Friday, June 5, 2009

True Blood


God Hates Fangs
Originally uploaded by snorrem
Sookie Stackhouse is a normal small town, southern girl; she lives with her grandmother, is a waitress at the local bar, and is subject to the criticism and scorn of the town – because she’s telepathic and can hear what those around her are thinking. As such Sookie doesn’t really fit in around her and other than her close group of friends exists slightly out of the world everyone around her lives in. It’s for this reason that when the vampires come out of the closet Sookie is excited instead of repelled by the news; two years after the “great revelation” Bon Temps has its first vampire resident in Bill Compton and controversy abounds when he and Sookie develop into more than friends.

True Blood is a great series. I can’t speak for the majority of Alan Ball’s works (though they have received great criticial praise) because True Blood is the first of his shows that I have seen more than sporadic episodes. What I can say is that the show works because it is tongue-in-cheek, well written, incredibly acted and so unique it stands out even among vampire/fantasy shows.

I am a fan of the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris which True Blood is based on and in watching the season one I was shocked at how well Dead Unitl Dark translated into season one. The changes that were made to the plot and the characters don’t seem to harm the story Harris told in her books, but instead helped give the television series a flare all of its own along with streamlining events and people so that a television audience could understand them.

What I was surprised by is how much I am enjoying Anna Paquin as Sookie. She doesn’t look like the Sookie I pictured when I read the books but she perfectly embodies her so that now she is all I can picture.

I am sorry to know that I will have to wait for season 2 until it comes to DVD and will be unable to watch it as it airs.

Creator: Alan Ball
Sookie Stackhouse: Anna Paquin
Bill Compton: Stephen Moyer
Sam Merlotte: Sam Trammell
Eric: Alexander SkarsgÄrd

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