True Blood

[WinoJunko]

Well, it's a lomg wait until the summer...

I hear ya brother, its cruel the way they ended the season on a cliff-hanger! I was hoping they wouldn't do that =P

 

[Kermez]

I hear ya brother, its cruel the way they ended the season on a cliff-hanger! I was hoping they wouldn't do that =P

Nah, Stevie Wonder saw that one coming...

 

[Lance Uppercut]

I really wanted to like this show but, after watching the entire first season, it's left me cold. The whole premise is contrived and boring with broadly drawn (stereotypical) characters that lack any subtlety.

Deadwood and Carnivàle were far more superior shows.

 

[Lady Day]

Its was fun. Im in no hurry to see the second season as the cliffhanger was not all that suspenseful.

I find it refreshing that the bimbo on the show is a boy. It is so hard to do that with a male character and they have succeeded with flying colors in Jason Stackhouse.

Im telling you, the biggest cliches on the show are the vampires. The world involving Sam is far more interesting than the one involving Bill. And that girl character who has come to live with BIll, SNORE!! The biggest cliche ever!

The whole figuring out the killer thing seemed rushed, especially with the pace of the show. Oh well. The show is fun, but fairly forgettable, and it does not look like the most interesting parts are the ones that are going to get the most attention.

LD

 

[WinoJunko]

Nah, Stevie Wonder saw that one coming...

I saw it coming as well...I was just hoping they wouldn't do it, haha.

 

[Kermez]

To be fair, unless there's MAJOR deviations, the show holds little to no surprises for me, as I've read all the books (the one out in paperback, anyways).

 

[WinoJunko]

How good are the books?

 

[Kermez]

They're not bad, but not great, imo. They're written in the first person, from Sookie's perspective, so unlike the series, you only know and see what Sookie knows and sees.

Actually, Sookie gets on my nerves more than a little.

In both the books and the tv show, Sam is my favorite character. He's a great guy, imo.

The first season was basically book one, with foreshadows of book two, and the show stays fairly loyal to the books. In the show, some of the minor characters are expanded (some more than a little). Hopefully, this continues throughout the series - it's pretty cool to see the book come to life (or unlife, in some cases, nooch).

Of course, I look forward to season two, and hope it continues to follow the books. Hopefully, it will be a strongly based on book two as season one was of book one. I like that theme, a book a season, I really want them to continue it. I think that they will, as Alan Ball is a fan of the series.

You should definitely check them out. If you don't mind knowing (basically) what's coming, read the first few for yourself and see.

 

[WinoJunko]

Thanks man, I'll be sure to check the books out. My aunt has some of the books so I could ask her if I could borrow them when I next see her. The only thing I imagine not liking about the books is that they are written from Sookie's point of view...she gets on my nerves sometimes.

 

[Kermez]

she gets on my nerves sometimes

I generally think she's more annoying in the books than in the show.

Your results may vary. Let me know what you think.

Good luck, and good reading.

 

[Laura Chase]

I've just watched the two first episodes. I don't know, really. I love Sookie and her grandma' but don't really feel anything about the other characters. I think Bill is such a cliché and the writing is really cheesy sometimes, for example when Bill opens up his wrist to let Sookie drink his blood, he says "Drink it fast before the wound closes!" or something like that, and it just sounds so silly.

When I heard about the plot I thought "Oh my, another one of those series that just makes a spin on the X-Men concept, in this case replacing mutants with vampires!". So many tv-series are just milking off the X-Men concept... 4400 Hundred, too, which really sucks, imo. True Blood is better quality, definitely. It's beautifully filmed and overall aesthetically more pleasing.

But anyway, the milking off X-Men thing didn't bother me at all once I started watching it. I did, however, take for granted that Alan Ball would do more to make the vampires more interesting... But alas.

So, in my opinion, the biggest flaw is that they fail to avoid all the vampire clichés. They really should have made the vampires more untraditional, like for example in the Swedish movie "Let the Right One In". Also, if you have ever played Vampire: The Masquerade, everything about the vampires' skills and behavior is basically taken from there, which makes the vampires such a cliché (as Lady Day already pointed out).

So this series unfortunately does not really shed new light on vampires or create a new mythology. At least it does not seem that way yet, but I have only seen two episodes, so...

But I'll keep watching it because
1. I love Sookie and the way she's constantly prancing around.
2. This too is a cliché, but I can't get enough of the entire Louisiana atmosphere (and not to mention the accent!).
3. The intro is great, as are almost all HBO intros! I love the song.
4. I really love Six Feet Under and, so I want to see if Alan Ball has more up his sleeve.

"I wanna do bad things with you."

 

[Girl Friday]

I am a fan of both the tv show and the books.

You can read the first chapter of book nine on Charlaine Harris' website:
http://www.charlaineharris.com/deadandgone.html

and I am looking forward to season two... although I hear it strays even more from the 2nd book, which it will be roughly based on since they will be in Dallas, apparently.

 

[Miss Moonlight]

Wow, no one has posted here since 2009? That's too bad- there was great vintage fashion in a few eps in season 2 and 4!

Resurrecting this thread to see if anyone is watching it this year- when it starts, that is. One week til season 5 starts, and it looks like a good one.