire could be named “Bill.” There are pacing issues. The mind-reading sequences are awkwardly directed. And there are questions. Why is Sookie seemingly oblivious to the telekinesis that gets her out of jams? If Sookie can’t avoid reading minds, how can she not know her handsome boss Sam is in love with her? After he leaves Tara in charge of the bar, why does it take Sam the better part of an hour to find Sookie in his own smallish parking lot? If vampires can hypnotize people into doing anything, why is Vampire Bill’s safety so easily compromised in the first episode?

 

Reviews are mixed:

 

Time Magazine says:

 

… while writerly honor forbids me to use a "suck" or "bite" joke, the early episodes of True Blood are, shall we say, drained of interest. … Ball's characters, living and dead, are caricatures. He once said the only meddling HBO ever did on SFU was to ask him to make it less conventional, and he could have used that kind of intervention this time. …

 

 

The Wall Street Journal says:

 

… a campy attempt at Southern Gothic that too often passes over the truly macabre or grotesque for gratuitous sex and violence. Mr. Ball is clearly trying to lighten the mood and reach a younger audience. But his new characters lack the depth and complexity -- if not the humanity -- of the darkly comic Fisher family from "Six Feet Under." … "True Blood" is supposed to be a sexy, easy-to-swallow mystery, but too often it ends up leaving a bad taste in one's mouth.

 

 

Entertainment Weekly gives it an “C” and says:

 

… Ball has never seen a comic-dramatic premise he can't flatten with leaden metaphors. He pumps up a tedious subplot about vampires campaigning on TV for antidiscrimination laws. And he makes so many heavy-handed comparisons between vampires and homosexuals that you wonder if he's really never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The Lost Boys. …

 

 

USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:

 

… Sexy, witty and unabashedly peculiar … Ball is a man of many talents, but subtlety does not appear to be one of them, and viewers should keep that in mind. Many of the twists on the vampire minority metaphor are clever — a church billboard reads "God Hates Fangs" — but you do wish Ball would hammer his points home with a slightly smaller hammer. Even so, for a network that has lost its way of late in series, Blood is a much-needed infusion of new, well, blood. Drink up.

 

 

TV Guide gives it a nine (out of 10) says:

 

… Graphically sexy and scary, and often wildly funny …

 

 

The New York Times says:

 

… The tale gets more engrossing as it goes along, but the first five episodes, at least, don’t quite live up to the fierce score and the amazing, hallucinatory opening montage. …

 

 

The Los Angeles Times says:

 

… a heavy-handed political fable … Borrowing heavily from many genres, "True Blood" aspires to transcend them all but instead quickly deposits the viewer waist-deep in a literal and figurative swamp. …

 

 

The Chicago Tribune says:

 

… doesn't seem quite as steamy as it should be. Not a bad show, just not the home run HBO needs. …

 

 

The Washington Post says:

 

… isn't meant to be an exercise in good taste. Just a romp and a wallow -- and a bloody good one. …

 

 

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

 

… Both Paquin and [stephen] Moyer do well here. And "True Blood" is fleshed out with other interesting characters getting to spout well-written lines. But at times the whole thing seems silly - it's often a default reaction when portraying vampires - and there's still the issue of tone: Will it settle or will the disparate mix continue to clash? At this point, "True Blood" appears to be a creative experiment. Ball should at least be given the chance to prove further whether he can slay viewers with his vision.

 

 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

 

… lands squarely in the B+/A- realm inhabited by HBO's underrated polygamy drama, "Big Love." Like "Big Love," "True Blood" entertains without moody navel-gazing. …

 

 

The Boston Herald says:

 

… Most viewers will find the slow pace bewildering and the attempts to establish atmosphere mystifying. … Not quite a parody and not quite a supernatural thriller, “True Blood” will probably just leave you cold.

 

 

The Boston Globe says:

 

… You won't be drawn to "True Blood" if you don't like a heightened, almost cartoonish atmosphere. Paquin, giggly but calmly assertive, is something of an acquired taste as Sookie. To me, her overdone Southern accent has a comic emphasis, in the same way Kyra Sedgwick speaks with almost campy delight in "The Closer." I kept imagining Amy Poehler from "Saturday Night Live" mocking Paquin's drawl, but that never detracted from my enjoyment. Alas, Moyer, a Brit, has less luck with his accent, as well as with his characterization. He makes Bill too dreamily ethereal, and I hope his performance grows more vivid and grounded with time. If we're going to be emotionally engaged by this couple, in the way we were by Rachel Griffiths and Peter Krause in "Six Feet Under," we need to see him as more than a vague specter. There isn't enough Buffy-Angel charge between the pair, yet. …

 

 

Variety says:

 

… while the show is a trifle hokey, its soapy elements, gothic atmosphere and cliffhanger endings -- coupled with Anna Paquin’s knockout performance -- do reel viewers in, laying the groundwork for what may be the cultish, undemanding romp HBO needs to inject much-needed life into its lineup. …

 

 

The Hollywood Reporter says:

 

… with its constant profanity, gore and banal cruelty, will have a limited appeal. It might become appointment viewing for genre fans even as the rest of us steer clear of Bon Temps. …

 

[Yveva]

erm, well in the books she is not telekenetic at ALL, so it is really lame if she is here.  Some of the plot holes and dialogue are lame because of the books, but the books aren't as heavy and are plenty witty and that didn't really carry over.  You find out way later (book 7? 8?) why Sookie is Telepathic (it's an interesting and rather  unexpected reason), but in the first book or two you find out why she can't read Sam as well. 

 

My impression of the Rattrays in the books was that they had overwhelmed him and used waaaay more silver chain than was on the show.  Also that vamps can use a sort of compulsion, but like hypnotism it's way easier to hypnotise someone who wants to be than someone who doesn't want to be.  Therefore the Rats were way more interested in draining Bill than letting him go, even if his mojo was on.

 

In the books there's some more subtlety about homosexuality in places, it exists outside of the vampire acceptance metaphor.

 

And Tru Blood as a soft drink?  erm.  Not entirely... I'd say more like a protein shake ;)  And there are different brands in the books representing differences in quality and flavour (some that is actual blood of royalty for example).

[U4ea]

I wasn't terribly impressed with Tara, either, so I'm glad that seems to be the consensus. I hope that they'll settle into their roles and that, once we're past the intro stage, they'll be more focused on the plot and less on their accents. I'm glad they seem to be sticking pretty close to the books, though. My husband watched it with me and I had to bite my lip a lot not to say "but..." and "don't get too attached to her..." *laughs* Ah, the joys of literature...

[Emperor]

Ok so... I had thought I missed something in the first books and Tara died... cause I don't remember her character at all (I just started book 3).  Looks like this character actually comes about later.  Maybe they do kill her off though... and the show will get better.

 

Did we really need the stereotypical hissing vamps?  Really?

 

The characters still need to settle down before this show takes off.  I did think the second episode was better than the first.

[Almearafan]

I gotta say that I'm happy that Tara's character settled down just slightly in the 2nd ep.  And I agree with Emp about the 2nd ep generally being better.

 

Curious...Any lady's on here think that the vamp with the wierd tattoo on the back of his head is Uberhot?!!!  No...Just me...Oh well.

[Emperor]

Second season is coming.  I love HBO for getting beind it's shows.

 

For Immediate Release

 

HBO RENEWS TRUE BLOOD, NEW SERIES FROM "SIX FEET UNDER"

CREATOR ALAN BALL, FOR SECOND SEASON,

WITH PRODUCTION TO BEGIN EARLY NEXT YEAR

 

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17, 2008 - HBO has renewed the new drama series TRUE BLOOD for a second season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, Programming Group and West Coast Operations. Created by Alan Ball, the series will begin production of new episodes early next year in Los Angeles, with debut set for summer 2009.

 

"We are absolutely thrilled that the critics and our viewers have embraced TRUE BLOOD," noted Lombardo. "Alan Ball has done it again - made an addictive series that is unlike any other."

 

"I am thrilled to be able to continue to work with such a talented group of writers, cast and crew to explore the characters and world created by Charlaine Harris in her novels," Ball said. "It really is a joy to go to work every day and I couldn't be happier to be back home at HBO."

 

The Sept. 7 debut episode is proving to be a hit with HBO audiences, attracting more than four million viewers to date, while the debut of the second episode on Sept. 14 posted an unprecedented 24% gain in viewers over the first week's debut.

 

Critics across the country in Detroit, Baltimore, Denver and Orlando have proclaimed TRUE BLOOD one of the best new shows on TV. USA Today called it "wildly imaginative," with "one of the best ensembles of the new series," while the Washington Post found it "audacious, outrageous and playfully grisly." TV Guide hailed the show as "graphically sexy and scary, and often wildly funny," and "a broadly entertaining, deliciously twisted slice of modern Southern Gothic."

 

Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, TRUE BLOOD takes place in the not-too-distant future, when vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans for their fix. Set in a backwoods Louisiana town, the show follows the romance between waitress Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin), who can read minds, and 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer). Alan Ball (creator of the Emmy®-winning HBO series "Six Feet Under") created and executive produced the show, as well as wrote and directed episodes of the series, which is based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

 

The cast also includes Ryan Kwanten as Sookie's brother Jason, Rutina Wesley as her best friend Tara Thornton, Sam Trammell as Sookie's good-hearted boss Sam Merlotte and Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds, a cook at Merlotte's

[Almearafan]

Awesome news about the renewal. 

 

Gotta say that one of the things I love the most about this show is that it allows it's characters (some of them anyway) to be completely unabashed about their sexuality, including Lafayette (one of my favorite character names ever thanks to the movie version of Hair) who they have managed to show as a masculinely flamboyant gay man.  It's heartening.  From what I have read though, he won't be around for long :'(

[Mendorah]

I finally got to see the first episode yesterday.  I haven't read the books.  I enjoyed it.  The only gripe I have is the awful accents.  Louisianans don't sound like that.  Monroe isn't too far from where I grew up.  They should sound closer to an East Texas/Southern Arkansas drawl.  I think they're doing the general "stupid redneck smalltown south" drawl that everybody tries to do when portraying a country bumpkin.  But I do kind of think the horrid accents are funny, so it's not a Huge gripe.

[U4ea]

Is anyone else annoyed with the dog in the last episode? When I saw it run up and Sam talking to it, I was muttering some choice words under my breath.

[Emperor]

U4ea, Yv and I with you.  They are really beating you over the head with the dog thing.

[Haxorsist]

Is that something you have to have read the books to notice? I just see a dog and think it's kinda cute.

 

Nice to see Hunkander Skarsgård in this series as well. Like the guy said "It's not gay if he's a vampire" ;D